Food for Thought

New Obama Ad: Hillary Gets More Lobbyist $ Than McCain

Another Potential Advantage to an Extended Primary

Chuck Todd, political scientist extraordinaire, had this to say today about McCain's path to victory. Although the title, "McCain's Path to Victory," implies that it is an article chalk-full of advice on how McCain can win the November election, it is more of a commentary on the challenges of not having a clear opponent and the difficulty of having to wait to define oneself as a candidate. The gist:

He will either be the steady hand in uncertain times vs. Obama, or he'll be the breath of fresh air and openness in a campaign against Clinton.

As someone said to NBC's David Gregory, McCain will take up the space left by the defeated Democrat.

From a message standpoint, those are big differences. It is not easy to advance both, now, at the same time. McCain is trying, but ultimately, being able to refine one line of attack is a must, and that can't happen without a clear opponent.

Whether Hillary is staying in for altruistic or selfish reasons, the possibility remains that it may all be for the better.

Clinton Staying in for the Good of the Party?

This is an interesting read from Katharine Seelye at the New York Times, opining that Clinton may be staying in the race to increase turnout and voter enthusiasm in the Democratic primary and to ultimately help Barack Obama become President of the United States of America.

Hmm.

Thousands of people are coming to her rallies now, and her campaign has organized events in post-Pennsylvania states where people are thrilled to be part of a process from which they are normally excluded.

Something not really focused on in the mainstream media:

It may not be apparent to the casual viewer of the news, but Mrs. Clinton is no longer dropping negative bombs on Mr. Obama. She has shifted her attacks, some of them quite trenchant, to President Bush and Senator John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee.

There has been some discussion in the blogosphere recently trying to spin Clinton's continued campaign as a positive thing for "big D" Democracy. But to suggest that this is the intention of the Clinton campaign is something wholly different.

Two Endorsements and A Poll

Despite the incredibly slow and uneventful six weeks between the Texas & Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries, we finally have some relatively big news today out of the presidential race:

1) Lee Hamilton Endorses Obama

Not only does this endorsement give Obama some momentum going into the Indiana primary on May 6th, it also boosts his foreign policy credentials. Hamilton is a former representative of Indiana's 9th district as well as the former co-chair of both the 9/11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group. In sum, he's big time. This is what he had to say about Obama's foreign policy:

"His foreign policy is pragmatic, visionary and tough," said Hamilton, former Democratic chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives committees on foreign affairs and intelligence.

"He will work with our friends and allies. He will strengthen our ability to use all tools of American power and relentlessly promote the American values of freedom and justice for all people."

2) Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal endorses Obama

The Wyoming caucaus may have already passed, but this is still a big endorsement, both because Freudenthal is a superdelegate at a time in which every superdelegate vote counts and because he is a popular governor (won 70% of the vote in the 2006 election) in a state that is slowly shifting from red to blue.

3) New poll has Obama up in PA

This poll is a total shock, as the last time PPP did a poll two weeks ago, it had Obama down by 26 points. Kos questions its legitimacy. But damn!