Looking ahead: Is NC the end?
Posted: Thursday, April 03, 2008 9:25 AM by Mark Murray
PENNSYLVANIA: About 70 Jewish leaders in Pennsylvania signed an open letter expressing support for Obama, saying he has a 100 percent voting record on Israel and praising his recent speech on race.
NORTH CAROLINA: The front page of USA Today: “‘I really believe May 6 has the potential to be everything,’ says Joe Trippi... ‘Every day you see increased pressure on Hillary Clinton about why she's staying in, and if she could win in North Carolina it would shut down that kind of talk and open up the possibility she could get there’ to the nomination.”
“‘But if he wins in North Carolina,’ Trippi says of Obama, ‘I think you're going to see things close up very quickly. You'll see a lot of superdelegates line up behind him.’”
“Clinton campaign officials dispute the idea that a loss in North Carolina would be devastating, and Clinton has vowed to campaign until the last vote is counted, even if that means a credentials fight at the August convention in Denver… Still, Obama partisans and some unaffiliated Democrats, including Trippi, see North Carolina as Clinton's last chance to turn around her fading prospects — or face intense pressure from party leaders to suspend her campaign and avoid a summer of trench warfare that could hurt Democratic prospects in the general election this fall.”
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) stumped for Obama in North Carolina yesterday.
INDIANA: The Wall Street Journal curtain-raises the contest in the Hoosier State contest. “A victory in Indiana and a good showing in North Carolina the same day would give the New York senator the justification and ensuing donations she needs to stay in the race until June, when all the remaining territories and states will have voted. A loss would add to recent calls from some prominent Democrats for her to drop out.”
PUERTO RICO: The New York Times notes, "If the nominating contest lasts until June 1, Puerto Rico, with its 63 delegates, is expected to play an outsize role, with Mrs. Clinton hoping for a big victory. But the perennial debate over the status of the island looms, with the two candidates staking out positions of adamant neutrality. Rivals of the candidates have been combing policy statements for the slightest nuance that could betray support for statehood or commonwealth. Historically, pro-commonwealth politicians have loosely aligned with the Democratic Party, and the statehood side has been more of a coalition."
Interestingly, Obama has received the support of the leading advocate for keeping Puerto Rico's Commonwealth status (the governor who is now under indictment, by the way), as well as the leading advocate for statehood.
“Although Mr. Acevedo’s action appears to have opened the gates for others to back Mr. Obama, his indictment also was an embarrassment to the Obama campaign. The governor, a superdelegate, had been courted by both campaigns, even though it was common knowledge that he was under investigation. The two campaigns have courted pro-statehood and pro-commonwealth supporters, and Mr. Obama’s supporters are trying hard to integrate backers from both parties at an organizational level.”
