Duck, here comes the spin on PA
Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 3:29 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC's Mark Murray
The Obama and Clinton campaigns have released dueling memos to frame today's Pennsylvania primary. The Cliffs Notes version: The Obama folks continue to argue that Clinton was always favored in the state, but that the delegate math is stacked against her. Meanwhile, Team Clinton wonders -- if Obama is the front-runner -- why he shouldn't be expected to win in the Keystone State.
The Obama camp's memo: "Clinton has been leading by large margins in Pennsylvania. In the weeks leading up to the primary, she led by as much as 25 points. They were so confident that their own Pennsylvania spokesman said Clinton would be 'unbeatable' in Pennsylvania—regardless of spending by her opponent... Behind in delegates and sporting a 14-30 primary record (not good enough even to make the playoffs in the NBA Eastern Conference), the Clinton campaign needs a blowout victory in Pennsylvania to get any closer to winning the nomination. Even President Clinton said that only a 'big, big victory' will give her the boost she needs."
More: "Tonight’s outcome is unlikely to change the dynamic of this lengthy primary. Fully three quarters of the remaining delegates will be selected in states other than Pennsylvania. While there are 158 delegates at stake in today’s primary, there are 157 up for grabs in the Indiana and North Carolina primaries two weeks from today. We expect that by tomorrow morning, the overall structure of the race will remain unchanged—except for the fact that there will be 158 delegates off the table."
The Clinton memo: "[A]fter the Obama campaign’s 'go-for-broke' Pennsylvania strategy, after their avalanche of negative ads, negative mailers and negative attacks against Sen. Clinton, after their record-breaking spending in the state, a fundamental question must be asked: Why shouldn't Sen. OBAMA win? Sen. Obama's supporters -- and many pundits -- have argued that the delegate 'math' makes him the prohibitive front-runner. They have argued that Sen. Clinton's chances are slim to none. So if he's already the front-runner, if he's had six weeks of unlimited resources to get his message out, shouldn't he be the one expected to win tonight? If not, why not? As the phrase goes, watch what they do not what they say."
"There's a reason Sen. Obama and his campaign have ratcheted up their year-long assault on Sen. Clinton's character and ended the Pennsylvania campaign with a flurry of harsh negative attacks. It's because they know that a loss in Pennsylvania will raise troubling questions about his candidacy and his ability to take on John McCain in the general election. And it's because they know that the race is neck and neck and tonight's contest is a measure of where the campaign stands."
