I have not been a fan of the Huffington Post during this election cycle. The Huffington Post, along with DailyKos and DU, lead the charge in the online attack against Clinton, at least perceptually.
Since the end of the primaries, when the real numbers are coming in and critical votes came up, and Obama did not perform as these entities would have liked, they started to get a bit more critical of Obama… thus the advent of articles like the following…
One thing that can be said about Hillary Clinton’s backers is that the word quit is not in their vocabulary. Their thinly disguised end around at the Democratic presidential nomination shouldn’t really surprise. The end around is the soft soap announcement that they’ll keep her name in play as a Democratic presidential candidate at the convention. There are several reasons why there’s no quit in Hillary’s folks. They make up a big percentage of the Party, and they still fervently believe that she’s the best, maybe only, Democrat who can beat McCain.
Their passion is driven by an odd, troubling and invigorating, commitment mix of dedication, gender support and racial fears. It’s also driven by the growing unease that the steam is leaking out of Obama’s turbine. Despite seven weeks of non stop media fawning over and adulation of him, Obama still can’t give McCain the shakes in the polls. Worse, McCain seems to have gotten better. He’s sharpened his message, his attacks and confidence.
SNIP
The hard numbers and demographics certainly are good reason for terror over an Obama loss. His caucus and primary wins in the red states and the handful of endorsements he got from the Democratic governors and senators in those states hardly spell a breakthrough for the Democrats in the head to head match with McCain. Obama swept to primary or caucus wins in Idaho, North Dakota, Kansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and Nebraska. Bush won these states handily in 2000 and 2004. But that’s only the start of the problem. Republicans outnumber Democrats in Idaho and Utah by a crushing margin of a three to one, and in other states by margins of two to one and half.
The red states that Obama won in the Democratic primaries have been the guaranteed pathway for Republican presidents Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. to win and stay in the White House. Their 170 to 200 electoral votes are virtually in the GOP’s coffers before the first vote is cast on Election Day. The states are so bankable and reliable for the GOP that it’s the rarest of rare sighting to see a GOP presidential candidate even bother to make anything more than a token appearance in these states in the stretch run of the campaign.
Read the rest… except for a detail or two (ie the injection of race… they just can’t leave it alone, can they?) it is a really good article.
Filed under: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain Tagged: | 2008 Convention News, Barack Obama, Campaign, democrat, GOP, Hillary, Hillary Clinton, Huffington, HuffPo, John McCain, McCain, Nomination, Obama, Poll, Post, Quit, Red States, Republican
