Observation 1: The larger crowd Obama draws into his speeches, the greater votes he loses.

Since the beginning of the Democratic nomination process, the Jr. Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, has run against Former Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards, Senator Hillary Clinton, Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Joe Biden, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Mike Gravel, and US House Representative Dennis Kucinich.

Senator Barack Obama’s efforts have encouraged all but Senator Hillary Clinton to exit the nomination process. In addition, the Senator has been and continues to deal with the reality of having a former president (whom some consider popular), a former first daughter, GOP strategist, FOX News and well-known conservative talk show host (and far too many surrogates to count) campaign against him.

In spite of the mammoth opposition, as of today, April 23, 2008, Senator Barack Obama has:

WON MORE STATES;
MORE DELEGATES;
MORE POPULAR VOTES;
REGISTERED MORE YOUNG PEOPLE AND BLACKS TO VOTE;
AND RAISED MORE MONEY.

I am an Independent - Hillary Clinton will NEVER get my vote.

I totally agree with tooth.

The more ads Obama has, the more money he loses.

Obama draw big crowd into his speeches, doesn't mean those people will vote for him; that just means some people are curious what he says. I sometimes listen to his speeches, and just laugh at him after I listen, I know more and more how jerky he is.

Hillary Clinton has won more popular votes and has won far more electoral votes.

FRedStates

Expecting Obama to beat Hillary in Pennsylvania is like expecting her to beat him in NC. Will never happen. If she is such a strong candidate, why can't she win in NC? She has her base and he has his. Unfortunately for her, his base is slightly bigger. That's why he will win the nomination. If her base choose to stay home during the general, the the Dems lose. Simple as that.

I agree I do feel some people come out just to see who Obama is and that does not mean it will translate into a vote, so large crowds don't mean much in this game.

Some will come out listen then say nope, not for me, so it a two edged sword and no
one should beat their chest and say wow that crowd was huge, so he is going to win .

The US deserves Hillary Clinton for their President. I'm serious. We hate the facts. We hate the truth. We love to be part of the mob and beat down on those damn free thinkers. We are a nation of bullies who love to pile on the new guy and then laugh about it later while convincing ourselves that they deserved it. We'd prefer to be told what to do and what to think than decide for ourselves. Even when we are shown the lie, we will still accept it. We are her people. Obama thinks too highly of us.

Is there any doubt AT ALL in anyone's mind that Hillary and/or Bill Clinton will lie at any opportunity if they believe it will serve them better than the truth? Be it over sexual relations with 'that' woman. I supported NAFTA while I was against it, or was it that she was against NAFTA while she supported it? Bringing peace to Northern Ireland and Bosnia. Sniper fire. Taxes. White House experience, 3 a.m. calls. I heard the recording of Bill Clinton saying that the Obama Campaign played the race card, and hours later he denied saying it at all. That has been a running theme in this campaign. Lay out an accusation to the press of active wrongdoing on the part of the Obama campaign, no proof, mind you, only an accusation and then pretend you said no such thing when confronted with the fact that the accusation is unfounded.

The press is complicit. the bigger the whopper, the more coverage it will get. Was the Rev. Wright thing, or the bitter comments, really that much of a story or did they become the big story because everyone felt a need to tear down the new guy. The fact the Hillary Clinton lied, or misspoke about her trip to Bosnia did not get half the coverage of Wright. The fact that she said quite clearly that she would commit US troops to any Mid-East conflict and directly threatened Iran (who according to the NIE has no viable nuke program, the NIE was right about Iraq, I see no reason to doubt them here). No press, no massive outcry of war hawkishness, foreign policy naiveté, no pre-emptive rush to war, again.

Hillary Clinton has lied to us, hidden things from us, misled us on her policies and positions. Has all but ceased presenting the merits of her case to be the President in favor of attacking her opponent to make you vote against him rather than for her. She knows what we are; scared monkeys that wait for the crack of the whip to know which way to jump instead of selecting a path for ourselves that will lead away from that torture all together.

Hillary Clinton says she is only doing what the Republicans were going to do against Obama anyway. If that is the case, what makes her different from any other Republican? what makes her different from George Bush for that matter? Her plans for social security is the same as his, form a committee and wait. Attacking Iran is on her agenda, the same as his. She will listen to the Generals on the ground in Iraq to decide what to do, just as he does. She has made impossible promises during the campaign that the office of the President cannot deliver on. When they evaporate and she is branded a liar, she will say she only misspoke, or that it is 'their' fault, or she will simply gloss over it and present a new shiny thing to get our attention. HRC is the secret Republican candidate. Obama is the only candidate left in the race that does not have a Republican agenda and does not use republican tactics. Pointing and blaming to win at politics has been successful for a long time.

I'll say it again. We are a nation of bullies and thugs. We will follow the person who is picking on the other guy, because we don't want them picking on us. As a mob we will accept lies for truth if we hear it loud and long enough, even when the facts are held up to us brightly.

Here are some examples of some truths that people don't care about and find it more acceptable to believe the lie:

Obama is and has not been a Muslim, in faith or practice. - There has never been anything other than innuendo to suggest otherwise. He was not sworn in on the Koran.

Obama loves America. - Not just because he says it, but because for over 20 years he has worked avidly on the behalf of his fellow citizens. If you believe that the end all be all of patriotism is encompassed by a lapel pin, that is exactly what the rising socialist party in Germany believed in the 30's when they required their members to wear their pins to prove loyalty.

Obama is not an elitist. - He grew up with divorced parents without any great wealth. Went to school on scholarship and student loans. Did not have significant financial success until after publishing a book. Still the least wealthy candidate in the race. That said being elite is a good thing, he is well educated, articulate, and intelligent, with high levels of compassion and empathy and has a highly organized and tactical mind. We should want someone who is the best of the best, or elite, to be the President. Of the three remaining candidates, I would say that Obama has the most and most recent experience actually working on the front lines for the people in this country.

Not everyone Obama ever knew or met tells him what to think, or will somehow have influence over him as President. - We all know people that we have significant differences with, some we work with, some we associate with, some we know in passing. Rarely could any of them dictate to us what we think and believe. Certainly even fewer than that would be able to tell us how we do our jobs. No other candidate is being held to that standard.

Obama has not been vetted - Please find me another candidate that has had his patriotism questioned so openly and baldly. Show me another candidate who has had investigations into his life and his writings played across the press going back to his days in kindergarten. Find me another candidate that had so little to be found in his own life to attack that the Republican opposition, including Hillary Clinton has had to resort to not only making things up out of whole cloth but also attacking anyone he knew for longer than 10 minutes for something they may have said or done, sometimes prior to ever having met the candidate.

The Republicans and HRC are counting on people to not think. To be afraid, to not trust what is different. To listen more to a 30 second commercial that not so subtly and completely falsely tries to connect her opponent to a terrorist. Obama thinks that you are better than that, that you will read the positions and policies and make a decision on what is best for the country.

I know better. HRC and the Republicans want to incite a lynch mob and are doing a good job with it. Like that lynch mob you will surely feel guilty tomorrow, maybe even a little ashamed for being so easily led, but you are marching along today, chest puffed out and holding your heads high.

If you believe the polls, over half the registered democrats believe her to be untrustworthy, nearly 60% in the last poll. A blip on the news, Obama's bowling score got more coverage. yet she continues to be competitive. Why? Because Americans know they can trust a lying politician to lie and can accept that but a truthful politician cannot be withstood. Someone who calls us to be our better selves must be defeated, because to be our better selves would force us to face that we have been less than we should have been, and we can't have that.

Hillary Clinton has been clear that she is willing to win at any cost. While we may want to admire that sentiment, take a moment to think about it. She is willing to sacrifice anything and everything to win. The reason this sounds familiar is because it is the same philosophy the current administration has of its agenda.

You'll probably win HRC. You will do whatever is necessary to do so, and your opponent will continue to appeal to our better angles in the false belief that they are there to hear him. Americans do not want the audacity of hope. They do not want responsibility, they do not want truth. It is easier to mumble "No we can't" than the other thing. We crave the juicy gossip, the innuendo, and the boldest of lies, the cheap shot, it is just more entertaining. Hillary likes to keep us beating up on the new guy, because she feels she has already gotten her lumps. In the face of not having anything to beat him up on, she can make stuff up, we don't care. we just prefer to beat someone down than lift, even ourselves, up.

Obama, America doesn't want hope. They want grist for the mill. Call Hillary Clinton the alternate Republican candidate. Tell them if it walks, talks and campaigns like a Republican...Flat our call her a racist for associating with racists. Say she is an elitist of the first order that hasn't done an honest day's hard work in her adult life. Call her a warmonger who does not truly regret or apologize for her vote to go to war and eagerly awaits the chance to bomb Iran. That she has pimped her daughter and ridden the coattails of her philandering husband to win an election. Call her a liar to her face at the next debate.

By going so negative, the press will brand you a liar on you mission of change, THEN American will trust you.

FL and MI will have to count eventually do you really feel the DNC wants to go into the GE without those FL, MI voters I don't think so that will be madness to the highest order.

SJ

FL & MI not counting doesn't seem to be affecting the DEMS in those states. Both OB and HRC are ahead of McCain in MI, and FL, for your information, is no longer a swing state. I live in Florida. Dems will need Jesus Christ running on their ticket to win this state. So who gives a #### about FL? FL has an extremely popular Republican governor and the oldest population in the country. It turns redder with each passing day.

Just got back from Hillary's rally here in Indy. I have seen her several times. I have actually seen the whole family & Wesley Clark. There is definantly a lot more support here for Hillary than people are giving her credit for. She is on a roll and the people are loving every minute of it! I do believe that if she is the nominee that McCain will win. This is a republican state & a lot of people in the primary are voting for Hillary because they say they do not want to take the chance that if McCain would lose they would end up with Obama!

Hillary 08!!!

Oops, i got a little fast with the fingers. I believe if she is not the nominee McCain will beat Obama!

Kathy, a small fact that seems to escape a lot of Obama supporters.

Hillary Clinton leads in the popular vote - I know that you Kool–aid drinkers don’t like to count Florida and Michigan - maybe you all had the same Marxist professors Obama sought out in college - but in America we count all the votes - trust me - the Democratic party will not do the same thing to Hillary Clinton that was done to Al Gore 8 years ago. Superdelegates will not overturn the will of the people - it’s just that simple - and I know you will whine and complain that they didn’t campaign in FL or that Obama ‘s name was not on the ballot in MI and that those votes should not count. But the truth is Obama did campaign in FL, running TV for 10 days prior to the election - and he took his name off for the ballot in MI by his own accord - a political calculation that will come back to haunt him.

Facts can be terrible things but they are what they are - and after 2.5 million people vote in Puerto Rico her popular vote lead will be insurmountable and undeniable. I could go on but I see by the clock on the wall it's time for your next dose of Kool-Aid.

Honestly, at this point to beat the so called "Republican machine" both Obama and Clinton need to work together on a ticket to accomplish any type of goal. Clinton working with "Fix News" won't work and Obama getting caught up in her mess will not work either. I am a proud democrat, but if we don't work together, there is a very good possiblity old man McCain will carry out four more years of George W. Bush.....or maybe that's what people in this country really wanted in the first place!

Why does Hillary count votes that she said could not be counted?

Last year, Hillary said that Florida and Michigan votes CAN NOT count unless they meet the DNC rules. There is video of Hillary saying this.

Hillary even signed her name agreeing to play by those rules.

Sorry Hillary, if you want to be in charge of the Constitution, you need to win by the rules you agreed to.

Tooth,
That's an excellent observation. Obama was drawing huge crowds down in Texas, and those folks could see right through his arrogance.

I think the exception to that rule may be on college campuses. Hillary hasn't been effective in getting the message out through the colleges. Unfortunately, Chelsea cannot do the heavy lifting here, and Hillary's style, nor Bill's style fits well. Maya Angelou would be dynamite on the campus rounds, partnering with Chelsea. I know Maya Angelou's done some of that. She can really speak to the heart of the matter and gets people moved.
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Obama, flicking his shirt sleeve and the finger!
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Once again, this has become something that will continue to mess us up....I'm black and voted for Obama, but if Hillary gets the nomination, I will vote for her. If your white and you vote for Hillary, your not racist, your VOTING! How did democrats become so far out of touch with reality. When will we figure out that in order to accomplish what we all need, unity is the only way.

Dogsoldier,
Hillary stomped on Obama the wimp last night, and more to come. High five dude! Keep up the good work!
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Hillary, standing up for ALL voters!
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WCM - I got transfered to the oil sands plants here in Norther Alberta. That's why I've been absent from the blogs lately. Big night! Obama can't buy the election. Nor can Obama win Regan democrats, the key to victory in the general!

Even the rightwing conspirators would rather have Clinton as President than Obama. That is patriotism. The same way reason many Clinton supporters would rather have McCain as President than Obama.

Kevin - To be completely honest with you why and how individuals cast their votes for any individual is still somewhat of a mystery to everyone. None of us know the magic words or phrases or local politics in any one area well enough to make informed judgments. Each of our home areas vote all over the place on any given issue. Why this one and not the other? Your guess is as good as mine.