Appalachian Primaries Give Clinton a Buffer, as Obama Predicts Oregon Knockout
Hillary Clinton applauds as she prepares to address the Kentucky Democratic Party in Louisville, Ky. Friday. (AP Photo)
If you just looked at polls in Kentucky and West Virginia, you’d probably think Hillary Clinton was a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination.
Polls show her leading by double digits in both states, and she is hitting the campaign trail hard in Appalachia as a fighter for “hard-working middle-class Americans.” The latest American Research Group poll has her up by 43 percentage points in West Virginia, which votes Tuesday.
Too bad for her, those states fall late in the primary calendar and Barack Obama is publicly predicting the Oregon contest May 20 as the end of the road.
“We are ready to turn the page on American history. And we are going to bring this election to a close right here in Oregon if all of you join us,” Obama told the crowd gathered at the University of Oregon in Eugene Friday night.
Obama has practically conceded West Virginia and Kentucky already and is moving on, girding for a general election battle against John McCain.
His potential Republican opponent is “running for a third George Bush term,” Obama said Friday, an attack he hopes will resonate in November should he clear Clinton out of his way.
Polls show Obama well ahead in Oregon, and that’s the state where the campaign expects to take the majority of pledged delegates.
But Clinton’s expected wins in Kentucky and West Virginia will at least give a boost to her flailing candidacy, and the friendly territory is allowing her to prop herself up in the closing days of the campaign. If Obama wins in Oregon and declares victory overall, it’ll be a bumpy road to get there. In Appalachia, Clinton is highlighting Obama’s continuing trouble attracting white, working-class voters, and touting what she sees as her ability to carry the Democrats to victory in November.
“One thing you know about me is, I’m no shrinking violet,” she told voters in Louisville, Ky., Friday, taking a shot at Obama for not campaigning in the state, which also votes May 20.
For Clinton, the delegate math is no longer the issue she focuses on publicly. Obama picked up nine superdelegates against Clinton on Friday and is fewer than 170 total delegates away from the 2,025 needed to clinch the nomination.
Clinton, rather, is trying to shift attention to a different number — 270, the number of electoral votes needed to win the general election. She stresses that Democrats need working-class states like Kentucky, where she seems to have far more support than Obama.
“The only way we can have a Democrat in that White House come next January is to win in November,” she said Friday. “And we cannot win unless we can win 270 electoral votes. Look at the map, figure out where we’re going to get those votes, and which candidate is more likely to be able to win those votes in November against John McCain.”
Clinton heads to New York City on Saturday for a fundraiser, while Obama continues campaigning in Oregon.
Laying off Clinton, Obama went after McCain Friday for supporting a proposed summer suspension of the federal gas tax in Eugene, Ore., and warned of the tricks Republicans will play in the fall.
“It appears the Republicans are intent on making this campaign about me — about whether I wear a flag pin or … the offensive remarks of a former pastor. That’s what they want to make this campaign about,” he said.
Oregon Rep. Pete DeFazio, who endorsed Obama Friday, added: “Some are tempted by the false promise of John McCain, what he calls the Straight Talk Express. But let’s call it what it is. It is not the Straight Talk Express. It is the Trojan Horse Express. It’s the same old Bush-Cheney politics but even more reckless on public policy even more reckless on foreign affairs.”
FOX News’ Aaron Bruns and Shushannah Walshe contributed to this report.
The racism that older Appalachian whites feel is reflected across the nation in the hearts and minds of old white people. This is repulsive to many people. I used to spend a lot of time in Tennessee, West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky. I knew some fantastic people who were really progressive on a lot of issues, especially when it came to economics and social programs. But they were racist. That was always a tough contradiction to deal with. Great on some issues and potentially loyal Democrats. Except for their commitment to white supremacy. These are the people Obama can’t win over.
I support Obama, but I think he should atleast lower Clintons lead in Kentucky and West Virginia to show whos the boss
in reality. Though what she says is not so different from him, she’s just saying what
she thinks people want to hear. Obama means business, I think, and that would leave her
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