Washington, Wisconsin, and HaWaii (it's a stretch, I know, but work with me) all held nominating contests today, and as David Knowles noted earlier, Barack Obama carried Wisconsin by a wide margin, his 9th victory in a row, and has taken Hawaii as expected, 76%-24%. John McCain carried the state by a huge 18 point spread over rival Mike Huckabee, and more than doubled Huckabee's vote total in Washington.
The Washington State Democratic Primary is being described as a "beauty contest", since the state has already pledged its delegates based on the results of a February 9 caucus, which Obama won by more than double, 68%-31%. Despite that fact, Washington is shaping up to be the lone bright spot for Hillary Clinton. With record turnout expected, Clinton has made up incredible ground in the state, allowing her campaign to point to the contest as a momentum-stopper for Barack Obama, and to challenge the validity of his caucus state wins in the court of public opinion.
On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee picked up no delegates, as both contests were "Winner take all." Huck shows no sign of dropping out, but at this point, McCain is at least benefiting from headlines of wide victories, rather than sitting quietly with a secured nomination. The headline for Clinton is, "We made up 33 points in Washington." They can point to the disparity between the caucus result and the primary result as an indicator that all of Obama's caucus wins are less valid as expressions of the popular will.
Of course, the rest of the world will be talking about Obamomentum, as these contests were his 9th and 10th victories in a row, 11th if you count Washington. In exit polls, 54% of voters found that Clinton had been more unfair to Obama in campaigning, compared with 34% for Obama, indicating that it will be increasingly difficult for Clinton to benefit from negative campaigning.
Another symbolically bad moment for Clinton occurred when, during her speech, MSNBC and other outlets cut away to Barack Obama's victory speech. There seems to be no way Clinton will drop out before Texas, but the writing appears to be on the wall.
The highlight of the coverage was this clip, of Chris Matthews embarassing an Obama backer. It's the kind of clip that gets forwarded around in emails, and fair or not, it does play neatly into the popular line of attack against Obama.
Matthews's question is a trick. No Democratic Senator has had success passing legislation over the prior 7 years due to the Republican domination. Name one piece of legislation Hillary carried through over the same time period....The Answer: NONE! Let's face it...the media is afraid of Obama and will stack the deck against him...they cannot predict his actions and that makes them nervous.
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otterponds
8:14AM Feb 20th 2008
One good thing about our country, you do not have to be a legilator, senator, congressman or and governmant official to run for the office of president. The only thing you need is to be a U.S. citizen in good standing and the backing of the people, thats what makes our country great. Ken Church
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John Wicker
8:14AM Feb 20th 2008
IT'S VERY SCARY TO THINK THAT WE WOULD BE SO STUPID AS TO ELECT OBAMA AS PRESIDENT WITH ONLY ONE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE AS A SENATOR! WOULD YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE HAVING A DOCTOR JUST OUT OF MEDICAL SCKOOL PERFORM A CRITICAL HEART OPERATION ON YOUR CHILD? WAKE UP PEOPLE, WE ARE NOT ELECTING A ROCK STAR........GOD HELP US!
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Michelle
8:23AM Feb 20th 2008
are you kidding me??????? The media has been so far up Obama's ass they can't see straight. Those of you who say the media has been unfair to Obama get a grip, open your eyes for crying out loud.
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Davidg
8:35AM Feb 20th 2008
Media afraid of Obama?
I'm waiting to see the photoshopped halos over Obama's head. Hell, you may as well go for it media guys, you have all but annointed him.
Chris Matthews is just trying to get an ounce of credibility back after having an "Obasm" on the air every time he sees Barack Obama.
I agree with Michelle, the media has been up Obama's you know what so far, come out and declared that they smelled roses. I have never seen anything like it, you think you have seen it all, and something like this comes around.
The media is either just so liberalelite that they cannot control themselves or they are setting Obama up for the fall of the century.
I guess we will have to wait and see.
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Henry Hilger
8:54AM Feb 20th 2008
Listening to CNN occasionally, I had the pleasure to listen to a Lady who stated that she was digusted with the Clintons and wants Hillary Clinton banned from the political scene. Her advise was excellent, vote for Obama now and give him the delegates, and in November during the National Election vote for McCain. What a great thought, and please remember, he almost gave his all for this great country, and you can bet he will do it again as the President of the United States of America.
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Greg
9:04AM Feb 20th 2008
The "HOPE" being sold by Obama and his true believers is misplaced. Obama can't deliver; he can't save, he can't improve individual circumstances by redistributing wealth and talking to America's dictatotial enemies. He is selling SNAKE OIL.
What we see in Obama is a man with great rhetorical skills, who is untested in battle. Many are projecting hopes on him because he makes them feel good. What commander would put a low-ranking officer in charge of all troops during wartime? We are close to making Obama our commander in chief with no hint of how he might perform, other than to withdraw troops from Iraq.
A President Obama might be worth the risk in peacetime, but with a crafty enemies seeking to destroy us, can we afford to make what might be a fatal mistake by electing someone upon too many of us gave projected, ungrounded hope?
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suzanne
9:09AM Feb 20th 2008
Senator Clinton has every right to seat the Florida & Michigan delegates. She should go as far as she is able to go!!! She needs to keep fighting, just because OLD MEN like yourself keep trying to make people believe Obama has already won in these stupid political polls they mean nothing, we still vote. Senator Clinton clearly won in these states, if the shoe were on the other foot I know Barack Obama would DEMAND & get that chance or we would have RIOTS in our streets!
Oh my God, the riots in the streets and the cry of cheating & foul would be on every AOL, & ABC headline! The Jesses Jackson's (I have no job) & Al Sharpton's (I don't have a job either) would hurt themselves to see who could get to a microphone first.
I voted in Florida and my VOTE doesn't count?
I am very proud of the country I live in, I guess Michelle Obama will only be proud of this country if her husband a black man "only" is elected? Is that how it works? Maybe this is the first time she has voted? Other then that she has nothing to be proud of? Michelle Obama said for the "FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE" she is proud of this country? Wow! That is quite a statement to make from (possibly the next Presidents wife). Do we really want someone so down in pride on the United States Of America representing the USA? What kind of first lady will she make? Will she be little this great country? Yes, with all it's faults it is still a great and proud country! I feel she has be littled this country with that statement but that is her right. That's why I live here.
Maybe Michelle Obama (maybe the next Presidents wife)should find another country where she can feel pride living in?
Keep fighting Senator Clinton we need your kind of pride in the United States Of America!
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sweetemm
8:22PM Feb 23rd 2008
for the first time in my 70 years.... I will not be voting.....and I will not vote for a republican nor a inexperienced senator that has no knowledge and has never been heard of concerning the united states prior to this election..pathetic
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corkybrell
9:31AM Feb 20th 2008
My comment is about michelle Obama. I am a Black,senior citizen with a masters in political scienceand I was an adult when segregation ended. I have always been proud of some of the people in the United States,but this is the first time as an adult that I have seen the people from the north,south,east and west stand together as one and not practice racismor sexism.Yes Ms MCain has always been proud she has never been considered as less than human.
Nanna
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harry
9:36AM Feb 20th 2008
Refer to- John Wicker8:14AM Feb 20th 2008
(IT'S VERY SCARY TO THINK THAT WE WOULD BE SO STUPID AS TO ELECT OBAMA AS PRESIDENT WITH ONLY ONE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE AS A SENATOR! WOULD YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE HAVING A DOCTOR JUST OUT OF MEDICAL SCKOOL PERFORM A CRITICAL HEART OPERATION ON YOUR CHILD? WAKE UP PEOPLE, WE ARE NOT ELECTING A ROCK STAR........GOD HELP US!) http://www.politicsdaily.com/2008/02/20/obamomentum-w-tuesday-postgame-analysis/
Refer to- Henry Hilger8:54AM Feb 20th 2008 (vote for Obama now and give him the delegates, and in November during the National Election vote for McCain.) It is possible.
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for the love of our country
9:40AM Feb 20th 2008
Obama's speech (October, 2002):
Good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that although this has been billed as an anti-war rally, I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances.
The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union, and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil. I don't oppose all wars.
My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton's army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain.
I don't oppose all wars.
After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this Administration's pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
I don't oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.
That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.
Now let me be clear - I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.
He's a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.
But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.
I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.
I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.
So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the president today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.
You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work, and that we vigorously enforce a non-proliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe.
You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells.
You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn't simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil.
Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance. Corruption and greed. Poverty and despair.
The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not - we will not - travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain.
Let's turn the page,
VOTE OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!
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for the love of our country
9:47AM Feb 20th 2008
Obama's speech (October, 2002):
Good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that although this has been billed as an anti-war rally, I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances.
The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union, and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil. I don't oppose all wars.
My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton's army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain.
I don't oppose all wars.
After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this Administration's pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
I don't oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.
That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.
Now let me be clear - I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.
He's a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.
But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.
I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.
I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.
So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the president today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.
You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work, and that we vigorously enforce a non-proliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe.
You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells.
You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn't simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil.
Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance. Corruption and greed. Poverty and despair.
The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not - we will not - travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain.
Let's turn the page,
VOTE OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!
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harry
10:37AM Feb 20th 2008
Refer to- for the love of our country9:40AMFeb 20th 2008 Obama's speech (October, 2002) http://www.politicsdaily.com/2008/02/20/obamomentum-w-tuesday-postgame-analysis/1#c10562777 It was a very persuasive speech.. Remember Obama was elected as US Senator in 2004. I voted for Bush in 2000. Because of the war and ….., I voted for Kerry in 2004. (But Bush was re-elected.) I have to do more homework before I vote for a candidate. You too!!
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Katherine
11:11AM Feb 20th 2008
Obama is a racist and an anti-semite. Please look at this. I'm furious!
youtube---Keywords: "the shocking video Barack Obama does not want you to see!"
First Oprah introduces Obama as "he is the one". Now late last night, while thanking and addressing voters in Texas he proclaims to be " a vessel". what's going on here.
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ROGER
4:25PM Feb 20th 2008
SWITCHING SCREEN NAMES TO POST THE SAME STUFF STILL DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE!!!!
BARACK OBAMA and HIS CHURCH Trinity United Church of Christ is the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ. It is part of a liberal denomination that was the first to ordain an African American, a woman, and a gay man. Congregants have described it in the New York Times as a "warm and accepting community," and while it is a predominantly African American congregation, people of all backgrounds are enthusiastically welcomed.
Send a message that you care about the truth and that you're ready for change. Share Barack's story with your friends, family, and neighbors today.
Use the form to the right to push back against the petty and divisive methods of our opponents and share the truth about Barack Obama.
You can even use our email contact importer to make it easier. Don't worry -- we don't hold on to any of the email addresses you share.
IF YOU RECEIVE A SMEAR EMAIL
1. Forward the message to watchdog@barackobama.com 2. Reply All to the message and click here for text you can copy and paste in your response.
WATCH THIS VIDEO Jane Fisler Hoffman is a member of Barack's church:
Here is the link for this video if you'd like to share it:
Nevermind the fact that Obama is inexperienced, nevermind the fact that he has no ideas of his own, he will be elected for one reason only.
The blacks will cause major riots all over America, look at his supporters now, they are nasty and they will continue to be nasty and the majority of them are black.
Rodney King and OJ Simpson all over again.
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suzanne
6:20PM Feb 20th 2008
Senator Clinton has NO right to seat the Florida & Michigan delegates. She should go!! leave !!! quit!! stop with this!!!She knew the rules, she should have taken it up with the locals in Florida and the DNC. She was fine when she thought that SHE would WIN!She needs to quit fighting.
Senator Clinton won in these state because Barack Obama and John Edwards did what they said...THEY DID NOT CAMPAIGN!!!! THEY DID NOT HAVE RESOURCES ON THE Ground lIKE HER SHE WAS THE ONLY ON TO SEND DIRECT HELP TO FLORIDA AGAINST THE RULES!.
I voted in Florida and I made my told the locals do not move up the date I wanted to be part of the process,but yet the locals which will leave if I have anything to say about it should have left the date alone!!!
OBAMA 08!!
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suzanne
5:40PM Feb 20th 2008
WHY DOES HILLARY HAVE TO USE A 527???? SO MUCH FOR HER EXPERIENCE!!!! THIS IS A NEW DAY!! YES WE CAN!!!