April 23, 2008
Obama Shifting Focus From Clinton to McCainBy JEFF ZELENY
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Senator Barack Obama opened the next phase of his presidential campaign here Tuesday evening, seeking to turn his focus away from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and persuade party leaders that time is running out for Democrats to start defining their Republican opponent.
A series of endorsements are scheduled to be announced in the coming days, including superdelegates who intend to pledge their support for Mr. Obama. And more campaign workers in the Chicago headquarters will be dedicated to taking on Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee.
Mr. Obama only mentioned Mrs. Clinton by name once in his remarks at a rally here late Tuesday night, when he congratulated her on winning the Pennsylvania primary. He referred to Mr. McCain seven times, a pointed reminder to Democrats of the challenge that lies ahead.
“There is a sense of urgency about the time we’re losing and a sense of urgency that we not savage each other to the benefit of Senator McCain,” said David Axelrod, the chief strategist for Mr. Obama. “Ultimately, what this is about is the race in November.”
Still, his defeat in Pennsylvania was significant, with Mr. Obama losing by wide margins in many parts of the state where he had dedicated much time and resources. His strategists immediately began studying the results — and intended to interview voters in a post-mortem — to see what kept them from supporting Mr. Obama.
Advisers to Mr. Obama believe his efforts were damaged by the sharp back-and-forth between him and Mrs. Clinton. They believe that her campaign defined him in a negative way, reinforcing questions about potential weaknesses in his candidacy.
“If Senator Clinton thinks she has a legitimate chance to win the nomination, she has every reason to stay,” Mr. Axelrod said aboard the campaign plane here Tuesday evening. “But if her only strategy is to try and tear down Senator Obama, I think that’s going to make a lot of Democrats uncomfortable.”
For at least two months, Mr. Obama has struggled to close the deal on the nomination. Attempts to defeat Mrs. Clinton at the ballot box have repeatedly proved to be unsuccessful — especially, as she has pointed out, in the larger states — so his campaign is now employing a two-front strategy: trying to ignore Mrs. Clinton while working to overwhelm her campaign by using its financial advantage to advertise more and build larger organizations in each of the remaining nine contests.
In Indiana, the next major battleground, Mr. Obama is strengthening an already robust television advertising campaign and sending an army of fresh workers there in the coming days. In North Carolina, which also holds a primary on May 6, he will try to run up the margin of victory to maintain his lead in the overall popular vote.
“Our attitude is that as long as Senator Clinton wants to stay in the race and as long as she’s got support and her name’s on the ballot, then there’s no reason why we can’t continue to campaign,” Mr. Obama said in a radio program. “I do want to make sure that during the course of our campaigning that we keep an eye on John McCain.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/politics/23obama.html?ref=todayspaper
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