Saturday has been a very good night for the Obama campaign. A sweep of the Virgin Islands, Nebraska, Washington, and the state of Louisiana has put this race dead even going into tomorrow's contest in Maine and Tuesday's "Potomac Primary." It's even overall, with Clinton holding the superdelegate trump card, but Obama with a lead in standard delegates. Things look great for Obama at this point thanks to a likely sweep of the Maine, Delaware, D.C., and Virginia. There are few projections our there that would suggest otherwise.
In terms of perception, this bodes well for the Senator from Illinois as the talk of the race for three weeks will be fixed on what he's doing right and how she can make up for her failures in the recent contests. With Ohio and Texas, among other states, looming Obama needs that PR and that perception of momentum to gain ground on the frontrunning Clinton. Ohio and Texas can be won over, but she holds fairly sizable leads at this point.
Both candidates have their eyes turned towards John McCain as the Arizona Senator is playing the role of the official nominee for all it's worth. despite the fact that Mike Huckabee is causing him some embarrassment in the conservative southern and midwestern states, while the lunatic radio talk show hosts eat him alive on the air. The main Clinton talking point in painting a contrast between herself and Obama has been her ability to stand up on the same stage as John McCain and hold her own on national security. Given the idea that McCain's only trump card in a general election against the Democratic nominee is the issue of Iraq and the war on terror, she may have a point.
One interesting idea that popped into my head while watching this unfold is the notion that Colin Powell might just play a role in all of this if he should so choose. In an interview on CNN recently, Powell suggested that he is excited about this election and that he reserves the right, as he has during his adult life, to vote for someone of the other party. He has spoken highly of Barack Obama in the past and it would appear that there is some chance that he may eventually speak on behalf of the Obama campaign. Now, that's tricky. Powell's reasons for speaking out may in the end prove to be some sort of redemption for his role in the deceptive leadup to the invasion of Iraq and a rebuff of the Bush administration that cornered him at every opportunity and eventually forced him out. If McCain is out to play that card against Obama in a general election debate, you may just see Powell stand up to cut it off before it happens by offering his advice and counsel to Barack Obama. With a former General and Secretary of State in his corner, a large part of the Republican attack plan would be blunted. Watch for it.....
3 comments:
You may well be right - good reasoning!
interesting point. As someone who sits a bit more to the conservative side, I can say I think CP does carry some weight with his opinions.
I think the McCain camp is going to have to accept it needs Huckabee if it wants to produce a solid winning ticket.
It'll be interesting to see if Obama Clinton and McCain Huckabee becomes the final showdown.
Oprah Vs Chuck Norris. I'm excited.
Hah. I think Powell carries some baggage, but is still viewed as a trustworthy person in many ways. His standing prior to the Iraq buildup earned him enough capital to weather that storm and he remains the only member of the Bush Administration to admit the mistakes and shame of the UN sham.
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