The Eve of Pennsylvania

On the eve of the Pennsylvania primary, both Clinton and Obama seem to be on edge since the results of tomorrow’s primary will whether Obama will win for good, whether Hillary still has a chance and whether worries of a divided Democratic party can be put to rest regarding the general election. It has been a long wait since the last few primaries and both candidates have been endlessly to secure their place on the Democratic ticket, apparently Senator Hillary Clinton released an add tonight to air in the Pennsylvania area that insinuates Obama is not prepared to handle the numerous problems facing America for the upcoming President. Obama’s rebuttal focused on Clinton’s tactic of attack; asserting that, “in times of challenge will unite us -- not use fear and calculation to divide us.” In an election that has morphed into a war of endorsements, Obama received the support of another well-known film maker, Michael Moore. Apparently Moore posted a blog on his website praising Obama’s movement for change and he also took the time to critique the divisive, dirty and disheartening sentiments of Hillary’s campaign. According to an article in The New York Times, age will play a large role in Tuesday’s primary because it has become the second most accurate predictor of how someone will vote in the election. While Obama seems to have a near monopoly on younger voters, Hillary has consistently had a base of middle aged supporters. Interestingly, polls have demonstrated that in Pennsylvania “the outmigration of young people has left the state with the second-highest proportion of people over 65 in the country, after Florida. Fifty-eight percent of registered Democrats are older than 45, a consistent dividing line in the race”—figures that may favor Hillary. Whatever the outcome of tomorrow’s primary election, the Obama campaign will remain favored in the race and the results will determine whether he has all but won the nomination.

Obama Hopes His Slip Up Won't Damage His Campaign

Obama asserted that with the three upcoming primaries in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina, he feels he holds an advantage in North Carolina—a state with a very high African American population—and since Hillary had a lead in Pennsylvania; he believes “Indiana may end up being the tiebreaker.” According to a political science professor at Indiana University, if Obama wins two of the three primaries he should have the nomination all but in the bag. However, this past week Obama made the controversial comment "that economic bitterness had driven some working class people to cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations” in a private fundraiser that has around the country and has aides worried about the negative press such a short time before these important primaries. All three presidential candidates were invited to speak tonight at Messiah College in Scranton, PA but only the two democrats vying desperately for one spot have accepted the offers. In addition, according to an Associate Press poll released earlier this week, the past month and a half has really helped McCain increase his supporters and is showing how tight the general election will be. While Hillary used to have a 48%-43% lead over John McCain, the newest results show he has gained 2% putting them into range of statistical error. On the other hand, Obama had a 10point lead on McCain in February and now splits the constituents evenly with 45% for each candidate. This news has undoubtedly amplified the pressure on the democratic candidates to use these three states as a final battleground to avoid potentially damaging the chances of the party winning next November.

Are George W. Bush and Obama really related?

Obama started off this past month not so well because of the beliefs of his minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. Obama finally dismissed Rev Wright from his political campaign, after immense outcry because of some of Wright's highly controversial statements and sermon themes. Obama has deemed these statements as "inflammatory and appalling". After dismissing Wright, Obama made a highly praised and important speech that touched on the important issue of racism and sought to fix the "bad press" because of his minister. Obama outcried that Americans need "to break a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years." The US News and World Report explained that many individuals claim, "Obama's words—about slavery, black anger, white resentment, and the imperative to move forward—harked back […], to those of Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, and they deserve a similar place in history." After Obama's monumental speech, Obama retook the lead over Clinton (according to a poll), which Clinton had assumed for one week after many weeks behind Obama.
In other news, Obama is preparing for the North Carolina and Pennsylvania primaries. As Clinton has been discussing a recount for Michigan and Florida, Obama's campaign has proposed the distribution of the votes 50/50. However, this seems pointless because in the end, the plan still does not count the American people's votes (but makes an attempt to please these disenfranchised voters). Furthermore, as of March 25th, Obama is leading in the polls in North Carolina by 21 points. However, in Pennsylvania, Clinton maintains a 50% lead over Obama.
Moreover, there have been two interesting updates regarding Obama and his campaign. First and more importantly, Bill Richardson has finally endorsed a Democratic candidate: Obama. I think that this will ultimately help Obama gain more votes in the upcoming primaries. On another note, genealogists claim that Obama is not only related to Dick Cheney (as discovered earlier), but also George W Bush and his father, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman and James Madison, and Brad Pitt!