another good one from the Field: Barack gains delegates in IA

[MBS]

http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=898

Obama’s Iowa Delegate Advance Also a Sign of Democrats Coalescing

Today’s advance by the Obama campaign in Iowa’s county conventions - the Obama camp claims a gain of 7 Democratic National Convention delegates, while the Clinton camp claims Obama gained only three - confirm a trend that is the media is slow to acknowledge:

Democratic Party leaders (including those formerly supporting John Edwards) are coalescing overwhelmingly behind Obama. The same trend is evident in how superdelegates nationwide have been breaking throughout the past six weeks toward Obama at a rate of five-to-one. . .

. . .

Field Note: Expect similar upticks from Nevada and other caucus states as precinct delegates attend county and/or state conventions in the coming weeks.

While the media does what it can to stoke the idea that there is still a contest for the Democratic nomination, party leaders at the grassroots level have been moving in a clear, unitary direction.

And as these processes proceed (resolution of the status of Michigan and Florida delegates, upcoming primaries and state caucus conventions) the picture emerges ever more clearly as if in a darkroom photographic tray.

Which is the one reason why the Clinton campaign - which can only make its case if party leaders and rank-and-file voters are successfully confused about the process - today is urging the Texas Democratic Party to delay its own caucus delegate selection process. Only by generating smokescreens can it obscure from everybody’s view that Clinton has ceased to advance in national convention delegates while party leaders - from the national to the local - continue to converge in a near-consensus that Obama is the nominee that has earned it, that the voters most support, and that they view as most able to defeat McCain in November.

Be sure to check out the graph at the url, tracking the (ahem-downward) "Clinton Superdelegate Endorsement Lead" since January.

[MarjorieG]

1. Made my day. I knew the delegate picture was moving to Obama.

[ginnyinWI]

2. very good news indeed.

Obama is taking hits and is still steadily going forward. I think we've got a winner here!

[wildflowergardener]

3. Yahoo article

The beginning of the article on yahoo really annoyed me.

"DES MOINES, Iowa - Democrat Barack Obama expanded his fragile lead in delegates over rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080316/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_iowa


I'm sorry but I really don't think over 150 delegates is that fragile a lead - it makes it sound like he's like 10 ahead or something. If it was so fragile Hillary Clinton would have a chance of catching up.

Meg