Obama's Economic Remarks in Ohio

from realclearpolitics: LORAIN, OH - Our economy has been struggling for some time now. And as I've traveled across Ohio, I've seen the face of this economy - a mother who told me she can't afford health care for her sick child; a father who's worried he won't be able to send his children to college; and seniors who've seen their pensions disappear because the companies they gave their lives to went bankrupt.

I don't have to tell you about this. Folks around here have been directly impacted by the changes in our economy - whether it was the loss of steel jobs over the past few decades, or the closing of the Ford plant that was here for so long. And folks in this area are still worried about whether they're going to lose their jobs and how they're going to make ends meet if that happens.

Now, if we're honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that we can't stop globalization in its tracks and that some of these jobs aren't coming back. But what I refuse to accept is that we have to stand idly by while workers watch their jobs get shipped overseas. We need a president who's working as hard for you as you're working for your families. And that's the kind of President I intend to be.

I've proposed a job-creation agenda that starts with making sure trade works for American workers. We can't keep passing unfair trade deals like NAFTA that put special interests over workers' interests.more RealClearPolitics

The Game is Over But Make Sure to Vote

essentially, clinton has to win texas and she has to get at least 70% of the latino vote, according to lydia camarillo, vice president of the southwest voter registration education project. she was on NPR this morning.
clinton has gotten desperate and frustrated, and has resorted to mocking obama supporters. many people know that the contest is over and clinton supporters are coming to terms with an obama win and feeling despondent over the fact that we won't see the first woman president, at least not yet.
many women, who apparently made their decision based mostly on gender, feel that women are being punished for being women. i believe there's just a better candidate.
camarillo said that this might keep both clinton and obama supporters from voting. but don't take anything for granted. vote. because, who knows what could happen?

Republicans for Obama

this is from an la times story comes from a guy who voted for reagan and twice for bush (ouch).

I am so sick and tired of the partisanship," Pedaline says before starting his night shift at Obama's outpost in this affluent Columbus suburb. "I don't want to be cheesy and say, 'He'll bring us all together.' But he seems like someone willing to listen to a good idea, even if it comes from a Republican."

here's another excerpt:

Obama's two autobiographies sold Pedaline. After reading them last summer, he was convinced Obama possessed both the desire and a singular capacity to unite Americans. "Maybe it's just a fairy tale," Pedaline says, "but maybe we can at least get back to a point where people can listen and respect each other."

i think people underestimate the power of those two books.

Clinton Campaign Silly Season Rumors

anyone who wants to understand where obama stand on faith and religion need only to read the "faith" chapter in the Audacity of Hope.

from Newsweek: The comment seemed like a casual aside. Ann Lewis, a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton, was touting the New York senator's strong support for Israel during a conference call in January with leaders of major American Jewish organizations. During the call, Lewis energetically contrasted Clinton's pro-Israel credentials with those of Barack Obama. To make her point, she said that Obama's "chief foreign-policy adviser" is Zbigniew Brzezinski, says one participant who would talk about the call only if he were not identified.

Brzezinski—the former national-security adviser to Jimmy Carter—is not Obama's "chief foreign-policy adviser." That is the job of a triumvirate who once worked for Bill Clinton: Anthony Lake, Susan Rice and Greg Craig. But Brzezinski, who tells NEWSWEEK he has advised Obama "only on occasion," has a reputation that is close to toxic in the American Jewish community. "When Brzezinski's name appears on an advisory list, that's a red flag right away," says an influential American Jewish leader who did not want to sour relations with the Obama campaign. Many American Jews mistrust Brzezinski because he endorsed a 2006 article, later a book, called "The Israel Lobby," which blames many U.S. foreign-policy problems on Washington's ties to Israel.

Lewis's aside is not an isolated incident. (She did not respond to a request for comment.) As the race between Clinton and Obama has sharpened in recent months, other Clinton campaign operatives have sent around negative material about Obama's relations with Israel, according to e-mails obtained by NEWSWEEK. In addition to Brzezinski, the e-mails attack Obama advisers such as Rob Malley, a former Clinton negotiator at the 2000 Camp David talks who has since written articles sympathetic to the Palestinian point of view, and they raise questions about Obama's relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor at Obama's Trinity Church in Chicago. Wright has criticized Israel, and Trumpet, a publication run by his daughter, gave an award for "greatness" to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who once called Judaism a "bloodsucking religion." (Obama disagreed with bestowing the award.)more

today, obama met with jewish leaders in ohio. this from political punch:

This morning in Columbus, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., met with some local Jewish leaders where he discussed Israel, his church, the Middle East, and rumors being spread about him.

Interestingly, just yesterday, Newsweek took a look at how "Clinton campaign operatives have sent around negative material about Obama's relations with Israel...In an e-mail sent Feb. 4 -- a day before Super Tuesday -- Clinton finance official Annie Totah passed along a critical essay by Ed Lasky, a conservative blogger, whose own anti-Obama e-mails have circulated in the U.S. Jewish community. Totah wrote: 'Please read the attached important and very disturbing article on Barak (sic) Obama. Please vote wisely in the Primaries.'"

In Ohio today, one of the matters discussed was the former pastor at Obama's church, Trinity Church in Chicago, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

The outspoken Wright has criticized Israel, and Wright's daughter runs a publication, Trumpet Newsmagazine, that gave an award to Nation of Islam leader, and anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan. (You can watch the video tribute to him HERE.) At the time of the award, Obama issued a statement saying he decries "racism and anti-Semitism in every form, and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan. I assume that Trumpet magazine made its own decision to honor Farrakhan, based on his efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders, but it is not a decision with which I agree."

In Ohio this morning, Obama told the Jewish community leaders that "Louis Farrakhan is a resident of Chicago, and as a consequence, he has been active in a range of community activities, particularly around ex-offenders and dealing with them. I have been a consistent -- before I go any further -- consistent denunciator of Louis Farrakhan, nobody challenges that. And what is true is that, recently this is probably, I guess last year, an award was given to Farrakhan for his work on behalf of ex-offenders completely unrelated to his controversial statements... And I believe that was a mistake and showed a lack of sensitivity to the Jewish community, and I said so. But I have never heard an anti-Semitic comment made inside of our church. I have never heard anything that would suggest anti-Semitism on the part of the pastor."more

Iowa Gives Obama Big Lead in General Election

obama 53 mccain 36

Obama, an Illinois senator and his party's frontrunner, was the choice of 53 percent of Iowans who plan to vote in November. McCain, an Arizona senator, was the choice of 36 percent of Iowans in an Obama-McCain contest.

However, if the choice voters have in November is McCain vs. Clinton, the new poll shows 49 percent of Iowans would choose McCain, compared with 40 percent who would choose Clinton.

The Iowa Poll's findings mirror national head-to-head surveys and come as Clinton has slipped behind Obama nationally in Democratic preference polls.

The Register's poll is the first to examine the 2008 general election mood in Iowa, which is expected to be a competitive swing state this fall. more

Obama Clinton Ohio Debate Feb. 26

view live here
from MSNBC

MSNBC will telecast a debate between Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama Tuesday, Feb. 26, live from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, 9-10:30 p.m. ET. NBC’s Brian Williams will moderate and be joined by "Meet the Press" moderator and NBC News Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert. It will be streamed live on msnbc.com

MSNBC has just discovered the obama rally

Obama's Hardworking Campaign

alas, some perspective on Kool-Aid and "The Audacity of Hopelessness."

NYT: Clinton fans don’t see their standard-bearer’s troubles this way. In their view, their highly substantive candidate was unfairly undone by a lightweight showboat who got a free ride from an often misogynist press and from naïve young people who lap up messianic language as if it were Jim Jones’s Kool-Aid. Or as Mrs. Clinton frames it, Senator Obama is all about empty words while she is all about action and hard work.

But it’s the Clinton strategists, not the Obama voters, who drank the Kool-Aid. The Obama campaign is not a vaporous cult; it’s a lean and mean political machine that gets the job done. The Clinton camp has been the slacker in this race, more words than action, and its candidate’s message, for all its purported high-mindedness, was and is self-immolating. more

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Texas Women May Decide Democratic Nomination

"we're into personism." great quote. i like texas!
here it is in context:

NYT: Texas is no stranger to powerful women, which is why it was scarcely accidental that in Thursday night’s debate, both Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama bowed to such trailblazers as former Representative Barbara Jordan and former Gov. Ann Richards.

“While all those redneck bubba cowboys were driving the cattle, the women were running the ranches,” said Terri Burke, a longtime Abilene newspaper editor who was recently named executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.

As Texas prepares to deliver a giant and perhaps decisive verdict on March 4 on the two closely matched Democratic presidential contenders, women — who traditionally outnumber men at the polls in this state and around the nation — may well hold the key to victory. And while many women champion Mrs. Clinton’s bid for the White House as the obvious next leap across the gender gap, others say her historic candidacy no longer carries the same urgency as it would have, say, for their mothers’ generation.

“We’re beyond feminism,” said Kathy DeLange, 64, a retired school psychologist, who wore her heart on her head — an Obama cap — as she arrived at the polls here on Tuesday for the first day of early primary voting. “We’re into personism now.” read more.

for more on what's happening in texas, go to burntorangereport.com

Ralph Nader Says Obama Has Substance

nader announced he's running for president this morning on meet the press.
it's not as if nader really wants to win. he wants the parties to talk about issues he thinks are important, such as bloated government spending and corporate greed.

i think obama is talking about those things. nader seems to respect obama but he says obama is censoring himself. i think obama is trying to strike a balance.
nader and obama largely care about the same things. but obama's leadership qualities are far above nader's.
people seemed to have underestimated how important leadership is. media pundits and clinton supporters are in denial about it. instead they call obama supporters delusional and naive. they don't see obama as a strong leader.
more than anything, that is what we need. we need someone can mobilize and organize people to get the work done. obama wants to include people in government. when was the last time a president offered that? people want to be involved.
that's how things get done. change comes from the bottom up, from the masses of people. i think many have yet to realize exactly how big this "movement" is.

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Obama Ohio OSU Medical Center Video

akron ohio video

From NBC/NJ’s Aswini Anburajan
AUSTIN, Texas -- In the shadow of the state capitol that provided the United States with one of the most conservative presidents in recent history, Obama last night railed against the charge that being "liberal" was a bad thing.

"Oh, he's liberal,” he said. “He's liberal. Let me tell you something. There's nothing liberal about wanting to reduce money in politics that is common sense. There's nothing liberal about wanting to make sure [our soldiers] are treated properly when they come home.”

Continuing on his riff: "There's nothing liberal about wanting to make sure that everybody has healthcare, but we are spending more on healthcare in this country than any other advanced country. We got more uninsured. There's nothing liberal about saying that doesn't make sense, and we should so something smarter with our health care system. Don't let them run that okie doke on you!"

Nearly 20,000 people came to see Obama speak at a chilly outdoor rally with the backdrop of the state capitol, bare trees and a plump moon rising in the night sky.

Obama told the crowd that he loved Austin and reminded them that he came here soon after he announced for the presidency. And his love may be for good reason. His chances in Texas appear to be looking brighter, per a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll that shows him pulling even with Clinton.

Going on the offense against McCain and Clinton, Obama reprised his argument about negotiating with foreign dictators in what appeared to be an unnamed allusion to his statement in Thursday's Democratic debate that he would meet with Raul Castro without preconditions, something which McCain hammered him for Friday morning.

"I have said earlier in this campaign I would meet not just with leaders we liked,” Obama said, “but leaders we didn't. Not just our friends but with our enemies, and I was told by Washington, ‘Oh you can’t do that! You can’t do that. That would be naïve, that would be irresponsible.' John McCain’s been repeating this line over the last couple days, and I have to remind John McCain and Hillary Clinton of what John F. Kennedy said, that we should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate.”

He also told the crowd that McCain was "lassoed" to the policies of George W. Bush. Explaining why he was "tough enough" to run against McCain, he delivered his winning line of the night.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't tough,” Obama said. “Nobody gave me…Listen I'm a black guy named Barack Obama running for president. You can’t tell me I ain't tough. Shoot!"

The crowd screamed loudly while Obama went on the attack against McCain, and he shouted out to them, "Settle down Austin!"

If the argument that a cult of personality has developed around Obama's campaign, tonight's event in Austin was a case in point. People in the crowd held up large cardboard signs with his face painted on them. The shops along the streets had posters with Obama's face and the word "HOPE" on them.

Obama acknowledged the criticism of the enthusiasm that's risen in recent weeks. "And ya know what? Well they make fun of you all too by the way,” Obama said. “They make fun of you guys. They say, ‘All these people who are following Obama they're delusional. They just like pretty words, they don't really understand what's going on.’ Lets get real.” read more

Obama in Austin 1 Year Ago

if you don't want to be inspired don't watch this video.

this one's pretty good too

SNL Returns Tonight With An Obama

saturday night live will alas have a live show tonight and a new obama.

but who will it be?

turns out it's fred armisen. i could only stay awake through a bit of it but it seemed SNL could've put a funnier spin on obama.

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Ralph Nader To Haunt Obama?

ralph nader, founder of public citizen, and one time presidential candidate, may want to shake up the system again and run for president. he's expected to announce something along those lines tomorrow on meet the press. the candidate he's likely to go after is obama.
why?
because so-called "bundlers" have contributed more to obama's campaign than any other.

a bundler is a name given to wealthier people--ceos, hedge fund managers and groups--- who pool large sums of money to contribute. then there are "lobbyist bundlers," who are wealthy types registered as lobbyists. Obama has fewest of these.

even though mccain has the most bundlers and most lobbyist bundlers, obama has raised the most money from his bundlers and lobbyist bundlers.

according to whitehouseforsale.org, a public citizen website:
obama has raised: $137,431,963 from 359 "bundlers" and 9 "lobbyist bundlers."
clinton: $118,360,205 from 322 bundlers and 19 lobbyist bundlers.
mccain: $48,700,196 from 468 bundlers and 59 lobbyist bundlers.

nader's real goal seems to be revamping campaign financing, which is a good thing. here is public citizen's solution:

Once campaigns make an oral or written agreement designating a person as a fundraiser and provide the fundraiser with some form of tracking mechanism, the campaign should be required to disclose the details of that person’s fundraising success as part of the campaign’s filings with the Federal Election Commission. Disclosure reports on bundlers should contain the following:
The name, address, occupation and employer of each bundler, each contribution of more than $200 raised by the bundler, the original source and date of each contribution of more than $200 raised by the bundler, and total contributions raised by the bundler for each reporting period.
This would open the books for all to see who raised large sums of campaign money for the candidate.

but nader will probably start by knocking the candidate with the most money, obama.

obama likely has been receiving the funding because, like his other set of supporters, those of us who are not rich, they are inspired and want to see him as the next president. but bundlers are perceived to be people who demand favors for their donations. let's hope obama's not promising favors in exchange for money. i give obama the benefit of the doubt on this one and i believe he's said he hasn't solicited these funds.

the names of the bundlers needn't be disclosed, which adds to the perception of corporations trying to get something in return for their donations, and public citizen is right. there needs to be reform.

from whitehouseforsale.org: Bundlers who direct money to presidential candidates tend to be first in line for plum ambassador positions and other political appointments. Industry titans and lobbyists are more likely to receive preferential treatment from elected officials if they raised large amounts of money for them.

8 Million More Democrats Than Reps Have Voted

political writer rhodes cook was on NPR this morning. this is some of what he had to say about the election:

23 million democrats have turned out for voting so far. 17 million was the record.

he didn't say but about 14.5 million republicans have voted so far.

he attributes the turnout in part to the excitement generated by obama.

part?

i think that's wrong. i'd also attribute high turnout to hillary clinton, and primarily the race between them.

he said the bigger reason for the turnout is that there are so many early primaries by big states and people feel like they have had a voice.

I'd say that's the smaller reason.

on the repubican side, turnout has historically always been lower than democrats. more seem to becoming independents.

i think being an independent or in my case, "decline to state" in california, is to demonstrate that we don't care about the party as much as we care about the candidate and the issues. by declaring ourselves independent it says to the candidate: don't take anything for granted.

he said there's a possiblity that people who vote in the primaries won't vote in the general. i think he's wrong again there. this is going to be the biggest general election ever.



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Obama Rallies in Ohio

update: akron video below
two rallies on saturday, one on sunday, in ohio.
video will be posted when it's available. they are usually streamed live at cnn.com
Join Barack Obama at a Keeping America's Promise Rally in Akron, where he'll talk about his vision for bringing about the kind of change we can believe in.

Keeping America's Promise Rally with Barack Obama
John S. Knight Center
77 E. Mill St.
Akron, OH 44308

Saturday, February 23, 2008
Doors Open: 4:00 p.m.
Program Begins: 5:30 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged. Space is available on a first come, first-served basis.

For security reasons, do not bring bags and limit personal items. No signs or banners are permitted.


Join Barack Obama at a Keeping America's Promise Rally in Cleveland on Saturday, February 23rd.

Keeping America's Promise Rally with Barack Obama
Cleveland Convention Center
Public Auditorium
500 Lakeside Ave
Cleveland, OH

Saturday, February 23, 2008
Doors Open: 7:00 p.m.
Program begins: 8:30 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged. Space is available on a first come, first-served basis.

For security reasons, do not bring bags and limit personal items. No signs or banners are permitted.

Limited preferred viewing tickets are available for the event and can be picked up at:

First Methodist Church of Cleveland
3000 Euclid Ave.
Corner of 30th and Euclid
Cleveland, OH

Open Thursday - Saturday
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Join Barack Obama at a Keeping America's Promise Rally in Toledo on Sunday, February 24th.

Keeping America's Promise Rally with Barack Obama
University of Toledo
Savage Hall
2801 West Bancroft
Toledo, OH 43606

Sunday, February 24, 2008
Doors Open: 2:15 p.m.
Program begins: 4:20 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged. Space is available on a first come, first-served basis.

For security reasons, do not bring bags and limit personal items. No signs or banners are permitted.

Limited preferred viewing tickets are available for the event and can be picked up at:

The City Grill
421 North Huron
Toledo, Ohio

Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.



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Boost in Early Voting in Texas

before obama began speaking at the dallas rally, he reminded everyone that they could vote early. it appears many have taken that to heart.

These results are extremely preliminary, and early voting won't decide the primary, but the numbers suggest that Obama, not Clinton, is leading the pre-primary derby there--and may also hint that voters in Obama-friendly areas of the state are more, ahem, "fired up and ready to go" (to the polls, at least) than those in regions expected to tilt toward Clinton. Not to mention the fact that the longer Hispanics hold out, the longer Obama has to win them over. newsweek blog

more blacks than hispanics may turn out for the vote in texas.

texas primary need to knows

here's a groovy little chart.

Obama's Legislative Accomplishments

bob geiger at agonist.com came up with some ideas for obama supporters who need to list specific accomplishments when asked, especially if you're gonna be on tv:

.....No doubt, Watson -- and anyone acting as an Obama campaign surrogate -- should be able to rapidly list the important issues that the Illinois Senator has championed. This includes the Lugar-Obama legislation that has helped decrease the threat of old nuclear, biological, and chemical weapon in the former Soviet Union and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 which Obama co-authored and that led to USAspending.gov, which keeps Americans better informed on government spending.

Obama has also been very active in legislation to end the Iraq war and the much-heralded Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act, which passed in July of 2007 and addressed the hideous treatment received by Veterans under the Bush administration, began its legislative life as the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act, introduced by Obama earlier in the year.

But here's the thing that any person going on television to represent Obama should repeat without end -- and that should also be a part of the Obama campaign's standard playbook: No Democrat, including Senator Hillary Clinton has been able to do one hell of a lot that meets the accomplishment benchmark of "passed legislation" in a time of unending, record-setting Republican obstructionism.

Obama has been in the Senate for three years, two of which were spent with a Republican majority that would not even let legislation sponsored by Democrats reach the floor for a vote and, on the few occasions where Bill Frist granted such a luxury, Republicans shot down most Democratic initiatives with extreme prejudice.

In the current (110th) Congress, the Republican minority has blocked everything but the Senate chaplain's morning prayer and is on pace by a wide margin to filibuster more legislation than any Senate in U.S. history.

And there's the answer that the Texas state senator should have given on Tuesday night in response to Matthews' badgering. He should have been able to list just a few of Obama's legislative efforts but, far more importantly, he should have been in tune enough with the national legislative scene to say "Chris, have you been watching the U.S. Senate the last few years?"

He could then have gone on to discuss how Republicans have had a significant Senate majority for most of this young century and, during the brief periods Democrats have held a razor-thin edge, the GOP has made damn sure that the Democratic side of the aisle has no "legislative accomplishments" to hang their hats on in election years.

As for the Obama campaign, I support your guy and I'll give you this statement for free as you will certainly need it when Republicans begin lobbing charges of zero legislative accomplishments that will make Matthews look like an Obama groupie.

"Senator Obama knows that the American people are smart enough to see that the Republican party has become committed to doing nothing but blocking legislation that would help the American people and restore our nation to a place of esteem in the world. And they'll further reject Republican claims that any Senator has not passed enough legislation when the GOP has made it their life's work to see that no legislation is allowed to pass.
"More than anything, this demonstrates why a new kind of politics is necessary in Washington and why the American people are ready to turn the page and see all of us begin to accomplish more."

Lather, rinse and repeat.

Oh, and you may want to give a copy of this to your campaign's supporters before they appear on national television.

I'll work on getting a list of accomplishments in another post.

here are the bills he has sponsored. just click on senators and then obama.

other news of the day:

On board with Barack Obama — as his campaign scents victoryTimes Online

Superdelegates switching allegiance to ObamaGuardian Unlimited

Hope sparked by Obama candidacy mixes with lingering worries about

Barack Obama campaigns in South TexasDallas Morning News

If elected, Obama will talk to Cuba's leaderTimes of India

Why Obama is beating HillaryBoston Globe

Obama Rolls OnIn the Texas debate Clinton doesn't slow the front ...Slate -

To Those Who Question Obama's "Legislative Accomplishments"Yahoo! News

Obama, Clinton promises on NAFTA hard to fulfillReuters

Obama Can Boogie

mind you, this isn't "substance," but it sure is fun. obama is likely to be our first president who can actually dance.
obama's texas boogie


obama dances on ellen

Obama Rally Austin Feb. 22

update feb. 23: video of the rally below
Join Barack Obama at a Stand for Change Rally in Austin today
Friday, February 22
Congress Avenue at 11th Street
Austin
Public Entrance: Located at 10th Street

Gates Open: 6:00 p.m.
Program Begins: 9:00 p.m.
RSVP here.
The event is free and open to the public; however an RSVP is required. Space is available on a first come, first served basis.
NOTE: For security reasons, do not bring bags and please limit personal items. No signs or banners permitted.
burntorangereport.com for parking details, map
pre rally video, marching band and all

rally today at university of texas pan america

24 Superdelegates Go With Obama

see the up to date superdelegate tally and add-ons in my sidebar.
today:

Democratic National Committee Member (and superdelegate)Leon Lynch endorsed Barack Obama, citing his ability to lead the American people in the right direction and his record of making change that matters for working families.

where it stands:
Obama delegates: 1,180
Obama Superdelegates: 174
Obama total: 1354

Clinton delegates: 1,026
Clinton superdelegates: 240
Clinton Total: 1266

306 superdelegates are "undecided." i believe they will vote the will of the people.
obama has nearly 1 million more in popular vote, the absolute number of people who voted.
obama has won 11 contests (including democrats abroad)

the reality:

Problem is, looking at the numbers, Clinton has to win both of them big. Obama has a lead of 150 elected or "pledged" delegates, according to NBC's calculation (The Washington Post uses a different formula to count). Clinton needs to win 58 percent of all remaining pledged delegates simply to get her lead back, NBC political director Chuck Todd notes. But that's hypothetical. The reality is worse.

If Obama wins the remaining states he's favored in, such as Vermont, Mississippi, North Carolina and Oregon, then Clinton will need to win 65 percent of the vote in places such as Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania, Todd said.

Most observers are beginning to focus on the numbers of elected, or pledged, delegates because they've concluded that those are almost sure to be the only ones who will matter -- unless Clinton can persuade the superdelegates at the nominating convention to overrule the voters and destroy the Democratic Party once and for all.

By the way, Obama holds a lead of nearly 1 million votes -- that's 1 million-- in the popular vote, according to the Web site Real Clear Politics. Of course, that doesn't really count -- ask Al Gore-- but it's worth noting. If you throw in Florida and even Michigan -- where his name wasn't on the ballot -- Obama still leads by 300,000 votes.

texas delegate projections.
Jumping Superdelegates

AP IMPACT: Obama Narrows Gap in Superdelegates As Party Insiders Follow Voters' Lead

STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
AP News

Feb 22, 2008 14:51 EST

The Democratic superdelegates are starting to follow the voters — straight to Barack Obama.In just the past two weeks, more than two dozen of them have climbed aboard his presidential campaign, according to a survey by The Associated Press. At the same time, Hillary Rodham Clinton's are beginning to jump ship, abandoning her for Obama or deciding they now are undecided.

The result: He's narrowing her once-commanding lead among these "superdelegates," the Democratic office holders and party officials who automatically attend the national convention and can vote for whomever they choose.

As Obama has reeled off 11 straight primary victories, some of the superdelegates are having second — or third — thoughts about their public commitments. more

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