Obama Wins Big on Saturday

There were three Democratic Presidential contests on Saturday, February 9th... Barack Obama won all three as Hillary Clinton's campaign continues to show signs of fading after Super Tuesday. Obama beat Clinton, 58 percent to 36 percent, in Louisiana. Obama romped with a 68 percent to 32 percent victory in Nebraska, and then had another overwhelming win in the Washington caucuses, 68 percent to 31 percent. With these wins, even when counting Super Delegates, Obama and Clinton are in a dead heat with Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC on tap for this Tuesday; with the wind in his sails, Obama could surge ahead with convincing wins in those primaries.

Read the entire Washington Post article here.

plez sez: on the heels of taking the most states on super tuesday where he won thirteen states to hillary's seven, Obama is now poised to pull ahead in the delegate count and make a strong case for capturing the democratic nomination. there are (meaningless) polls that suggest that Obama fares better nationally against john mccain than hillary clinton. the democratic party has the nominee that can deliver the votes across the most demographic populations, and that nominee is BARACK OBAMA. he energizes the populous and his message of hope & opportunity really gives democrats, independents, and moderate republicans someone to VOTE FOR as opposed to a candidate to vote against.

i sent another contribution to his campaign the day after super tuesday... money well spent! it's feeling more and more like plezWorld should be making plans to be in washington, dc on january 20, 2009 for obama's inauguration!

BLOG UPDATE (02/10/2008 2:00 PM): Obama also pitched a delegate shutout in the US Virgin Islands with 90 percent of the vote... he'll undoubtedly get all three of their delegates!

Nevada - Clinton Pulls Out Another Win

Hillary Clinton bested her two rivals by snapping up over 50% of the vote in Nevada's caucuses on Saturday, January 19th. After a week of bellyaching by Bill Clinton about the disenfranchisement of voters due to the structure of the caucuses which would allow MORE people to participate, the Clinton Machine found a way to pull out another one.

Barack Obama came in second with a respectable 45% of the vote with John Edwards a distant third with only 4% of the vote.

Since these three left Iowa, the Democratic nomination battle has turned into a two-horse race with Clinton besting Obama over the past two weeks. The focus has shifted to the Southeast and South Carolina where the Democratic Primary is on Saturday, January 26, 2008. Obama appears to be leading in the polls there, but his campaign can expect a heavy push from the Clintonistas this coming week.

Everyone will be in Atlanta over the next couple of days for the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday; Barack Obama will be at Dr. King's old church - Ebenezer Baptist Church - tomorrow morning. If I can get up and get my family to the queue by 7:00 AM tomorrow morning, we may go check him out in person. Obama is going to need this win in South Carolina to remain viable in this race or I'm afraid his campaign may drop off considerably.

Even though, Nevada carries few delegates and Michigan's delegates are in doubt, the Clinton camp is gaining momentum and confidence with each win. Obama has only won one race, in Iowa, and that win is becoming more distant and meaningless as the losses pile up. I had planned to go out canvassing for Obama this morning, but inclement weather (snow) cancelled the event.

It would be nice for Obama to win at least one race before going into Super Tuesday on February 5th!

Side Bet: plezWorld did predict a Clinton vs. Romney election a few months ago... I'm really hoping that I wasn't right!

Barack Obama: Iowa Caucus Victory Speech

Barack Obama's Victory Speech




Hillary Clinton's Post Iowa Caucus Speech

plez sez: this is a historic moment in United States politics... i look for Barack Obama to continue a strong run to gain the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. on to New Hampshire!

i have a dream that one day soon, i'll be able to take my daughter to the White House and tell her that President Barack Obama lives here!

Clinton & Romney Top Early Iowa Polls

The Des Moines Register reports that an American Research Group poll of likely caucus-goers (+/- 4%) conducted this week give Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney the lead in early polls for their respective party presidential nominations. The Iowa Caucuses will be held on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008, the earliest date ever for such an event.

Democrats:
27% - Hillary Clinton
21% - Barack Obama
20% - John Edwards
12% - Bill Richardson

Republicans:
26% - Mitt Romney
24% - Mike Huckabee
11% - Rudy Giuliani
11% - Fred Thompson
10% - John McCain

Two other Iowa polls show similar results. With just under 2 months before the first primary votes of the 2008 presidential election year cycle, Clinton and Romney are nursing slim leads in each of their respective races. The importance of the Iowa Caucus is mainly because the "straw poll" is the first votes of the election cycle, but the winner of the caucus is not necessarily the eventual party nominee.

For Democrats: George McGovern lost to Edmund Muskie in 1972, Jimmy Carter lost to "Uncommitted" in 1976, Michael Dukakis came in third place in 1988, Bill Clinton came in third place in 1992. For Republicans: Ronald Reagan lost to George H. W. Bush, and Vice President George H. W. Bush came in third behind Bob Dole & Pat Robertson in 1988! So the Iowa Caucus is more symbolic of the beginning of the election year rather than a prognosticator of the eventual party nominee.

For more Iowa Caucus information.


plez sez: all of the polls (democrats & republicans) show tight races and it doesn't appear that losing the Iowa Caucus will do much damage to a candidate's ability to win the party nomination. the new hampshire primary is a better indicator of the eventual nominee. jimmy carter and michael dukakis won the new hampshire primary, and bill clinton moved into second place in new hampshire (an ascent that ended with him being elected president). on the republican side, after 1972, the eventual nominee won in new hampshire except for bob dole in 1996 and george w. bush in 2000.

i'm still a strong supporter of barack obama because of his opposition to the war in iraq, and his message of change and hope for this country. i will vote for barack obama in the georgia democratic primary. i feel that hillary clinton lacks conviction and will tend to be a populist who governs via poll results... i'm not that crazy about populists (she did vote to go to war with iraq)! john edwards is hanging around and he has a chance to surprise the field with an early win in iowa or new hampshire.


i'm a bit perplexed that john mccain is still hanging in there with his low numbers and lack of money. he'll probably drop out after finishing no higher than fourth place in iowa or new hampshire. and fred thompson is probably kicking himself for waiting so late to get into the republican race, he brought nothing new to the table with his late entry.

it will be interesting to see what rudy guiliani does in the first 2 or 3 primaries, since other than mitt romney, he's probably the only other republican who will be able to beat clinton.

plez predicts: mitt romney will win the 2008 presidential election over hillary clinton in a very close electoral vote; her negatives and bill's baggage will energize the GOP voters enough to go out to vote against her. it appears that this will be the third straight presidential election that will come down to the winner of one or two swing states (like ohio, tennessee, or florida).