Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Primary Analysis

This sums it up pretty nicely:

The most revealing aspect of the Wisconsin vote was how Obama continued to take away voters from Clinton's base, which could spell trouble for her in the Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4. The candidates pretty much split the votes from women, while Obama had a significant advantage among men. Also, Obama defeated her by a wide margin among voters with incomes of less than $50,000 as well as those without college degrees, two groups that had been essential to Clinton's past victories. Slate's John Dickerson says that by winning "in every key geographical area and across racial and gender lines" Obama has proved that "he is not just the boutique fascination of young people and wealthy elites."

The NYT says Clinton will now need to pull off "double-digit victories to pick up enough delegates to close the gap." If Wisconsin is any guide, "the next two weeks could be the most negative of the Democratic race," says the Post. After losing yesterday's primary, Clinton didn't mince words and launched what the LAT calls "her most lancing election night critique of Obama yet." But the line of attack was hardly new, as she once again chose to call attention to Obama's inexperience, which, as the NYT points out, is an argument she has made many times before, but it doesn't appear to be resonating with voters.
There's a singing fat lady tuning up her vocal chords right now.

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