ABOUT FIRST READ

First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



The delegate fight

Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2008 9:15 AM by Domenico Montanaro

The New York Times front-pages, “Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s victories in the primaries on Tuesday barely dented Senator Barack Obama’s lead in delegates, but they seemed to slow the Democratic Party establishment’s move in his direction while giving her campaign time to try to turn the race in her favor.” More: "Clinton and Mr. Obama are embracing sharply different approaches as they try to capture the nomination and rally superdelegates behind them. For Mr. Obama, it is a matter of delegate math as he argues that superdelegates should support whoever has won the most elected delegates after the primary season ends in June. For Mrs. Clinton, it is trying to build momentum -- and making a case that she is more electable -- to persuade superdelegates to support her."

VIDEO: What's next for Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton after Tuesday’s primaries? NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

Polls will also certainly influence superdelegates, and a new Washington Post/ABC poll shows both Clinton and Obama matching up favorably against McCain -- although Obama leads him by 12 points and Clinton 6 points. But how will these numbers look after the two Dems beat each other up for the next seven weeks in Pennsylvania?

Do-over? The AP: “The Michigan governor, along with top officials in Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign and Florida's state party chair, are now saying they would consider holding a sort of do-over contest by June. That's a change from their previous insistence that the primaries their states held in January should determine how the their delegates are allocated.”

The Miami Herald: “Clinton's position reflected a retreat from her hard line stance that the Florida and Michigan primaries should count toward her delegate total, even though the candidates ceased campaigning in the states and Obama wasn't on the Michigan ballot. Two of Clinton's top surrogates -- former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell -- floated the prospect of revotes before the results came in Tuesday.”

The Detroit Free Press: “If a second vote is going to happen, a decision may need to come quickly: Though the DNC considers Michigan without delegates to the national convention, the state party is set to select them at the end of this month. From a national standpoint, the next big state primary is April 22 in Pennsylvania, where Clinton holds a lead in the polls.”

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clinton all the way!  See, negative campaigning works.  Ha Ha.  So what if some is over the top, or even outright lies?  That's acceptable in politics -- the white house is at stake!  Yes, feels good to be on the winning side.
Clinton '08
Her strategy of only trying to build momentum when there are fewer states left, and his strategy being that he believes superdelegates should move behind him because it is unlikely Hillary will retake his pledged delegate lead, as my Slate Delegate Calculator shows. This only shows Clinton's selfishness.
The fact that the campaign played race by intentionally darkening Obama's ad picture demonstrates her selfishness, too. I think the campaign needs to be investigated by the Justice Dept. for racism.
When all the primaries are done, give each candidate the   proportion of the total delegates they have won .
For example, if Obama is at 55% and Clinton at 45% award the delegates in   Michigan and Florida  that way.
If there are too many problems in having a "do over" election, then cut the total amount of elected delegates by 75% and the superdelegates to 3 per state.  Assuming that voting again would be a problem, the follow should be done: Obama would have the votes from the Uncommitted in Michigan; Florida percentages would count as is; both states would pay for part of a recount with the other portion coming from the DNC and state Democratic party.  

What was so hard with understanding the rules about moving the primary date?  Dean and the DNC said there would be penalties for doing that.  Now the penalties are known.  I don't care if the Republicans were in charge; vote to have a seperate primary or appeal to the governor and offer to pay part of the expenses for that.  
If the DNC seats MI and FL in any manner in which delegates are awarded, there should be a major revolt in the party. All hell should break loose. There will be no convention. They broke the rules. Plain and simple. They were warned. Plain and simple. Now why should they be seated. Geraldine whats her name should be ashamed to even show her face after the horrible, inept campaign she ran. It took the  Democratic party years to recover from her mess-up. Why in the world would we listen to her? She should still be asking the party for forgiveness. We dont need or want her advise on anything. Just like the Clintons the very people who screw over us keep coming back and asking to do it again. They think we are idiots. Not this time, not in 2008.
http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=2778

Clinton need to be careful talking about Rezko because she looks pretty cozy with him in this picture.
Not much discussion yet of the elephant in the room : a presidential spouse secretly raising huge money for his library and foundation. Could this not become a huge ethical problem we'll be dealing with for the next 8 years. I can't imagine anyone not wanting White House influence not steering ungodly sums to Bill to obtain influence. We should be made aware of all donor names. This situation seems totally unprecedented and a potential for a bombshell.




Maybe some "stuff" is beginning to stick to "Obama the teflon" man.  Doesn't look good for him being the "un-named politician" in the Rezko trial.  You had to know that was going to be leaked, and it was him! Surprise, surprise surprise!  That little biece of property is beginning to look bigger and bigger.  Wouldn't all of us like to buy a $1.6 million house at a reduced price and have an angel appear to purchase the property next door so that the sale would go thru.  Huummmmmmm!  Some people have all the luck.
Clinton won in MI-----if Obama had won in FL he would whine about getting those votes counted,but he did not,even tho his ads were aired in FL----oops he broke the rules.He is no different than any other politician,seeking power.Well he will never get my vote if he is the nominee---he has settled that.We are electing our delegates the end of the month.
Go to the DNC website at

http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contactissues

and tell them the following:

"I want to express my desire that the DNC and Howard Dean not bend on the issue of Florida and Michigan. To accept anything less than not seating those delegates would be tacit support of Hillary Clinton and therefore undermining the integrity of the Democrat Party. To arbitrarily offer an unfair advantage to any campaign at this late date would disenfranchise more than the voters of Michigan and Florida. It would dilute the votes of the millions of people from across the nation, who have voted already."

Join obamavets.com in getting the word out!
<But how will these numbers look after the two Dems beat each other up for the next seven weeks in Pennsylvania?>

Uh, lower...I think the nastier it gets, the more we give the election to McCain.  A lot of these arguments just play into his hand.  But of course once nastiness starts, the other candidate has to engage.  Tuesday showed us that (of course, it was hardly a surprise).

I realize that some are saying this campaign has not been nasty so far...yes, somewhat, cause one candidate has largely taken the high road.  I suspect you will start to see that now.  Potential overall effects on the general election, like everything else largely unknown.  Its going to be a bumpy ride.
  I have the following idea to solve the close race between Clinton and Obama. If the race is still too close to call by June 8, the following is proposed.
   Allow a new race of voting in Florida and Michigan in late June. Half of the super delegates should align with the delegates of Florida and the other half of super delegates should align with the delegates of Michigan. The super delegates will be assigned to those two states based upon listing the rest of the 48 states in alphabetical order. The letter “A” through whatever state will make up nearly half of the super delegates shall be assigned to Florida. Whatever state through the letter “Z” will be assigned to Michigan (since Michigan comes after Florida alphabetically.
  The super delegates assigned to Florida and the super delegates assigned to Michigan shall vote whether to have a primary or a caucus for each state.
  Then the final delegate and super delegates votes will be derived from whoever wins the popular vote of each of these two individual states. This will be based upon state assignments of the super delegates as mentioned earlier.
  If people feel this gives Florida and Michigan to much power, perhaps the super delegates shall vote based upon who won their own states they reside in. Yet still have the voting proceed in Florida and Michigan in late June.


I DISAGREE. Negative campaign only works when done in a state where one is favored. That's why Hillary lost terribly in South Carolina and Iowa.

No amount of red phone ad could've saved Hillary in Wisconsin, SC or Iowa, for example.
Come on Superdeligates - please see through this:

Clinton is more Electable - Is she KIDDING?

Let's see...the REPUBLICAN Governor of Florida - whose name has been dropped as a vice Presidential Nominee - wants to re-do Florida, where Hillary will likely win (though not likely by a large enough margin to make much of a difference) - Rush Limbaugh was encouraging his listeners to go out and vote for her (she won by 4% in TX - 8% of those who voted for her were Republicans...) and "Morning Joe" and Pat Buchannan (Both Republicans) were practically salavating over her win.

Gee, I wonder who the Republicans think they can beat come November...

...and I wonder why?

Hillary's ridiculous blue state argument is backwards, and I don't know why it is getting so much play.

The blue states will go for either Democrat - Hillary wins the Democrats by a SLIM margin - Barack wins the Independents by a rather substantial one. So, either one will win the blue states - Barack may actually win some of the Red ones too (look at his vote totals - there are some cases in which they exceed the turnout for the Republicans) ...and as for Ohio, be realistic - they will NOT vote for Free trade loving McCain over Obama.

More reasons the Republicans may want to run against her:

Vince Foster
Travel Gate
Whitewater
Ethical Questions
Legal questions dating back to the Clinton Administration (missing records...)
Hugh Rodam
Dynasty
on and on and on...

Just b/c Obama hasn't brought these things up, doesn't mean the Republicans won't

Come ON Hillary - Electability - REALLY?!
Big states= PRESIDENT little states =VICE PRESIDENT "THERE WILL BE RIOTS AND CHAOS" Former GOV> WILDER any questions ?Is he calling for violence NICE sounds so OLD SCHOOL,but lets face it your knight in shiny armour just became every other say anything do anything POL.LIKE THE BLACK KNIGHT HILLIARY.MACAIN 08
Think about this, Americans.  Hillary has not been able to handle the economy of her campaign.  She overspent in Iowa and had to loan the campaign $5 million.  She can't stop her own people from fighting within the campaign.  All of this, and people still think she can bring people together and repair our economy?  Pay attention.

The Hillary camp has said that the only significant state Senator Obama has won is Illinois.  So, apparently, when Hillary loses a state it suddently becomes insignificant.  This, despite the fact that at some time she must have thought those states significant as she spent a lot of time and money campaigning there.   Please pay attention.

Why do you think that Rush Limbaugh is encouraging Republicans to vote at the primaries for her?  The Republicans know that they can beat her in the general election.  Pay attention.

Whenever Hillary is down in the polls, she graces us with the "personable Hillary" (ie. Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show with John Stewart).  Then when she wins a state, we get to see the "win-at-all-costs, negative, nasty Hillary".  Are you paying attention?

Hillary doesn't care about bringing Republicans, Democrats and Indpendents together for the greater good of the American people.  Hillary cares about Hillary, and winning the nomination - Nothing else.

Please.  Pay attention.  Think.

Obama '08
It doesn't matter that Obama has a delegate lead on Hillary. He's not going to get enough delegates to win the nomination before the convention. If the first ballot at the convention doesn't give him or Hillary  the number of votes to win the nomination, those delegates are free to vote anyway they want on subsequent ballot. With Hillary's political machine in place and Bill twisting arms, the second ballot vote will probably go to Hillary.
This is HUGE! Everyone on these blogs needs to read this and then think about how you want in the White House. Pass this on in other blogs and if the media has any sense of balance then they should run with this.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Assurances_from_Clinton.html#comments
This is HUGE! Everyone on these blogs needs to read this and then think about how you want in the White House. Pass this on in other blogs and if the media has any sense of balance then they should run with this.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Assurances_from_Clinton.html#comments
Are you people kidding me?

Just like The Clinton's did not care about the middle class in the 90's, today nothing has changed.  It is all about Hillary, she could care less about the mother sending $10 in or the guy losing his home in Ohio.

Once again America has been fooled again by these two power hungry morons who tell you one thing and go do another.  The Florida and Michigan crap is just another reason why The Clinton's cannot be trusted.
What everyone keeps sweeping under the rug in the FL Democratic primary is that the rules were applied unequally.  The delegates elected don't count, but no penalty has been assessed for Sen Obama for running campaign ads in the state.  I think a fair penalty would be for him to lose the number of delegates that he would have won if the state primaries had counted.  Mistake or not, he agreed not to campaign in Florida.  Otherwise, seat the Florida delegates as elected.  Your choice DNC. Michigan, at least Sen Clinton was smart enough to figure out that leaving your name on the ballot was not active campaigning.  Shoud we reward the other candidates for not understanding that?  Well go ahead and give Sen Obama all of the uncommitted delegates.  Doing it over is not fair because the political climate has changed since the first primary and only two candidates are left where before there were eight.
Excuse me Hillary supporters. I know you are in a dream world but, If Hillary is the one to beat MCcain why is it that every single poll shows Obama beating him more handedly???? She is losing in delegates that she can't make up. Please get over yourself. She is not going to make it. What she will do is destroy the PARTY trying. Get over your racism and vote for who is winning in the polls, popular vote, delegates, number of states. That person is Barack Obama. Thank You
Obama will officially win Texas with the caucus count. He will net around 3-7 delegates. I love how the media coronated Clinton when she actually tied Obama.

Obama will finish with the popular vote and the MOST delegates. Clinton should accept the VP or move on.
I see we have a bunch of Clinton cheerleaders on the board today. Well, it appears that NAFTA story your campaign made a big deal out of in Ohio failed to mention that the original source of the leak, "Ian Brodie, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, has been accused of being the source of the CTV News report. Brodie also allegedly told CTV reporters that people from the Clinton camp told Canadians to take her NAFTA concerns with a grain of salt." Funny, the Canadians had to approach Boolsbee.
Reported today by the Canadian Broadcasting Network:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/03/06/memo-leak.html
I feel MI and FL should first hold a Super Sunday Tea to determine whether or not they want a do-over. Then the super delegates of the sunday teas - those who actually sponsored the tea and bought the tea at their homes - can all meet up in a grand coffee house caucus, at which they debate the need for either a primary or a general caucus. The result of that should then be placed on a ballot where people can vote on at their respective 7-11, WaWa, Piggly Wiggley, or whatever the case may be.  If at the end there is no majority decision, then the matter should be submitted the Wizard of Oz who shall make his edict final.  
Obama shouldn't be so thin skinned.  If he thinks Hillary has been going negative, how will he handle the Republican attack machine when goes after him, he won't know what hit him.  The question will be, is he resilent and tough enough to stick it out with grace and composure.  The press has given him kid glove treatment.
As a 55 year old female, lifelong Democrat, and BROWN I will go with life experience, if not Clinton, than McCain.  But I love listening to Obama give speeches, he is truly inspiring.  I originally supported Edwards.
Hillary has proven once again that she can win big in the big states that are the must wins for the Dems in November. Of course Michigan and Florida delegates must be counted and be seated at and full participants in the convention in late August.

In Ohio, Obama carried ONLY FIVE of the EIGHTY EIGHT counties in Ohio. Those five counties in Ohio are where the large black urban populations are. If you can't win Ohio, you can't win the Presidency. It's that simple.

GAME OVER. Obama needs to exit the race and the Dems need to rally behind Hillary Clinton, NOW.

Hillary should choose a white male with strong national security credentials as her VP choice. Obama on ticket as VP would create too much of a sea change at once with both a woman and an black man.

**VOTE SMART!  VOTE HILLARY!**
Media reports have been fairly consistent in repudiating the claims of the Clinton campaign as well as the previous reports out of Canada regarding the alleged comments of one of Obama's economic advisors on the topic of NAFTA.  Currently reports state clearly the his comments were misreported, and that in fact Hillary Clinton's campaign were the ones who rushed to reassure the Canadian government.  It may be too little, too late, but doesn't the U.S. mainstream media, including MSNBC have a responsibility to report that Ohio and Texas were won based on a lie.  Don't the have a responsibility to hold the Clinton campaign accountable, and vindicate the Obama campaign, which has had to defend itself against these false charges that cost him victories in two key states.  Please refer to links below for sources.

http://polstate.com/?p=5295
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/report_naftagate_leaker_said_h.php
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=a77dc13a-3c13-47fb-a79a-20a7c8e79301&k=44587
Will somebody please tell me why the press is not asking Hillary about her corruption trial coming up this fall involving Peter Paul?

It is a HUGE issue and would absolutely decimate her should she win the nomination!!
First of all, the spin can only work for the delusional. Obama has nothing to prove to anyone about who can win. Obama has the lead and Hillary cannot catch up.

My advice to pathetic Hillary, when you are faced with the dirt that you try to give out, do not cry like a little school girl. Hillary consistently tries to play both sides. Hillary wants to look strong like a man and then cry when she cannot handle it. It does not work in Philly.
Negative add and lies about the opposition is really sad and it shows the worst of US as human beings.
I am getting error messages on the DNC website.  Might it have crashed LOL?

OTTAWA — If the Prime Minister is seeking the first link in the chain of events that has rocked the U.S. presidential race, he need look no further than his chief of staff, Ian Brodie, The Canadian Press has learned.

A candid comment to journalists from CTV News by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's most senior political staffer during the hurly-burly of a budget lock-up provided the initial spark in what the American media are now calling NAFTAgate.

Mr. Harper announced Wednesday that he has asked an internal security team to begin finding the source of a document leak that he characterized as being "blatantly unfair" to Senator Barack Obama.

What is now a swirling Canada-U.S. controversy began on Feb. 26, when the usually circumspect Mr. Brodie was milling among droves of Canadian media on budget day in the stately old building that once housed Ottawa's train station.

At the end of an extended conversation, Mr. Brodie was asked about remarks aimed by the Democratic candidates at Ohio's anti-NAFTA voters that carried serious economic implications for Canada.

Since 75 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S., Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton's musings about reopening the North American free-trade pact had caused some concern.

Mr. Brodie downplayed those concerns.

"Quite a few people heard it," said one source in the room.

"He said someone from (Hillary) Clinton's campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt. . . That someone called us and told us not to worry."

Government officials did not deny the conversation took place.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305/BNStory/National/home
Here's the Toronto Globe&Mail's latest on how the Clintstones were the one's who actually told the Canadian government to take her anti-NAFTA comments "with a grain of salt".
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305/BNStory/National/home
Are you people kidding me?

Just like The Clinton's did not care about the middle class in the 90's, today nothing has changed.  It is all about Hillary, she could care less about the mother sending $10 in or the guy losing his home in Ohio.

Once again America has been fooled again by these two power hungry morons who tell you one thing and go do another.  The Florida and Michigan crap is just another reason why The Clinton's cannot be trusted.
jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Thursday, March 06, 2008 10:02 AM)

-----------------
Should Hillary not get the nomination, and merely relegate herself to her current position as NY Sen., what will you do with your life? Who will you obsess over?  It's quite obvious, that without her, it appears you have no other purpose in life.  You should really get a grip on your Clinton obsession.  I suggest you think about therapy.  
To say it was the MI and FL own fault is a bit unfair.

Florida's primary was moved up by the REPUBLICAN governor Charlie Crist - he is now offering to pay for a re-run - it's his fault and I think we should take up that offer.

If we don't we will lose Florida in November.

Michigan was slightly different - the main mover was Democratic senator and it was supported by the state senate - by both REPUBLICANS and Democrats. The first primary was paid for by the state of Michigan NOT the parties so technically speaking the Democratic Party should be able to finance a re-run there as well.

Other states moved up primaries or caucuses without penalty.

In fact it is easier to list states that have NOT moved primaries and caucuses than those who have!!

Why were they allowed to move their elections up without penalty yet Michigan and Florida were not?

I know that some said it was because New Hampshire and Iowa have always been first.

Why was February 5 seen as the cut-off point for movement?

Why was South Carolina or Nevada not treated as Florida and Michigan?

Why should some states be allowed to move and others are not?

Why should some states have more of an influence over the nomination process than other states?
Deborah,Orland FL: you are wrong, he ran a national ad only that aired everywhere. Hillary had pundits running for statewide office robocalling all over Florida for her with the statement: I'm supporting Hillary Clinton for president." So please don't say she didn't campaign there!! And holding a fundraiser and victory party there was tacky beyond belief!
You Clinton supporters need to learn how to do math. You're so lost in the excitement of winning two whole states, that you're ignoring the reality of the situation. Obama still has more delegates, and in the coming weeks and months before the convention, he will also amass more and more super-delegates. Clinton is finished, now it's just another Huckabee-style charade composed of stubborn-ness and ego. The young people of this nation (our nations future),  have spoken...LOUDLY. Barack Obama is our nominee, and we aim to see to it that he becomes the 44th President of the United States of America. Now, about those tax returns...
Deborah,

FOR THE LAST TIME.  The Obama ads were part of a NATIONAL package!  Florida is part of the nation, hence the ads played there.  What don't people get about that???
Good Witch, IA, The republicans can't beat anybody in the general. What Bush has done to that party and what has happened to America in the last eight years, and the old man Mccain running, they could not beat OJ Simpson in the general.
NAFTAgate was WRONGLY attibuted to Obama? EXPOSE THIS MSM!  

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/nafta-gate-upda.html

That is was a CLINTON aid winking and nodding?  That the Clinton camp LIED and SMEARED Obama to cover their own butts?  American politics at its best.  Shame on you, Hillary Clinton!  Shame on you!
Women vote for Hillary, African American's vote for Barack.White Caucasian Males, ironically are the middle, myself being in that category.
This was supposed to be the Year (again)for Democrat's to rollover Any republican put forth for POTUS.Frustrated is being kind in my description of my fellow Democrat's, who seem Hellbent on the Destruction of the Party.We have No Leader, willing to step forward for the good of the Party at this point.As someone pointed out in another post, Kennedy & Carter slugged it out while Reagon( a 2 bit Actor from Hollywood) was able to crisscross America & build a coalition of voter's long before a Nominee was chosen for Democrat's.Fast forward 28 year's, now John McCain is gonna get the same headstart!The man is 71 year's old & anyone of us who still have Parent's alive(thankful for it),know that a 71 year old mind is Not the same as a younger mind.Maybe Mccain can withstand the rigor's of the Senate, but in No way, can he Handle the Rigor's of the Leader of the Free World.
Do we Democrat's put forth someone who has Incredibly drove Up her already sad Negative's since the Primary season began or de we put forth an African America who No doubt has Negatives also, but has'nt been in DC long enough to drive up his Negatives to the American people?
I sit here & laugh at the Ignorance of my Fellow Democrat's who want to give the Gop back the Whitehouse, Senate & House of Representatives, after we just narrowly got the Congress back, some short year & half ago.
Jerry, I know you're loving this & with good reason.

Sad State of Affair's!
It is absolutely funny that folk are talking about Hillary victory. She won 12 extra delegates.Fine. Is that a victory? Give me a break folk. She is just lost. She was supposed to win in big margin.
Go for obama 08
Patty, SD. CA. You said...clinton all the way!  See, negative campaigning works.  Ha Ha.  So what if some is over the top, or even outright lies?  That's acceptable in politics -- the white house is at stake!  Yes, feels good to be on the winning side.
Clinton '08

You are just whats wrong with America. Lies, cheating, whatever it takes. All politics aside, you disgust me. Hillary belongs in jail before she belongs back in the white house. She is crooked and deceitful, just like Bill.
Give us ELECTIONS not SELECTIONS!!!  The current Prez was selected and he's a complete disaster!!!
Hopefully, the Super Delegates will remember that Hillary equated John McCain's and her experience as equal, and that Barack Obama only gives speeches. This crosses the line! Will she endorse McCain if Obama gets the nomination because according to her, McCain is better qualified than Obama?  Perhaps she should go back to her roots (Goldwater Girl) and change parties.
People are also forgetting about the popular vote. Hillary did take a significant chunk out of that on Tuesday. I know popular vote does not matter for pledged delegates.  However, Hillary may well come back and have more people vote for her in total than Obama.  Since neither candidate will have the magic number of pledged delegates, the supers are going to have to play a role.  Will they give Obama the nomination when a majority of Democratic voters do not support him?  I don't think so.
Patty in SD, CA: clinton all the way!  See, negative campaigning works.  Ha Ha.  So what if some is over the top, or even outright lies?  That's acceptable in politics -- the white house is at stake!
____________________________________________________

Lying is not nor should it ever be acceptible - in life, or Politics.  If we accept lies, we should accept the consequences of them and see where that has gotten us over the last eight years.  We need a higher standard and a new direction from our politicians, be it Obama or Clinton.
HRC's 35 years of experience:

1. Worked for a corporate law firm.

2. Served on WalMart board and had no issues with the labor policies there.

3. Formulated a disastrous health care plan that postponed universal coverage for years.

4. Had tea with foreign leaders.

5. Voted for the war

6. Scandal after scandal. Why oh why?

7. Within a couple of years managed to lose both the house and the senate due to vindictive and divisive politics

Experience we can count on?
The math is very simple now and gets down to one state, Pennsylvania or three states, PA, MI and FL if MI and FL are allowed to have "do overs".  The math is this:

If Obama can win one of the three states then he is the nominee.  By winning one he'll be assured of the pledged delegate lead and demonstrate that he can win a big state.

If Hillary sweeps all three states then she is the nominee.  By winning all three the resulting pledged delegate count will be close enough that the super delegates will buy into the belief that the democratic party needs a candidate that can win the big states.

The remaining uncommitted/undecided super delegates will fall in line with the above and push one of the candidates over the top.

Don't be too surprised to see the Obama campaign to utlra-agressively go after Pennsylvania and don't be surprised to see them more acceptable of the "do overs" in MI and FL.  They know they have to win a big state.  However, they'll certainly push for caucus "do overs" vs primaries.  


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