AP, Ron Fournier: "Democratic nomination is now Obama's to lose."

[DeepModem Mom]

Obama has upper hand
By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Democratic nomination is now Barack Obama's to lose. After 10 consecutive defeats — including a heartbreaker in tailor-made Wisconsin on Tuesday — Hillary Rodham Clinton can't win the nomination unless Obama makes a major mistake or her allies reveal something damaging about the Illinois senator's background. Don't count her out quite yet, but Wisconsin revealed deep and destructive fractures in the Clinton coalition.

It's panic-button time....

The Clinton camp hopes to produce other instances of rhetorical theft and show a pattern of bad behavior. The danger for Obama is anything that undercuts his image as a candidate who rises above politics. Something like this might work to Clinton's advantage: Obama is backtracking on a pledge to abide by spending caps in the general election, and his explanation is bogus.

Obama is undeniably raw. Less than four years removed from the Illinois Legislature, he stands at the brink of the Democratic nomination and will soon go one-on-one in debates with a tough and savvy former first lady. The odds of a misstep are low but not impossible for these reasons: Clinton will grow increasingly negative; Obama faces more scrutiny as the new front-runner; his performance in multi-candidates debates was uneven; and the charmed Illinois senator has never faced political crises. Should Obama stumble in the next two weeks, does he know how to recover?

Clinton certainly knows how to bounce back. She helped her husband, Bill, recover from near-death experiences during his White House run and rebounded herself after a thumping in Iowa. But her rival has won the most states, earned the most pledged delegates and has all the momentum. Clinton needs to win Ohio and Texas on March 4 — then Pennsylvania in April — to narrow Obama's lead among pledged delegates. Only then could she argue with a straight face that a majority of the nearly 800 free-roaming "superdelegates" should back her over Obama....

Ignore the Clinton advisers who argue that Wisconsin was just a bump on the road en route to the tell-all March 4 primaries. Listen instead to the message sent by her ragged coalition: Obama led among whites (widely among white men), moderates and those earning less than $50,000, all bastions of Clinton's past strength. Obama and Clinton split the vote among women, erasing her one-time advantage....

In a sign of desperation, the Clinton camp floated the idea of poaching delegates that Obama earned via elections. While allowable under Democratic National Committee rules, the tactic would likely divide Democrats along racial lines and set the party back decades. It would be the ultimate act of selfishness and foolishness. Even Clinton must realize there is little she can do to win the nomination. She can only help Obama lose it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_campaignplus/20080220/ap_ca/on_deadline_wisconsin

[Bullet1987]

1. The MSM won't be able to keep up this "Don't count her out just yet.."

meme going to too much longer.

[aquart]

3. Yeah, because they want Hillary soooooo much.

Y'all never get tired, do ya?

[TwilightGardener]

2. He has to be careful at the debates--all he has to do is hold his ground

and not screw up, and he'll be on his way to the nomination. This means not sounding cocky, not stumbling on policy, not over-explaining himself. Short, sweet, and polite. That's all he needs to do.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. Just say "Yes" or "No."

Play it close to the vest. :D

[RBInMaine]

5. There is a good point here. Obama can't screw up !!

Obama has had a few stumbles but nothing too major. Now he can't screw up ! No more borrowed lines, no more Michelle gaffes, and he better respond FAST to ANY shitty attacks.

[KittyWampus]

6. "spending caps" was never a freaking pledge & the POINT is Public Financing not spendin caps

Obama has over a half million small donations from individuals. THAT IS Public Financing.