Here's the headline- OBAMA CAN'T CLOSE THE DEAL

[grizmaster]

Not a good sign for the fall. Looks like Obama can't win battleground states.

[LibraLiz1973]

1. But he CAN walk on water

Only time will tell what will happen

[scheming daemons]

2. Not winning against another Democrat has NO bearing on ability to beat a Republican.....

...

[Skittles]

3. but - seems like neither can Hillary

it just moves on

[tridim]

9. Hillary is losing to the guy who "can't close the deal"

That's the headline.

[FrenchieCat]

13. Seriously.......She's not closing any deals either.....

Unless she wants to make up new rules.

[grizmaster]

55. Obama didn't close the deal

and the question from here forward will be why can't he close the deal.

He has time turn it around, but outspending Hillary 3 to 1 and having registered 160,000 new voters Obama should have been able to beat her.

[chascarrillo]

60. And Hillary is still lost.

[nebula]

4. He's still kicking Hillary's ass

[GoesTo11]

5. Original!

[oviedodem]

6. And Hillary won't win either Fl or MI. Since when did PA become a

battleground state? Give...Me...A...Break!

[Selatius]

7. McCain is no Hillary. Extrapolating from one to the other is a terrible mistake. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

8. In a closed primary, with the party machinery overwhelmingly backing

Hillary, and the country's second-oldest population, and a lot of hicks and lunchbox Dems, Obama did very well. She could have blown him out, and she didn't. He won't have any trouble winning PA in the fall.

[grizmaster]

16. Obama added 160,000 new voters

and outspent Hillary 3 to 1. Sorry, not buying the handicap excuse.

[TwilightGardener]

24. The Clintons are very popular in PA--I'm from there. Obama is not going to win

all 50 states. But he didn't get blown out, even with all the negativity of the past few weeks, where pretty much the world has been dumping on him. He'll do fine.

[flowomo]

10. Eugene Robinson: "It was a bad night for Obama."

He's a very sober and thoughtful analyst and he very much likes Obama -- but he sees this for what it was: an important defeat. It's time for Obama supporters to stop whining and claiming "victory" and start thinking about how to turn this thing around.

[TwilightGardener]

12. Obama doesn't have to "turn it around". He's ahead in delegates. Hilary is the

one who has to "turn it around", and she can only do that if he implodes.

[flowomo]

21. some might start thinking that he is imploding.....

that's the danger of this big loss (and let me add that my vote for Obama helped keep it close here in our central PA county)

[TwilightGardener]

10% is not a big loss. 15 or 20 is more like it. Hillary needed to

win something like 65% to start catching up in delegates. The race is pretty much over.

[flowomo]

31. can't buy it -- 10 points is a slam....

how far ahead she was in January or whenever doesn't matter.

[TwilightGardener]

37. Nope. Not a "slam"--sorry, much as you try to spin it that way, it's just not true.

[rocktivity]

56. It's a big loss when you consider that she NEEDED to win by 30 points

to make the superdelegates give a darn.

31+ points = blowout for Hillary

30 points = victory for Hillary

10 - 29 points = wash for Hillary

6 - 9 points = humiliation for Hillary

1 - 5 points = the end for Hillary

:headbang:
rocknation

[azmouse]

17. So why the different analysis now?

They were all saying if HRC won by only single digits it was in effect a loss for her after her huge lead a few weeks ago.
She doesn't get many delegates more than Obama out of all this.

[flowomo]

26. the delegates are only one of many games being played....

a 10-point loss is a big loss, anywhere and especially in a "battleground" state. It can snowball.

[TwilightGardener]

35. It didn't "snowball" after TX and OH. He won two more states after those--by big margins.

Obama is every bit as much of a fighter as Hillary, and he won't cede any state. He's doing fine.

[flowomo]

42. agreed.

I just don't like to see Obama supporters pretending this was a "big win" tonight. That's just wrong. He'll need to be a fighter -- because he is in a fight.

[rocktivity]

27. Obama accomplished exactly what he needed to

prevent Hillary from getting the 65% of the vote that she needed in order to impress the superdelegates. That's what all his effort in PA was really about--a win would have been icing on the cake. As for outspending Hillary, he couldn't avoid it: she had nothing TO spend.

:headbang:
rocknation

[flowomo]

33. no, "exactly" what he needed was a win....

he wasn't fatally wounded by a 10-point loss but that's the best you can say about it.

[rocktivity]

38. Unfortunately for Hillary,

it was a 30-point win that would have resurrected her with the superdelegates.

:headbang:
rocknation

[TwilightGardener]

43. He didn't NEED a win. SHE needed the win, to survive. He needed to pick up enough delegates

to keep his winning margin intact.

[RBInMaine]

47. Hillary was supposed to win. So stop the spinning.

[flowomo]

53. I started by quoting Eugene Robinson and I'll end that way:

"The one thing Obama must do in the next two weeks is get his mojo back."

I agree. He lost some mojo tonight; more than he or any of us who voted for him wanted him to lose.

[azmouse]

11. You're listening to too much Pat Buchanan.

[melody]

14. Here's another -- HILLARY CAN'T EITHER and a third WE HAVE 2 STRONG CANDIDATES

That's a good thing, not a bad.

[grizmaster]

23. Hilary HAS won all the big battlegroound states

and I agree we have two strong candidates but Obama's feet are starting to look like they're made of clay.

[stevietheman]

48. But he's still getting the nomination. Go figure. n/t

n/t

[melody]

58. Then why is Hillary behind? There is no way she's going to catch up without crippling our party

Are you people so pugnacious about shoving your will on the party ... a party that now despises her ... that you'll kill the party to do it?

[sandnsea]

15. IA, CO, MO, WI, VA, LA, GA

Obama creates new battleground states and wins plenty of the old ones.

[rucky]

18. Did you see the turnout?

and the downticket numbers?

PA is blue. McCain is toast

[Bigleaf]

19. See you in 2 weeks.

[WA98296]

20. Here's the Headline: Hillary Can Not Win the Nomination.

[RBInMaine]

22. Another one who needs pol-sci 101. She had HUGE demographics and machine advntgs. Come into reality!

[anigbrowl]

34. Not to mention that PA is (sort of) her home state

She did wel, especially considering her dire financial situation, but she needed a blowout.

[zulchzulu]

25. Penn's bullshit spin defies the reality that Obama has won 30 of 44 states

Iowa, South Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah, Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington, Maine, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Democrats Abroad, Wyoming and Mississippi. Add Texas and Nevada with the delegate count.

The General Election is a completely different animal. Obama will easily win NY and CA as well.

[still_one]

28. hmmm, and how is that a good sign for clinton, she was supposed to have won long ago

Didn't quite work the way the party machinery had planned did it

I might like to remind you this is a Democratic primary, NOT a general election

Clinton threw everything from the race card, questioning Obama's patriotism, or how unqualified he is compared to her an mccain, and she still is losing

I think the sign is that the people who make up the Democratic party, are ready to throw the politics of carville out of leadership rolls

[swishyfeet]

29. Joe Scarborough?!?! Is that you?

Oh no... it's just the griz. Guess you two are thinking alike these days....

[walldude]

30. Well that would be logical if every single one of Hillary's

supporters voted for McCain in November. Otherwise it's just more hyperbole.

[Raine]

32. and Hillary can't overcome those high negatives

regarding trust ... bad sign for getting the SDs behind her or any win in a GE.

[AntiFascist]

36. That was a Pat Buchanan talking point...

funny how she has the support of Republican MSM pundits.

[grizmaster]

46. I've already heard the phrase on all three cable news networks

from at least 8 different talking heads. If some variation of that isn't the headline in at least two major papers I'll eat my hat.

[stevietheman]

39. But the story is that he has the nomination locked up.

And that's been the story for many weeks.

[chknltl]

40. Pat Buchanan said pretty much those words an hour or so ago.

Quite a um... 'headline' I'd say. Comparing apples to lemons??? Any chance that the 4-1PLUS margin between Dem and repuke voter turn out in PA at all germain here?

[cui bono]

41. And HIllary is losing to him. Hah!

[NeedleCast]

44. By your reasoning, Obama should win Alaska in a landslide

n/t

[gsaguyCLW54]

45. I still think Clinton....

...is the better candidate. though Obama will stilll beat mcCain.

[jillan]

49. If he would have won tonite, he would have been our nominee.

He can't do it, he can't win big states.

[grizmaster]

52. Agreed, but its not over yet

He still has time to learn to fight the way you need to to win in the battleground states.

[krawhitham]

50. And she can't catch him, what does that say about her?

[grizmaster]

59. If Obama falls on his face, Hillary is all we got

So unless Obama proves somehow he can win the big states Obama will start bleeding delegates at a rapid rate.

[LiberalFighter]

51. Neither are going to close the deal because they are both good candidates.

Suggesting that because Obama or Clinton can't win the battleground states based on primary results is ridiculous. And suggesting that because one does better in red states than the other is also absurd. A Democrat will not win the likes of Idaho, Montana, Utah or any other state that is rock bottom Republican when it comes to Presidential elections.

Whether Clinton or Obama is the nominee they will not be going against each other in the General Election. Their opponent will be McCain. BIG DIFFERENCE.

Also, be wary of whatever the media puts out. First, they are efing idiots and most don't know diddly about politics. Second, we haven't seen an election like this in our lifetime. Third, the media is not interested in facts.

[davidpdx]

54. People keep making the argument that this is a popular vote race

and they are sadly mistaken. This primary is about delegates

As of this moment, RCP has the delegate count: HC: 78 BO: 63 Delegates not assigned: 17

She's gotten a 15 delegate lead winning by 10%. If the rest of the delegates (the 17 above) were assigned 9-8 (in favor of HC) it would be 87-71. She picked up 16 delegates, but in the process took 141 more delegates out of the process.

The remaining pledged delegates to be decided 408. If she continues to do the same thing in South Carolina and Indiana, she'll essentially make it mathematically impossible for her to win more pledged delegates.

[MADem]

57. Nooo.... Heeee ..... Can't........! NT

[krkaufman]

61. Or... Clinton negative attacks hurt Obama's electability ...

... but hurt her own electability more.