Indiana: It's the New Pennsylvania

By: Fernando Suarez
Topics: Hillary Clinton

(CBS)

From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

WASHINGTON -- With the now yearlong Democratic presidential contest still in flux, the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns continue in states with late primaries, once considered irrelevant to picking the next president. And as the uncertainty of who will win the nomination quickly becomes a reality, the Clinton campaign is forced to set a whole new set of benchmarks, pushing the goalpost further and further back.

After losing Iowa in early January, Clinton put all of her resources into New Hampshire, a state she later won and a win many argue kept Clinton alive in the hunt for the nomination. But as New Hampshire became part of political history, the focus quickly shifted to Super Tuesday on February 5. The Clinton campaign made a big push to win delegate-rich states like California, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey. But even as Super Tuesday polls came to a close and no clear winner emerged, rumblings inside the Clinton campaign began as the new prize became Ohio and Texas. A Clinton senior staffer said with great hope that Texas is "the big one."

Now, more than two weeks after the Ohio and Texas contests and with 33 days left until Pennsylvania gets its chance to cast ballots, the campaign continues to move forward, but for how long? A senior Clinton campaign adviser tells CBS News "the campaign will go on until all the states and Puerto Rico have voted."

"It's been a long campaign, but the voters clearly aren't ready for it to end," the adviser added.

Today, the former First Lady makes her first campaign trip to the state of Indiana, a state that has 72 delegates at stake on May 6 and has taken on greater importance in picking the party's nominee.

"Indiana is a competitive state and the economy is the top issue. We feel good about Hillary's prospects there because she is seen as the candidate who knows how to turn the economy around," said the Clinton campaign adviser. But when asked if there was any end in sight to this campaign or any new benchmarks being set, the adviser left little doubt that the campaign is far from over. "We aren't looking at any single state as a particular benchmark. The benchmark is more likely June, after the voting is completed in the remaining contests."

Clinton will hold three events across Indiana today where she will be joined by Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., a Clinton supporter who made an early bid for the White House before withdrawing from the race. Meantime, her opponent, Barack Obama, will spend the next two days looking even further ahead as he visits West Virginia (May 13 primary) and Oregon (May 20 primary).

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by treetracker March 22, 2008 5:04 PM EDT: Before drawing conclusions from what the media has regurgitated, I suggest you listen to the entire sermon of Rev Wright. You can hear it here: http://essence.typepad.com/news/2008/03/listen-to-rev-j.html

Note that the "chickens coming home to roost" comment was attributed not to Wright but former Ambassador to the Iraq, Edward Peck. It comes around the 20-minute mark.

Here''s the sermon that includes "God D... America" - It''s not the complete context, but more than what has been shown by the media.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw

The media has hyped this story and their version is not what it is. Listen, think, demand the media tell the truth!; Reply to this comment


by basant1-2009 March 22, 2008 3:19 AM EDT: Hillary will win in Indiana and N.C. Obama is damaged good now after his racist friend Wright showed his true color.; Reply to this comment


by lukas24-2009 March 21, 2008 12:38 AM EDT: Ok, this Wright stuff is disturbing, very. But the bigger problem I have for Mr. Obama is his pattern of saying one thing and then distancing himself from those words when the opposite is revealed at a later date. That is called "spin", people. We have a need and right to know Senator Obama from every angle and what he believes when he talks of equality and a "vision" for America.

To say that Clinton +/or Obama is at fault for the direction the Democratic campaign has headed, is ludicrous and short-sighted. America is a melting pot of races, genders, culture, etc. and we each have a personal interest in seeing "ourselves" in our President. With that connection comes passion and emotional investment. However, it also must be tempered with information about the candidates (good and bad, without negative "label" attached to said information) so that we can make informed choices, rather than only emotionally-driven ones. To Americans: try to take off the blinders of opinion polls, media spin, mud and excitement. That person is Senator Clinton. She has worked hard and diligently for all Americans, and spent years building strong relationships because she has a passionate vision of what America can be, not just because she''s running for President. Vetted, intelligent, tested and hardworking.

Senator Clinton is the right choice for me in ''08; Reply to this comment


by blkpresident March 20, 2008 7:04 PM EDT: Terrorist1: Hope America votes for the woman.

Terrorist2: Hope America votes for the OLD man.

Terrorist3: We should be so lucky, but look out if America votes for Obama.

Terrorist4: Agreed, Terrorist3, because a girl or OLD man we can handle but a real man would present a challenge.

Terrorist5: Bring on the girl or OLD man. Maybe she will bake us some cookies and maybe the OLD man will be fast asleep in his favorite "blankie" when we plan our attack.; Reply to this comment


by anappleadae March 20, 2008 5:15 PM EDT: bdyfxr

Racist indeed. Blkpresident is doing it''s best to turn off Obama supporters. Maybe this is really Rev. Wright.

Sexism is the discriminating card purposely avoided by the media and campaigns because sexism is such a volital issue especially among impotent men. The racist card is being hammered over and over by media and the campaigns because the issue is comfortable and well known with most users.

But ageist card is scarey. That card involves a huge number of voters,and their numbers are growing rapidly. Hammering the elderly cuts into every demographic catagory out there.

Incidently I think your cookies are probably unforgetable.; Reply to this comment


by blkpresident March 20, 2008 3:50 PM EDT: What the halifax is ageist? OLD man McCain IS an OLD man...America needs a strong man, not an OLD one. Not a woMAN either, but a real man. ''lil Hillary can go play president of a little league or something. Don''t forget to bake some cookies for the kids, ''lil woman.; Reply to this comment


by blkpresident March 20, 2008 3:47 PM EDT: bodyfxr,

You''re welcome, but don''t make the mistake the MSM is making over judging Obama over Rev. Wright''s remarks. Rev. Wright and I are NOT running for president here. Ameerica simply has three choices left in this race: an OLD man, a soccer mom pretending to be presidential worthy and Obama. America doesn''t need a president in an apron baking brownies at 3am, nor an OLD man in need of his "blankie" so he can take another nap. After PA. votes, missy can simply drop out and write a book about how tears lead to mascara smudges, and bring on OLD man McCain, so he can experience the Obama shuffle. Scare OLD man? You cannot duck Obama and hide behind ''lil Hillary''s apron forever. Some war hero...; Reply to this comment


by rale1 March 20, 2008 3:37 PM EDT: To BLKPRESIDENT:

Thank you for your comment. Now I can show them to my African-American friends that indeed Blacks are not only racists, but also sexists and ageist.; Reply to this comment


by jockh March 20, 2008 3:06 PM EDT: If Hillary can loan 5 million dollars to her campaign then surely the voters have a right to know the source of her funding.

Why wont Hillary release her tax returns? PEOPLE WITH NOTHING TO HIDE DON%u2019T USUALLY HIDE !!
The main excuse we''ve gotten so far is that Hillary Clinton just has too much on her plate. "I''m a little busy right now," she said during the Ohio debate. "I hardly have time to sleep. But I will certainly work toward releasing, and we will get that done and in the public domain."
That was three weeks ago. Two weeks ago, Howard Wolfson promised the returns would be released "on or around April 15." But weren''t the returns completed and filed a long time ago? Doesn''t Clinton''s accountant have time to print them out and make some copies (note to Clinton''s accountant: many Kinko''s are open 24 hours).

In short, it''s well past time for Hillary Clinton to be as "vetted" as she claims to already be -- and to have this vetting done now by Democratic voters rather than later by GOP hit squads. She needs to live up to the standard she laid out for Rick Lazio, the opponent in her 2000 Senate race. At that time, she hypocritically said it was "frankly disturbing" that Lazio was holding back on releasing his tax returns and she even sent a staffer dressed as Uncle Sam to taunt him during campaign stops.
What a difference eight years -- and tens of millions of dollars (some of them from questionable Arab deals) -- can make.; Reply to this comment


by zazufluffytulips March 20, 2008 1:33 PM EDT: Hillary KNOWS what the American people need and want. Why? because she knows HOW to LISTEN.. and she takes a back step in EGO and a FORWARD step to ensure that the AMerican people are safe,secure and appreciated. We Americans are what the UNITED STATES is about. WE ARE AMERICA!!!! She knows what buttons to push to help us get the ecomony back to a stable environment for us. We do not need any negative input now. There are too many important issues at stake. WE NEED HILLARY!!!!; Reply to this comment