Both Clinton and Obama gave good speeches, Clinton surprisingly so. Obama started off slowly, and never reached the rhetorical highs of the Iowa speech. But he got better as the speech progressed and made a very important point that it was “never OK” to equivocate on torture. Good for you, Barack. His pitch is clearly based on the idea that his movement transcends politics, and that it is a movement based on hope, based on communal effort, based on unity, based on tackling all the key problems from terrorism to global warming. This is what attracts people to his campaign.
For her part, Clinton seemed more self-confident that usual, buoyed no doubt by her critical victories in the northeast. But what do people see in her, I kept asking? My rhetorical question was at least partially answered and when she faced the audience and said squarely that she would never be swiftboated. She claims she is best qualified to face down the inevitable Republican attack behemoth. But that is just playing the old game. When the inevitable “liberal” attack ads come Obama’s way, he can just smile and note that this is the politics of yesterday. The problem is, Clinton is very comfortable with yesterday.
What’s the matter with Massachusetts? Its two senators back Obama, and the people back Clinton. On the Republican side, they choose the man who used to be their governor, the man who mocked and derided his own state on the campaign trail.
The south simply will not vote for somebody who does not come from the south. Why is that? Anyway, Huckabee deserves to be congratulated. This is not good news for McCain, as he scored well in states that will inevitably vote Democratic in November. On the other hand, McCain would be very wise to choose Huckabee as his running mate. But will that be enough? On yet another hand, Obama did surprisingly well in red states and among white men, showing very clearly that he has the better chance of beating McCain in the Fall. But I fear it is slipping away from him…
It looks like Clinton will win California, which could very well seal the deal for her. The fascinating thing from the exit polls is that Obama won the black vote and the white vote, especially the white male vote– but that Latinos and Asians voted predominantly for Clinton. I’m not quite sure what to make of that, but it is certainly interesting…
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