Barack Obama’s campaign issued an e-mail on Tuesday night that appeared to relegate Hillary Clinton’s lead in Indiana to efforts by Rush Limbaugh to wreak havoc in the Democratic presidential primary contest.

In an e-mail entitled “The Limbaugh Effect in Indiana = 7 percent,” Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton wrote: “According to the latest exit polling data, 17 percent of voters in the Indiana primary today said they would vote for John McCain in a Clinton/McCain match-up. Forty-one percent of that number is constituted by people who voted Clinton in the primary but also indicated they will vote for McCain in the general election. That comes out to just under 7 percent of the primary electorate the number that may be attributed to a Limbaugh Effect.”

“The Limbaugh Effect” referred to “Operation Chaos,” which the conservative radio talk show host launched early in the primary season to create “balance” in the 2008 primary contest after he said liberal influences helped John McCain emerge as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Limbaugh has said his scheme to tilt the Democratic primary exceeded his expectations.

“I see the Obama campaign is saying Operation Chaos accounted for a 7-point bump for Hillary in Indiana. I think they are just jealous that I out-organized them,” Limbaugh told FOX News Tuesday night. “I am extremely proud of Operation Chaos volunteers. I never doubted they would triumph and it is a delight to see.”

Clinton was leading in Indiana by 4 percentage points with a few counties outstanding. Speaking from North Carolina Tuesday night, Obama credited Clinton for “what appears to be her victory in the state of Indiana.”

The impact of “Operation Chaos” is difficult to measure. Indiana holds an open primary, and according to FOX News exit polls, 11 percent of voters in the Democratic contest were Republicans. Fifty-three percent of them said they chose Clinton, while 47 percent voted for Obama.

Twenty-three percent of Indiana voters called themselves independents or non-affiliated, and 47 percent said they supported Clinton compared to 53 percent for Obama. Democrats made up 66 percent of voters, and 53 percent voted for Clinton compared to 47 percent for Obama, the exit poll respondents said.

The exit polls showed that in a hypothetical Clinton-McCain matchup, 73 percent of those who voted in the Democratic race said they’d vote for Clinton, compared to 69 percent who said they would choose Obama if he is McCain’s opponent.

However, of the 19 percent of voters who said they would choose McCain against Obama if that were the general election matchup, only 12 percent voted for Obama in the primary.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 11:24 pm and is filed under Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Indiana. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.