Still Trailing, Clinton Challenges Obama Over Ability to Beat McCain
Wednesday: Hillary Rodham Clinton waves to media members on her campaign plane during a flight to a rally in Indianapolis. (AP Photo)
Hillary Clinton’s big win in the Pennsylvania primary yielded only slight gains in the pledged delegate count, putting pressure on the New York senator to pull off a streak of similar victories in the nine contests ahead.
But Clinton is using the victory to build her case that she’s the better Democrat to face presumptive GOP nominee John McCain in November. Her campaign was re-energized as the candidates tour Indiana Wednesday, brushing off the still daunting task that lies ahead.
Clinton raised $3.5 million in the initial hours after her victory, and the campaign said it was on track to raise $10 million online in the 24 hours since winning Pennsylvania — which the campaign claimed was her best one-day haul.
“At the end of the day, people have to decide who they think would be not only the best president, which is the most important question, but who would be the better candidate against Senator McCain. And I think the coalition that I’ve put together, as demonstrated once again last night, is a very strong base for us to beat Senator McCain,” Clinton told NBC’s “Today.”
Not so, said Obama.
“It’s important to put this in perspective,” he told reporters after a town hall meeting in New Albany, Ind., Wednesday. “What we did do in Pennsylvania is create an organization, make voters familiar with me, close the gap significantly, which creates an organization for us in November in a general election. It’s a strong base to build on … We’re very confident about where we’re going to be once we’re the nominee.”
Clinton won at least 81 of the 158 delegates up for grabs in Tuesday’s contest, according to an analysis of election returns by The Associated Press. Obama won at least 70, with seven still to be determined. That closed some of the distance for Clinton, but not enough to take away Obama’s front-runner status. She still trails Obama in the delegate count 1,591 to 1,719 — the eventual nominee needs 2,025 delegates to win. Clinton had been down 1,509 to 1,648 before the night’s delegate tally.
Her electability argument is based on the success she’s had in big states. Clinton has won states, including New York and California, with 240 electoral votes compared to 202 electoral votes in states that Obama has won. She has used that statistic to argue that she will be a better candidate in the general election. Her campaign also issued a statement that she has won more of the popular vote than Obama although that count included Michigan, where he wasn’t on the ballot, and Florida, where neither campaigned.
“I’m very proud that as of today, I have received more votes by the people who have voted than anybody else,” Clinton said Wednesday at a rally in Indianapolis.
Indiana and North Carolina are the next states to vote on May 6.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said any Democrat can win California and New York, but Obama is doing better than Clinton in states where polls have been taken on hypothetical head-to-head match-ups with McCain. Plouffe named Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin as strong Obama performance states. Obama hasn’t won a major state since Wisconsin on Feb. 22.
Plouffe added that by Clinton’s own definition, she must win North Carolina, with 115 delegates, by a healthy margin in order to be consistent in her claim that she can win big states. Polls show Obama well ahead in that state.
“We don’t think performance in primaries is the most important measure in how you’re doing against McCain right now, but we’ve performed well in a lot of those states in the primaries,” Plouffe said. “It’s a flawed exercise to somehow suggest that performance in primaries is the leading indicator in what’s gonna happen in the general.”
He also shot down some of Clinton’s argument that Obama can’t win households with income under $50,000 and voters under 60 . Plouffe pointed out that Obama won voters under 60 in 19 states to Clinton’s nine, and won 14 states to Clinton’s 15 states with voters making less than $50,000.
Obama hinted Wednesday that he feels he’s already earned the nomination.
Asked about superdelegates at his town hall meeting Obama said: “I have to admit I have a little self interest in here — but I do think that these elections that we’ve been doing should be counted for something. And so if we’ve won the most delegates from the voters, seems to me that it might be a good idea to make me the nominee.”
Clinton still leads Obama in superdelegates by 25. Hot off her victory, Clinton on Wednesday picked up a new superdelegate, Tennessee Rep. John Tanner. For either candidate to win, they will have to rely on the remaining 300-plus unpledged party leaders who serve as superdelegates.
“There’s no chance she’s gonna catch him in terms of pledged delegates,” National Public Radio national correspondent Juan Williams told FOX News, adding that if she can make a convincing argument that she can win the big states, then she has a chance to catch up through superdelegates.
“Short of that she’s really inviting civil war inside the Democratic Party. That’s literally the nuclear option,” he said.
FOX News’ Bonney Kapp contributed to this report.
CONGRATULATIONS HILLARY YES YOU DID!
Argue over Electability??? - Senator Clinton is the best candidate - and the superdelegates will soon see this fact. She won BIG in PA, will do well in the remaining states, COUNT FL & MI - and she wins the popular vote. Even with 6 weeks of campaigning, 12 Million $$$$$$, OBama just cannot seem to knock her out!
I agree with Kaci - we did not know about OBama’s radical associates and poor judgment until recently - I am sure many of the first vote states would like to “Change” their votes now.
I would have to agree with Kaci on one count, that Obama won states BEFORE his dirty laundry was aired. Had people known what a racist Obama really is, I don’t think that they would have voted for him. I think instead they would have voted for Hillary. Obama is the one who is dividing the party. Hillary is trying to unite country again, if given the chance. I too, believe that when it comes down to it, Obama would be easier for the conservatives to defeat, so it is up to the Democrats to back Hillary. She clearly has the most experience and quite frankly I think that she would do a better job in office than Obama. We certainly all know that the US is in dire need of change (Of parties in the White House) and Hillary is our Woman. GO HILLARY!!!!!!!!
It is interesting to me how the topic has changed in one day to “why can’t Obama ’seal the deal?’” I think the question that has been, and is still the one to answer is “how did Hillary go from first to second-best in less than one year?” In my humble opinion, the heated democratic primary does not highlight a unified, expanding Democratic party, but only emphasizes the country’s disdain towards returning another Clinton White House. Democrats are even divided, which has led to millions upon millions of voters supporting Barak. By all measures, Hillary was the presumed, nominated candidate a year ago - until democrats realized both conservatives and moderates do not trust nor will vote for Ms. Clinton. Now she can only hope to somehow persuade superdelegate, the “elite” of the party whom she has recently alienated in her own “bitter” way.
Obama’s laundry what about Clinton’s, she has enough skeltons in her closet to fill a whole cemetary.
Commonwealth of PA is reporting this afternoon that Clinton won by 9.2% NOT the double-digits that the media and the Clinton campaign are reporting. Since the phrase “double-digit win” seemed critical to her further continuation in the race, it seems the 9.2% spread would now be a bit news-worthy.
By comparison, how much money did Obama get after the election? He was given another $100 by me and many others. So, lets see “the other side of the coin”.
She is in her own fairy tail. she can not win, never she is only diminishing the democratic party, Bill and Hillary they both will be remain as ghost of democratic party, she will may lose New York seat too. Better for her to take care of herself and look for the future, and she need to stop fooling herself and need to stop playing with emotion of the people.
she is the most evil lady on the planet earth.
That might be so but the gallup polling says he is still favorite for nomination, so actually whether his dirty laundry is out there are not….MOST democratic voters want him to be the nominee.
I guess we should change Clinton’s Campaign Bus from SOLUTIONS EXPRESS to DOUBLE SPEAK EXPRESS. The Clinton’s sold the rights of workers & the Unions in America for $800,000 in 2005 to Columbia. Bush sells America to the Chinese for $12b each month to fight Cheyenne’s /Halliburton’s war in Iraq and Mark Penn tried to continue Clinton’s plan in Colombia for 2009 until they got exposed. Double speak is all I can say. America is not for sale. No Vote for Bill/Hillary in 2008/2009. Enough is enough.
Regardless who the Democrats nominate, we will see this in November: All Red States in Bush’s camp in ‘04 will be Red again. Several of the more populated states that gave their Electoral vote to Kerry, will go Red. It will be an electoral vote landslide for Mccain.