Articles tagged: hillary
Posted by: Brent James on February 26, 2008 Hot Issues •
You might not know it, but Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Hillary Clinton are holding onto this race by their fingernails. And for different reasons.
Mr. Huckabee is low on funds, but of course that’s nothing new. He has been since last November. His delegate totals are far behind frontrunner McCain’s and the media scarcely mentions his name anymore. Ron Paul has about $8 million to spend and is extremely disciplined and efficient with his campaign expenditures. His delegates aren’t competitive and once again, the media act as though he doesn’t exist.
Hillary Clinton is a somewhat different story. She too is cash strapped, having to augment her campaign with personal funds, but her delegates and much higher profile are not to be overlooked by the mainstream media. They are quick, however, to stack the deck when things turn south – even by the slimmest margins. There are now reporting that she is fading in Ohio.
These three may be hanging on by their fingernails, but I’ll wager Hillary’s are longest.
Next Stops: Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Rhode Island.
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Posted by: Brent James on April 17, 2008 Hot Issues •
Who do you trust in the race to the White House? Right now, it’s not necessary that you trust anyone as this contest has more than six months left. I used to think it was excruciating to watch a mile race, that is, until I became a miler. Then, it seemed fast.
Polls are amusing, but not particularly reliable over any period. There are simply too many variables – and those change daily. Any number of mishaps or minor revelations could erupt into a feeding frenzy, dropping a candidate’s numbers overnight. As we have seen.
In February, a general election Rasmussen poll showed McCain losing to both Democrats by a few points. Pew Research indicated similar findings. By March, Zogby was reporting a stronger McCain beating the Democrats by fewer than 10 points. That same month, Gallup reported Hillary and Obama each beating McCain by similar margins. There were some likely reasons, however. Into the mix went Obama’s Pastorgate, Hilllary’s Bosnia sniper story and the Obama remarks attacked as “elitist” by McCain and Hillary. Shakeup and take some more polls.
The most recent Zogby, Rasmussen, and Gallup polls show strong similarities for the general election results. Separated by a hair’s breadth, in order, are Obama, McCain, and Clinton. Even the electoral math, based on the individual state contests, has Obama winning 280 delegates to McCain’s 258.
Depending on where you stand, this could be encouraging or discouraging, but don’t count on these numbers staying the same. There’s just too much time left and too much money left to spend. My only wish in all this is that the billion dollars that will have been spent campaigning would’ve been given to support Christian outreach the world over.
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Posted by: Brent James on April 18, 2008 Hot Issues •
The Mississippi Primary on March 11 didn’t do much in the way of deciding who will be the Democrat’s presidential nominee, but that’s nothing new in this election season. As expected, both candidates will most likely arrive at the finish line in somewhat of a stalemate. That isn’t to say one might not have a decided advantage. But advantages are like the wind being quite hard to keep. In Mississippi, Barak Obama won 61% to Clinton’s 37%. The delegates went 19 and 14, respectively.
Looking at the results, it is most interesting to see how few voted and of those who did vote, how many of them chose to write-in other candidates, apparently dissatisfied with the current national choices. While the percentages of those preferring other candidates was small, they do provide a glimpse into what is becoming a rather unusual election.
Some Christian leaders remain steadfast that all believers have a spiritual-moral duty (civic duty perhaps being easier to prove) to cast a vote in November. Others are not so inclined, strongly proclaiming our currently slate of candidates (on both sides of the aisle) unacceptable.
One thing we do know, the remaining primaries are just as unlikely to provide a distanced frontrunner. The pressure is on Clinton to win all of the upcoming contests in order to legitimize her claims that she is the one to lead us. Only thing is, the numbers aren’t there. Coupled with the way delegates are apportioned to the Democrat contest winners, there is no way to overcome Obama’s lead. They will be delivered to the convention floor with options in the works. And there are still the superdelegates, of which Hillary’s commanding lead has shrunk to 34. Of the 795 total, only around 330 remain uncommitted.
The Pennsylvania Primary, coming up next week on April 22, in the latest Zogby poll has it: Clinton 45%, Obama 44%, with 12% still wandering. The effect of Wednesday’s debate is unlikely to change those results.
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Posted by: Brent James on May 10, 2008 Hot Issues •
Is it over? Howard Dean hopes so. Rush clearly doesn’t. Whatever your take, George McGovern, speaking aloud what many democrats would only whisper quietly, has urged Hillary Clinton to step aside by declaring that Barak had won the nomination.
The Clinton campaign, despite numerous suggestions and pleas for a white flag, has given no signs they intend to shut down. George Stephanopoulos encouraged Hillary to accept the vice presidential role.
Speaking with John Gibson on radio last week, Geraldine Ferraro, who has been working with Clinton from a distance, advised that there is still a chance for a Clinton victory. The thinking is this: If Hillary could win 80% of these remaining Democrat primaries, she would tie Barak H. Obama for delegates, but not the popular vote. That’s a big “if”.
May 13 - West Virginia
May 20 - Kentucky, Oregon
June 3 - South Dakota, Montana
There is another possibility that in recent days has gathered optimism based on comments from Howard Dean. That is, whether or not the Florida and Michigan delegations will be seated. Dean told CNN “I think the delegates are eventually going to be seated in Florida and Michigan as soon as we get an agreement between the candidates on how to do that.” Then last week, he followed that statement on the Daily Show, by confirming that both state’s delegations would definitely be seated.
One issue remains for Clinton and Obama, how this is going to be worked out.
For Barak Obama, including the full delegation would complicate his winning the nomination, which for many, is a done deal. The full inclusion of both delegations would cut his lead and mean that Clinton would be ahead in the popular vote.
But the superdelegate count may be the deal breaker. Clinton once led 169-63. By March 2008, her lead was a scant 35. As of May, the New York Times has Clinton leading by only one. ABC shows Obama leading by two.
Howard Dean, Chairman of the DNC, announced last week that one of the candidates must step down by June so the primaries can be wrapped up.
However things seem to be evaporating, remember Clinton is a pro, and as such is not easily deterred. She has Bill in her corner as well as a host of brilliant political strategists probing each and every contingency as they search for daylight. Don’t count her out. All she needs is a little breathing room and sometimes, that can come suddenly out of thin air.
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