Delegate fight: HRC’s uphill battle

Posted: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:28 AM by Domenico Montanaro

The New York Times’ Nagourney writes, “In this case, a split was not a draw. Despite narrowly winning Indiana, while losing North Carolina, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton did not fundamentally improve her chances of securing the Democratic presidential nomination. If anything, Mrs. Clinton’s hopes for overtaking Senator Barack Obama dwindled further on Tuesday night.”

"Absent some sort of miracle on May 31st [at the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee], it's going to be tough for us," said a senior Clinton official told the Washington Post. "We lost this thing in February. We're doing everything we can now . . . but it's just an uphill battle."

The Obama campaign released this statement to NBC/NJ last night: “Clinton needed big wins in both states to cut into Obama's overall lead, and she didn't get them. She missed her last chance to catch up in the delegate count-the measure that will determine the Democratic nominee. The tight finish in Indiana and Barack Obama's huge win in North Carolina have fundamentally changed this race.”

The New York Post’s cover: “Toast!” across a photo of Clinton.

The New York Daily News: “Hil needs a miracle.”

EMAIL THIS

Comments

The obese (to be politically correct) lady is singing.

TEX (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:35 AM)

Thank you North Carolina and Indiana!!!!! Let's hope that the Clintons can bow out gracefully now.

Lilly, Las Vegas, NV (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:37 AM)

This is the best news for the Democratic party. I thank HRC for a good hard fought campaign, but its over. Now the party can rejoice in knowing that we have a candidate that can win in November.
Now, we all need to rally around our contender and begin healing.

Joey Texarkana (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:38 AM)

What style and poise...
Not only win the nomination of his party but bankrupt the competition and throw them in jail all in the same year...Chicago Politics..

BJ,CA (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:39 AM)

Last night it became clear...this is over. The victory in North Carolina alone erased any advantage that the Clinton Campaign could claim coming out of Pennsylvania as Senator Obama's victory last night was greater than Senator Clinton's victory 2 weeks ago.

This was a disaster for Team Clinton. They needed a huge victory in Indiana and at worst a tight loss in North Carolina and they got neither.

I watched Senator Clinton speak last night and for as tough as she tried to sound at the start of the speech she just sounded defeated and deflated. Also, if you go back to tape of the speech, watch Bill Clinton...he looks like a man who knows this is over.

Pete - Albany, NY (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:39 AM)

It is known that 90% of the African Americans vote for Obama. Then why is it that when he is on the television, his background is 90% white people? Is he ashamed that it is mostly the African Americans that vote for him? So sad to vote for someone that is so racial, but will use white american people for his backdrop!

Becky, Ky (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:39 AM)

The race has truly come to an end for the Clintons as yesterday's results reflect a thorough trouncing at the hands of Obama. Americans DO want truth as well as to regain their respect on the Global Stage.

Hopefully, HRC will exit gracefully, get some rest, and vigorously support Obama to avoid Bush III represented in McCain.

Gerald, Texas (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:39 AM)

She is just ripping people off at this point by asking for more donations.

Let's hope that today is the day she goes away and the work can really begin

Michael Chicago (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:40 AM)

Uphill? Sure, if you classify K-2 or Everest as "hills". She needs to get 70% of all remaining delegates, including supers. There's not a candidate alive who could muster that kind of support in the remaining contests.

Now she's loaning herself more money? Looks like she's trying to complete a matching set by adding financial bankruptcy to her moral and political ones.

Please, stop giving her the benefit of the doubt. Portray her path as it truly is, an impossible fairy tale that will never happen. We have our nominee. The game is over.

Fontapa, Portland, Maine (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:41 AM)

Hillary "Republican" Clinton has shown she has no class. Instead of graciously congratulating Barack Obama on winning the Democratic Party's nomination she's back to helping her ally McCain. The supers had better get off the fence and start endorsing Obama so this primary farce can end. Since the end of Febraury Hillary has not closed the gap and never will no matter what political games she plays.

Chuck Todd did a great job last night telling us the numbers on MSNBC's coverage. He still needs to work on loosening up After Hours.

Go Obama!

Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:43 AM)

Looking at the Florida / Michigan issue. Even IF they are seated, what are Hillary's chances of getting to her new moving goal post of 2209?

I would guess that even if they are seated in any reasonable manner (i.e. Michagan does not go 100 % for Hillary because Obama was not on the ballot) she would still need 60 + % of the superdelegates to win the nomination.

She is grasping at straws and will stop at nothing to get the nomination.
.

PEM59, Central Jersey (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:43 AM)

Ladies and gentleman It is time for the Filly to leave the race. It would be ashame to see her break her political legs at this point.She ran a good campaign,time for us democrats to unite and tuck Grampa McBush in for the rest this fall. The only hope Hillary has of winning is if stem cell research is further advanced than we know and she can clone ,her best surrogate Lanny Davis about 250 times. Man he looked as shaken as Bill did last night. Are they really going to change the gol post or has reality finally sat in over in her camp?Very well run Campaign Senator Obama and company.

ItHasBeenHardFoughtButWellDeservedObama (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:44 AM)

the superdelagates need to put an end to this thing NOW, so obama can concentrate on maccain without the distraction of what's her name. the press can also do its part and just quit covering obamas defeated opponent

MK,MO (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:45 AM)

The results were truly amazing last night especially when you consider...

a. Obama was slammed all over the place by everyone (except his overt supporters) in the weeks leading up to the votes last night (he was majorly double and triple-teamed on every issue constantly);

b. She made a gas tax holiday pander the defining issue of (what I called) the twilight days of that campaign and all you pundits said people would buy it. HA, I guess many of us are smarter than you and Clinton thought. I always thought that was sheer lunacy!!!!;

and c. 7% of the Dem. vote in Indy was from Republicans who went for disproportionately for Clinton. Now, we'll never know absolute numbers, but anecdotally Operation Chaos folks were quite vocal about their supporting Clinton just because whereas a lot of Obamacans (Republicans for Obama) were vocalizing (and have been all along) absolute support for Obama in the primaries and November. And she won by less than 2%? Well, you guys are good at math.

Huffington, she's out of math, money, and the big MO.

YES WE CAN!

Baracking the vote in New Britain, CT, I'm Lisa (really!) (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:45 AM)

It's no longer a fight. We are simply waiting for the ring announcer to raise Senator Obama's hand in victory. If Senator Clinton had any class or hope of saving her legacy, she would raise his hand and unite the party behind our nominee. The next President of the United States: President Obama!

Chris, Dorr, MI (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:47 AM)

A Clinton supporter that I work with has just told me that she now sees the writing on the wall, and will now vote for Obama in November. Thank you. Come on now Democrats, lets unite and start HAMMERING McCain! The ONLY way George W Bush should get a "3rd term" is if its a jail term!!
Thank you NC!
Go Obama!
Yes WE Can (Change the way things are done in OUR country)

JohnnyU, WA State (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:47 AM)

What race? Come on. It's been over for weeks, and weeks. The media, and the supers could have helped Hillary save face, before letting her drive off a cliff, but they did'nt. Who gets the lion's share of the blame for her humilation? The Clintons, the media, or the DNC?

Maybe none of the above. Maybe Hillary's selfish supporters should have taken better care of her with kinder, more reasonable advice. They should have encouraged her to protect her dignity, and step aside graciously. She would have found herself more loved than she ever thought possible.

donna (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:48 AM)

barring a Armstrong-esque effort this 'uphill' fight appears to be out of reach. She's an amazing woman but to climb the alps in a pants-suit is a bit much, even for her.

WD NJ (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:53 AM)

She just loaned herself 6.4 million dollars>

Are you guys dense???

Do you want a person who is this reckless with a check-book running our national economy???

She has had ALL of the advantages; former popular president that was good with money and name recognition and she still is broke!!!

Get over yourselves

If you guys and gals are willing to vote for McCain because "he doesn't look like one of us" when his policies and ideals are very similar to Hillary then--we deserve what we get

I've got to be blunt: Get over yourselves. Get over the past prejudices and resentments over people that are different from you. A house cannot stand divided.

High-Powered->Message to Blue-collar workers (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:56 AM)

IT IS FINISHED!!!!!Please Hillary, bow out gracefully now and show your supporters that you are truly a Democrat by helping to rally them around Sen. Obama. That is your mission now, as well as Bill and Chelsea, let's see if they really are who they say they are. I have my doubts.

Lisa, IA (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:58 AM)

crat3 (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:59 AM)

The Kentucky Derby gave us an omen as to Hillary "Republican" Clinton's fate in this primary. She broke both her front ankles in IN and NC and supers need to euthanize her losing campaign now. It's long past time for the supers stop their self-serving political calculations and endorse Obama en masse in order to stop the ancient elitist panderer McCain from having his election holiday.

Supers please put the old nag out to pasture so Obama can get started on winning in November. Join the ObamaNation now as we got game, political game. We've defeated the mighty Clinton political machine in the Democratic primary and who thought that would happen? Now join us as we send that ancient elitist panderer McCain into political retirement, where all Reagon foot soldiers belong!

Go Obama 08/12!

Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:01 AM)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MSNBC's Tim Russert: 'We Now Know Who the Nominee Will Be'

OBAMA. OBAMA. OBAMA. OBAMA. OBAMA. OBAMA. OBAMA. OBAMA.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Let's see Hillary try to "steal" this headline.

.

And the Nominee is --- OBAMA .... (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:03 AM)

Yeah, my boyfriend is a huge Hillary supporter.. I think we need to tread carefully around this one, as I will with him-what we do NOT want to do is alienate that camp any more than it already is. Let us be gracious in victory..

Pam OC,CA (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:05 AM)

"Hil" needs to drop out gracefully (is THAT possible) and support Senator Obama.

Diane from Illinois (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:05 AM)

It is time for the two teams to meet in the middle of the field, shake hands, and move on to the next game in the play-offs: Obama v. McCain.

I don't think this drawn out process has been critically damaging to the Democratic Party IF Hillary follows through on her pledge to campaign for the Democratic nominee. The plus side to the extended primary has been a tremendous recruitment of new voters and more hands-on activism and networking by supporters of both Clinton and Obama. None of them came on board to continue the policies of Bush.

Unite and get the change you have been fighting for. Do you really want to send more of our troops into Iraq because your candidate didn't win? Voting for McCain our of bitterness instead of rational thought would doom (and I do mean DOOM) us to another four years of a continuation of the last eight.

In a primary season where the top two items have been the economy, which McCain admits is not his strongpoint, and Iraq, where he intends to keep us for years, this should be an easy choice.

So grieve, then turn your passion towards making the changes you have all wanted from the beginning.

Ponzi, Monterey, CA (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:06 AM)

No offense Dominico, but I think you must have been asleep during Chuck's analysis. 200 delegates just came off the board, and she's nice points further down. The question is not whether her chances dwindled some, they obviously dwindled to the point to the head of your news department, Tim Russert, has called the race. Considering that, these were some strange words to choose.

http://infogiant.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/the-race-is-over/

http://infogiant.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/hillarys-last-minute-pander-will-end-the-race-on-may-6/

infogiant, austin, tx (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:07 AM)

"Hil" needs to drop out gracefully (is THAT possible) and support Senator Obama.

Diane from Illinois (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:11 AM)

Imagine how far ahead Senator Obama would be in the polls if it were not for Hillary's mudslinging and Linbaugh's persuasion of his Republican listener's to corrupt our Democratic system by voting Democratic to 'fix' the election. Hillary does not display any feminine qualities that would encourage me to vote for a woman President. I always expected a woman President would send our sons to war only as a last resort but Hillary voted for the war in Iraq and even while lying about her change of heart said she would 'obliterate' Iran. Hillary is a 'good ole boy' in a pants suit.

shirley, san jose, ca (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:12 AM)

An uphill battle indeed.

Barack Obama has shown that EVERY ONE of Hillary Clinton's arguments for her nomination are faulty. Big states? Obama's got 'em. Delegate count? Obama's going to have it. SuperDelegates? Obama's going to have them. Popular vote? Obama's got it. Electability? Obama has more of it than she does. Count Florida & Michigan? It doesn't make a difference for his lead.

On every talking-point that the Clinton campaign dishes out, Barack Obama can counter with a solid response.

GObama.

http://thepajamapundit.com/

the Pajama Pundit (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:18 AM)

It's time for Hillary to step aside and support Obama so we can in turn start to re-unite the party. It has been an exciting race, but at this point for her to continue on in this race would not only damage the party, but her political career and how she is remembered as well. There comes a point where fighting the good fight turns into fighting for selfish reasons and doing more damage then good and that point is coming if this race continues. You have ran a good race Hillary, now please step aside and give your suppot to re-uniting the party so we can win in November.

Jeff, Cincinnati, OH (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:22 AM)

Hillary:

You gave it the best you could. Between the lies and the racism and the proof you could never bring forward what you promised and your incredibly bad record in the senate and all the fiasco's your husband had in eight yeas as president and 8 years outside the white house; you gave it your best shot and you lost.

Not only have you destroyed whatever integrity the name Clinton still had, but you have brought down the democratic party as a whole. You pretty much used everything but the nuclear option (and I still predict you will). The game is over.

Personally i would rather you stay in the race. The more you stay in and spend your money and drive yourself into bankruptcy, the better John McCain will be the next president of the United States. I'd rather see the democratic party go up in flames and Denver go up in flames as well. Better to show the world what the liberals are really made of and remove them from the race then watch them destroy the country in 2009 and beyond.

Hillary Clinton
A Liar for all seasons

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:24 AM)

Go Hillary, Go, ah just go away

Jim K, Sevierville, TN (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:25 AM)

Toast, indeed. Unless she can pull off the kind of steal the GOP did in 2000, she's a dead issue, just qucking away, pandering to anyone who'll vote for her, getting deeper in debt...Her oversized ego is the only thing keeping her from quitting, as everyone knows she should.

Class Warrior, D.C. (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:26 AM)

The Hill talking with Bill after the Nc. and In. primaries:

Hill: I HATE Obama!

Bill: Me to dear

Hill: I really HATE Obama!

Bill: I understand dear

Hill: Dam...I HATE Obama!

Bill: So do I dear....HEY...what about his wife????

Hill: Go for it Bill...maybe you can at least get us a split decesion with Michelle since Obama has already screwed me.

OBAMA 08

lh (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:28 AM)

Look, she can still win. This was a momentum changer. Winning Indiana proves she is more electable even if she did slide further behind in the Popular Vote and even if she slid further behind in delagates.

This gas tax thing is going to save her campaign, even if no educated economists agree or even if it is irrational. Gimmicks work!

Haaa Haaa haaa! These stories make me Laugh. Yea pundits! You know there is a whole genre of literature for these writes, it is called FICTION!

It's over

John lemaster (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:29 AM)

Last night really was Clinton's last chance to make any kind of impact on this race, and she totally blew it.

I see no reason for her to continue, especially when she is having to spend her own money to do it. Now is the time to start the unity process and move this things forward for November.

http://www.politivine.com

Cory (SC) (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:29 AM)

To everyone who is still talking about "electability" and how divided the Democratic Party is: Anyone else notice the "Operation Chaos" effect in Indiana?

When asked who they'd vote for in a Clinton/McCain match-up in November, 14% of Clinton voters don't plan to support her in the General.

To repeat: 14% of people who cast a vote for Hillary Clinton in Indiana DO NOT PLAN TO VOTE FOR HER IN THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Look it up yourself: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#INDEM

Specifically: In a hypothetical Clinton-McCain match-up, 16% said they'd vote for McCain, and 41% of those were Clinton voters. (That's 16% x 41% = 6.6% of all voters in the primary.) Similarly, 9% said they wouldn't vote at all in such a matchup, and 4% of those were Clinton voters. (That's 9% x 4% = 0.4% of all voters in the primary.) Altogether, that means that about 7% of the total don't plan on voting for Clinton in the general DESPITE voting for her in the Indiana primary -- and that works about to about 14% of all her supporters yesterday!

Even if you assume that this is a statistical aberration, she won by less than 2% ... the "Operation Chaos" voters outnumber her margin of victory by 5 to 1, so it would be an amazing coincidence for this to be anything but a real effect.

Rush Limbaugh is laughing at everyone right now. It's one thing for Democrats to honestly decide to continue the process to vet both candidates as fully as possible, but it's quite another to drag it out for 2 months due to this sort of fraud. Limbaugh and everyone who votes this way should be ashamed of themselves.

An Actual Moderator, Denton TX (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:31 AM)

It is unfortunate that the Clintons are less Democrats than they are office-seekers. Hillary should bow out gracefully and return as the most influential Senator. Bill needs to get back on track as a party elder with both respect and influence (which has been damaged). The race is over, Obama is the nominee and we , Democrats, should not continue to harm the nominee. It is that simple - Democrat and country First! BE a Clinton second.

claudette du bois (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:37 AM)

Hill talking with Bill after the Nc and In. primaries

Hill: I HATE Obama!

Bill: Me to dear

Hill: I really HATE Obama!

Bill: I understand dear

Hill: Dam...I HATE Obama!

Bill: So do I dear...Hey what about his wife????

Hill: Go for it Bill....maybe you can get a split decesion with Michelle, since Obama has already screwed me.

OBAMA 08

lh (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:44 AM)

When the DNC meets May 31st I predict the following: A 50/50 split of the delegates in Michigan which is more than fair since Obama wasn't on the ballot. They are going to count the delegate totals in Florida and give each delegat one half vote. Not good news for the Clinton campaign.

Ron (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:54 AM)

I am a white, republican, almost 50 year old woman and I have watched this democratic race very closely. I have always been in favor of Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. I didn’t like her in the 90’s and I don’t like her even more now. I am appalled at the attitudes of the American people. I think people can be really shallow minded and the more Hillary Clinton gets support from “women”, “white blue collar people” and all the other “groups” it just gets more shallow. The fact that this pastor has so much influence on a person is ridiculous. If people had been paying attention to the message Barack Obama has been talking about all of the past months they would know that he clearly doesn’t have the same views as this pastor. I think this pastor is not quite right in the head and is trying to take some kind of spotlight, and in a way trying to hurt Barack Obama, for whatever reason. That isn’t important to me and it shouldn’t be important to anyone else. The more people feed this kind of stupidity the more disgusted I get at the whole situation. As for the “groups” that voted for Barack Obama I think it is more important to note that most young people are in favor of Barack Obama and not focus so much on the racial aspect of it. It should never be so much about race at a time when racial tensions need to be minimized instead of exploited. Why can’t the press have more of a hand in promoting positive attitudes and not dwell so much on the stupid attitudes?

Joany, Topeka, Kansas (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:57 AM)

Forget politics for a minute, the best thing about that NY Post cover is seeing the Yankee's lose!

O's Fan - Lancaster, PA (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:58 AM)

The black racism in US .... most voting for Obama because he is PART black .. does no one see it odd over 90% of any race voting for one candidate .. how would a normal 70/30 or 60/40 split effect the outcome???

gh (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 11:03 AM)

Comment by Suzanne Milford
May 7th, 2008 at 10:45 am
“It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.” I do not think Hillary should give up at any cost. She has a great campaign going now and they need to play it out. At this point, even if she does endorse Obama then I would NOT vote for him. I doubt that I could even vote for him if Hillary was on the ticket as a VP. I know that he has some good points, but something about his manner just really turns me way off. She is a much more inspiring person. The media needs to let the votes go on until the end. Don’t give up on America, the Obama voters may wise up before it is too late!!

Suzanne (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 11:03 AM)

ROFL "Toast"

Literally had me rolling on the floor laughing.

Kent (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 11:07 AM)

The black racism in the North Carolina win cannot triumph over the nomination process. The Indiana win of a mere 9 counties by Obama out of more than 100 counties cannot triumph over the nomination process. Florida and Michigan must be counted; the remaining states must vote; and the superdelegates must use their independent judgment to select the best qualified candidate for the presidency and that is Hillary Clinton. The fight for the future of America continues.
*********
Agree crat3. 40% of vote in NC was black. He basically got all of that. He had 56% total. In Indiana, the counties he won are higher black population.It will take more than that to win the GE. And, 53% of Clinton IN voters said they wouldn't vote for him. Some of those will in the end but I'm betting about 30% of them won't...I know I won't. BO is a dangerous person. Thought I'd laugh my A** off last night during his speech when he said he'd always tell us the truth. Oh, just like he did with Rezko and Wright. And, he personally has yet to speak about Ayers. And now Jodie Evans anti-American is out there too. And maybe soon his Hamas connections will be better exposed. Maybe, when BO accepts the nomination he'll be standing on the American flag with Wm Ayers. If you haven't seen the pic of Ayers from a couple of yrs ago (not 40!) standing on the flag, you can find at fox.

NObama (Sent Wednesday, May 07, 2008 11:10 AM)

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=989436