POST INDIANA AND NORTH CAROLINA

POST INDIANA, NORTH CAROLINA, May 7, 2008

With the election results in North Carolina and Indiana showing that Senator Barack Obama won North Carolina rather easily and Senator Hilary Clinton struggling to win Indiana, what can we anticipate happening next?
Many political pundits believe that last nights results effectively ends the game for Senator Clinton. It is now almost mathematically impossible for Senator Clinton to gain the necessary 2025 delegates to secure the nomination (this is the number not counting Michigan and Florida delegates, if those two states are included the number jumps to 2209). So does that mean she slips quietly into the background and give Senator Obama the stage to himself? I don’t think so…
One word that the Clinton’s never seem to utter is defeat or quit. After the Republicans took control of Congress, President Clinton did not believe the election results were a repudiation of his Administration or policies, but rather of the Democratic leadership in Congress. While he changed some of his priorities and “triangulated” his policy priorities, President Clinton in fact became even more popular after the Democrats lost control of Congress.
Senator Clinton’s “victory” speech last night in Indianapolis included a statement that she will continue the fight until all 50 states are able to vote. “So now it is on to West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, and the other states where people are eager to have their voices heard. For too long, we've let places like West Virginia and Kentucky slip out of the Democratic column. Well, it's time for that to change and these next primaries are another test. I’m going to work my heart out in West Virginia and Kentucky this month and I intend to win them in November in the general election.”
What does this statement mean? While I can not claim to know Senator Clinton personally, we all have witnessed her over the past 17 years while he husband was running for President, was President, while she was running for Senator, and during her time as a Senator from New York. The Clintons do not seem to know when to quit and everything seems to revolve around them. Is keeping her campaign going over the next month or so a benefit? If you are a Republican it certainly seems so. The fact that the primary battle continues, means that the eventual Democratic nominee is focused on winning the primary election and not the general election.
Senator John McCain has had the past month and a half to re-introduce himself to America and start shaping his general election campaign. Republicans, across the board, are slowing starting to warm up to Senator McCain and his campaign. McCain earlier this week gave a speech on the importance of judicial nominees that appealed to conservatives, one of the groups that he needs to bring into the fold .
On the Democratic side, the continued primary battle has led to further divisions within the party. Exit polls in North Carolina show that Senator Obama won the African-American vote 13-1 and the under 30 vote nearly 3-1. Senator Clinton won the white vote and the elderly vote. These voter distinctions have held over the past few months. Once a nominee is determined, will less affluent democrats support Senator Obama? Will white democrats support Obama? As the primary campaign continues, the gap between the Clinton and Obama campaigns seems to be growing wider. This gap is a potentially huge problem for the Democratic nominee. If Senator Obama can not appeal to white, or non-affluent Democrats, he will have a difficult time becoming President.