Delegate fight: Two new polls

Posted: Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:17 AM by Mark Murray

The Wall Street Journal on the latest NBC/WSJ poll: “The poll … shows that the prolonged battling between Sens. Obama and Clinton could make it difficult for the ultimate nominee to unite the party. Both candidates have been bloodied, though Sen. Obama, who previously has enjoyed much higher personal ratings than Sen. Clinton, has sustained more damage. The Illinois senator has struggled over the past month with a series of controversies, including his association with an outspoken Chicago pastor and comments about small-town voters that have been portrayed as elitist.”

Here’s the take on the poll from MSNBC.com.

The NBC/WSJ poll isn’t the only new survey out there. Here is the latest New York Times/CBS poll: “Senator Barack Obama’s aura of inevitability in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination has diminished after his loss in the Pennsylvania primary and amid the furor over his former pastor… Fifty-one percent of Democratic primary voters say they expect Mr. Obama to win their party’s nomination, down from 69 percent a month ago. Forty-eight percent of Democrats say he is the candidate with the best chance of beating Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, down from 56 percent a month ago.”

More: “In a head-to-head race between Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain, both candidates are backed by 45 percent of the registered voters. In a race between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain, 48 percent back Mrs. Clinton and 43 percent support Mr. McCain.”

The New York Daily News looks at the continued superdelegate shift to Obama despite Wright, calling it a “troubling trend” for Clinton.

"A group of Florida Democrats marched on party headquarters Wednesday demanding that Democratic leaders reverse a months-old decision to deny the state a say in the party's presidential nominating process. Waving miniature Florida flags, the group called on Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to speak and to count the results of the state's Jan. 29 primary. The party has ignored the results because the primary was too early under party rules. Party spokesman Luis Miranda told the protesters that ‘there will be representation from Florida in Denver,’ site of the party's national convention in August. He did not elaborate.

DNC Chair Howard Dean gets a rare positive profile courtesy of the LA Times' Z. Barabak

This morning, in a conference call hosted by the left-leaning Win Without War Coalition, superdelegates committed to both Clinton and Obama will call for party unity on foreign policy and ending the Iraq war. Among those delegates participating are Reps. Jan Schakowsky (Obama), Jim McGovern (Clinton), Rush Holt (Uncommitted), John Lewis (Obama), Lynn Woolsey (Clinton), Sam Farr (Uncommitted), Barbara Lee (Obama) and Maurice Hinchey (Clinton).

At the end of a grueling seven-stop day in rural North Carolina, NBC/NJ’s Carrie Dann reports, a visibly energized Bill Clinton neatly and forcefully summed up his argument for his wife's nomination as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.

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Comments

"[T]he prolonged battling between Sens. Obama and Clinton could make it difficult for the ultimate nominee to unite the party."
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Well no sh*t! You don't say!

This is why the SuperDs need to get out and decide. End it now.

http://thepajamapundit.com/

the Pajama Pundit (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:21 AM)

Obama is still on top ..You wouldn't know this from your headline MSNBC .

Steve B. NewYork NY (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:24 AM)

BL, Cincinnati OH (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:24 AM)

31% find Hill-O dishonest! where is the balance in your reporting? Obama supporters need to blog, donate, volunteer and call your congress people. This is being stolen right in front of our eyes, and we have to stop it. Hill-O will never represent us--she's a flippin' Republican in Democrat clothing. Oh no, never mind, no Dem would wear those outfits!

LB, Virginia (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:26 AM)

We joke that Obama supporters are drinking kool aid, but one has to wonder what are they drinking at the DNC and what is Joe Andrew drinking? Are these radical liberals just losing their minds? Obama did not denounce his racist pastor until Wright stood up at the National Press Club and called Obama a LYING POLITICIAN! Well, that was just it for Obama! Never mind G-d D- -m America, or the government is giving blacks AIDS, but Wright called him a lying politician! We have to believe that Wright was not off his message on Monday. But Obama has changed his story - again! It's disgusting that a United States Senator sat in a church that supported and endorsed the views of Hamas, and with his silence and presence in the church gave legitimitacy to Hamas and Wright's preachings. But for the DNC and superdelegates to go to these lengths to support a candidate who obviously harbors racist anti-american views of our country, just shows how out of touch the radical left wing of the democratic party is with Americans. The DNC is doing a reenactment of the end of Thelma and Louise for the women, they must be really bitter with us....

POLLS APART! (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:26 AM)

you can't say Hillary had a good day yesterday - coffemachine gate, gas tax holiday pander, 'can't get my hands dirty at the pump' shoe and 'the secret service pumps my gas' comment. The harder she runs, the further behind she gets.

marlin, mn (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:27 AM)

http://twocanpete.blogspot.com/
None of these polls ask about the real problem and that is all of our jobs being sent to communist china!

twocanpete (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:29 AM)

Her stake for the prize, he said, will lie in her ability to win the popular vote. "What are they gonna say if she wins the popular vote?" he argued. “‘I'm sorry, we are gonna give it to the caucus states that are going Republican in November?' No." (Unless we’re mistaken, however, Maine and Washington State are states the Democrats will need to win if they hope to take the presidency.)
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Okay Bill, so you admit AGAIN that "the caucus states" don't matter.

I just LOVE how the Clintons think that ONLY the states that HRC wins seem to be important and matter.

And Bill, what about turning those caucus states Blue????
Iowa will go blue with Obama, but not HRC, as we picked her THIRD!!!

But again, I guess that doesn't matter does it Bill.

Oh, and one more thing Bill, OBAMA HAS THE POPULAR VOTE.

HRC IS NOT ahead in the popular vote Bill. Just because you say that she is, does NOT make it true.

And one last thing Bill. The nomination is decided upon by DELEGATES!!!!

THOSE ARE THE RULES BILL.

DELEGATES!!!!!

The Clintons sound more and more desperate EVERY DAY.

Pathetic.

MORE VOTES.
MORE DELEGATES.
MORE STATES.
PLAYS BY THE RUELS.

Obama 08

obama 08 (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:31 AM)

Does Bill Clinton even matter anymore? Yeesh. Five months ago, the only Democrat more popular than Bill was Al Gore. Now, he looks like a washed-up three-term Okie Congressman. He looks small, petty, and old.

Too bad voters didn't figure that out in 1992...

Brendan D, Niles, IL (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:35 AM)

Steve B - that's because the tabloid media is desperately clinging to the myth there's still a race afoot. They need this race. Without it, the only thing to talk about would be just issues and real news.

Think of David Gregory. He just started a new show, called the Race. You can't tell him there isn't one for a few more months. It would break his heart.

Paul Miller, Woodbridge, VA (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:35 AM)

This whole situation has become sickening. I'm tired of the Clintons. I was tired of the Clinton during the 90's. And I def don't want them back in The WH. Wake up people! These are not the 90's! Stop saying "Remember how good things were during the 90's?" Totatly different times and issues. Her pandering already shows that she doesn't have clue and is out of touch. Gas Tax Holiday.....BAD IDEA.

Selina, Wilmington, Delaware (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:35 AM)

If anyone doesn't think the MSM is doing a hit job on Obama is on drugs. You can go to Media Matters or any independent source. This is swift boating by the media and they are upset it isn't working to their satisfaction. This whole thing is disturbing trying to use someone else's views or behaviors to damage Obama. Not only have he never endorsed these things, he has been in the public life long enough that if he had any views like this it would have shown up in his voting record or speeches. The media hasn't let this go because this is the only thing they have. Too bad it's not working.

Be Real, NY, NY (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:40 AM)

"Obama did not denounce his racist pastor until Wright stood up at the National Press Club and called Obama"
*****************

He didn't disown him at first because the first time he had heard those comments he wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. But when it became clear at the Press Club that... 1) Wright continued to say those offensive things (we Obama made very clear DID upset him) and 2) Wright was TRYING to sabotage Obama's campaign..., then Obama had to put his foot down.

How can you blame a man for giving a friend the benefit of the doubt before kicking him out of your life? I sure as hell don't abandon my friends the first time they do something that I find stupid or objectionable.

Linda. Boston, MA (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:41 AM)

If somehow Hillary steals the nomination it will be because she is running a dirty campaign, and Obama is not. He has been a gentleman when it would help him to fight back and bring all of Hillary's garbage front and center....What kind of person does the American public really want....A fine man like Obama, or a dirty cheater like Hillary? (can you say robo-calls)

Cheryl, Wisconsin (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:44 AM)

It seems as though the DNC will do just about anything to skew this primary in favor of Obama.
It does not seem to matter to them what the voters actually want.
They silenced the voters in Florida and Michigan and now when Hillary is closing the gap in Indiana they have a previous DNC chairman switch sides to try to sway to voters back to Obama.
The idea of trying to sway the superdelegates before the rest of the primaries is evidence that they are afraid Obama will not win.
This bull about splitting the party is a joke.
The convention is supposed to be where we decide on a candidate.
There is no reason to make a decision before then. I hope that Hillary stays in until the convention. The DNC is making a very big mistake by trying to direct the election in Obama's favor.
Many of the people who support Hillary will vote for McCain if it appears that the election is stolen from Hillary.
Both candidates should be given a fair chance to fight for the nomination all the way to the convention.
Superdelegates should keep their opinions to themselves until the people have voted.
The original role of Superdelegates was only to intervene at the convention if no nominee had been decided on by then.
This small portion of the population taking over and trying to decide this for the rest of us is outrageous.

cheryl (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:45 AM)

Senator Barack Obama’s aura of inevitability in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination has diminished after his loss in the Pennsylvania primary and amid the furor over his former pastor… Fifty-one percent of Democratic primary voters say they expect Mr. Obama to win their party’s nomination, down from 69 percent a month ago. Forty-eight percent of Democrats say he is the candidate with the best chance of beating Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, down from 56 percent a month ago.

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The 4th Estate seems to forget that they control the narrative.

You've got voters who think this thing is close when it really isn't. You don't present them with the hard facts like how Senator Clinton has to win an impossible amount of remaining pledged delegates (70%) to take the lead in the category. You fail to present the fact that popular vote is a misleading statistic because you don't have accurate figures of "popular vote" from the caucuses. You continue to perpetuate the myth that Senator Clinton won Texas when Senator Obama received more pledged delegates.

If you present them with these facts, the public at large might changes its collective mind.

Pete - Albany, NY (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:47 AM)

LB

Don't worry. Things are brighter than they report.

Terry, IN (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:53 AM)

Paul v. Clinton, where is it?

HRC’s ties to black revolutionaries while at Yale, where is it?

HCR criticizes Indiana plant closings which Bill approved while in office, where is it?

This probably will not be posted. I have posted this many time but First Read will not show it.

Ismael, Weslaco TX (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:55 AM)

How can someone have the "aura of inevitability" and then have it "diminished"? If it diminishes, then you never had it in the first place. Barack is going down fast. Drip, drip, drip as they say.

Tweed Franks, Albany NY (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:00 AM)

Since Hillary is a republican out to destroy Obama, she needs to borrow her buddy W's "Mission Accomplished" sign!!!!!!

Joe, Hebron IN (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:01 AM)

It's finals week at Purdue. My stress level is high, and I was hoping to get a laugh or two...Well shoot, Last night HRC provided just that.

I thought Hillary's comment about the secret service pumping her gas and "how she hasn't purchased gas in a long time" was one for the ages. Wow, she talks about people being out of touch and elitist, but yet she STATES she hasn't purchased gas in a long time. I'm not upset that she doesn't spend $150/month on gas like myself, but I think she was in a real need for PR strategist Mark Penn yesterday. He would have atleast told her to say, "Although I haven't purchased gas in quite some time because I have been escorted by the SS, I have been on the campaign trail over the last 15 months and I have seen the price of gas increase almost .70 or more in some states, and I have seen and heard the "frustration/bitterness" of the American people about our gas prices. They feel they are being cheated by the Oil Companies. There is not a day that goes by that I don't look at the gas prices at while I am on the campaign trail. Prices like these hurt the farmer in Wabash Indiana who has to drive to Upland to farm, or the factory worker in Plymouth who commutes 2 hours each day to Elkhart to work at the RV plants. This is why I feel we need to investigate the Oil companies, shoot, during the Clinton Administration oil was 20.00/barrel."
But for once HRC was honest. I definitely think her honesty is a liability. People will soon realize she's not just a politican with the last name Clinton, but that she really isn't "A candidate OF and FOR the middle class." I say it again, solutions to hoodwink a hard working and sometimes bitter America.
Hillary I'll be your PR strategist for free...But ther's one catch...I can't lie. Am I worth it?

Wake up!

Terrell, West Lafayette (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:04 AM)

Notice how everything that the American people are concerned about for Obama has to do with things out of his control. The Wright issue, the fact that they try to paint him as an "elitist". At least it's not character issues that you can't shake. He'll do fine.

Obama 08

bev (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:06 AM)

I have finally decided that no matter what, I will never vote for a Clinton again. Looking back on the late 1990's, the Democratic Party was really in chaos. They lost the majority even though the economy was still good. This was the result of the poor management and stewardship of Bill and his polarizing wife - Hillary (the Leona Helmsley of the WH). Did I spell the name right?

And now, here we go again. They lie, pander, cheat, and worst of all race-bait getting Americans all worked up about color again. The Clintons don't care if they set race relations back 25 years.

MBM Chicago, IL (Sent Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:06 AM)

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