From The Road
April 9, 2008 8:50 AM

Even With Polls Tightening, Obama's Camp Still Sees "Deficits"

By
Maria Gavrilovic
Topics
Barack Obama
(CBS)
From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama returns to the campaign trail today, with several stops in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Yesterday his campaign downplayed expectations in both states, saying that they were up against "substantial deficits."

On a conference call with reporters, deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand said recent polls showing Hillary Clinton's lead in Pennsylvania shrinking are much more optimistic than what the campaign is seeing.

"We'd love to be ahead but the fact of the matter is that we have substantial deficits in the state and we are working to close it," Hildebrand said.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday shows Clinton ahead 50-44%. Three weeks ago, Clinton was up 12 points in the same poll.

Indiana State Rep. Ryan Dvorak said Clinton had an advantage in Indiana early on. "There was a lot of party establishment support for Senator Clinton starting with Sen. [Evan] Bayh early on so we're starting with a little bit of a deficit but it's been amazing to see the momentum moving forward."

Dvorak said he saw lines of volunteers at field offices eager to get involved with the campaign.

Obama kicks off a three-day bus tour of Indiana tomorrow, where is expected to focus heavily on the economy. The bus tour will be similar to his tour of Pennsylvania last week, where he made frequent stops at local businesses to mingle with voters..

Add a Comment See all 12 Comments
by joanhallhovey April 9, 2008 10:36 PM EDT
Barack Obama a fine man and will make a great leader, if people are not so swallowed up in hate and ignorance that they cannot hear his wonderful message of hope.
Pastor Wright is of an era where a black man had to step into the gutter to let a white man pass. Where %u2018Whites only%u2019 signs were everywhere. There is more; so much more. So many injustices, I think he can be forgiven, as the Lord forgives us all. And I am a white woman in my 70s.
Are there not people in your life you don%u2019t always agree with? Can we not have more understanding, more compassion. Being bi-racial, Barack Obama is in the position to see things from more than one side. He is not perfect. He is a human being, albeit a quality human being and he will make a wonderful President, and will bring change to the world. It would be a tragedy if we lost out on that. Please try to remember that Barack''s mother was white, and he has said on more than one occasion that the best that is in him, he owes to her.
I wish you a fair wind at your back, Mr. Obama.
~~~
As to Mrs.Clinton, one can easily misspeak or have a lapse in memory. But I think If I were running across a tarmac with my head down, trying to dodge bullets I would remember that. This is not a misspeak or an exaggeration. It''s a shameless lie, clearly and simply.
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by hinnis April 9, 2008 9:52 PM EDT
OBAMA LIES ABOUT HIS HEALTH PLAN
http://www.newsweek.com/id/107897
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by hinnis April 9, 2008 5:28 PM EDT
OBAMA LIES IN PENNSYLVANIA AD
http://***********/2nu85r
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by hinnis April 9, 2008 4:12 PM EDT
WHY IS OBAMA UNELECTABLE?
First, a recent poll suggests that almost 30 percent of Hillary Clinton voters will vote for McCain if Obama is the nominee. Second, his inexperience; his %u201Cmost liberal senator in Congress%u201D status; his dishonesty issues; Rezko; Rev. Wright. Remember when Kerry ran against Bush; the Swiftboat incident? What the Republican slime machine does is attack what they consider to be the Democrat''s greatest strength. For Kerry, one of those was the extent to which his military service eclipsed George Bush''s "alleged" military service. So, they Swiftboat him, and it worked. In Kerry''s case, I don''t believe that the Swiftboat veterans were truthful, but it raised enough questions to affect the election. In Obama''s case, the Republicans don''t even have to lie or make things up; they have Rev. Wright. Obama claims that one of his greatest strengths is that he is a "uniter," and yet he has attending a black liberation theology church for 20 years, and considers its racist and anti-American pastor to be his "mentor and spiritual adviser." Right now, Hillary cannot discuss this issue without fear of the race card; however, in the general election, the 527''s are going to have a field day with it.
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by hinnis April 9, 2008 3:51 PM EDT
OBAMA WAS A DIRTY POLITICIAN FROM THE VERY BEGINNING: Chicago Sun-Times -- A close examination of Obama''s first campaign clouds the image he has cultivated throughout his political career: The man now running for president on a message of giving a voice to the voiceless first entered public office not by leveling the playing field, but by clearing it. Alice Palmer, a friend and mentor to Obama, served the district in the Illinois Senate for much of the 1990s. She risked her safe seat to run for Congress and touted Obama as a suitable successor. But when Palmer got clobbered in that November 1995 special congressional race, her supporters asked Obama to fold his campaign so she could easily retain her state Senate seat. Obama not only refused to step aside for the woman who was his friend and had recommended him for the seat, he filed challenges that nullified Palmer''s hastily gathered nominating petitions, forcing her to withdraw. Had Palmer survived the petition challenge, Obama would have faced the daunting task of taking on an incumbent senator. "He wondered if we should knock everybody off the ballot. How would that look?" said Ronald Davis, the paid Obama campaign consultant whom Obama referred to as his "guru of petitions." In the end, Davis filed objections to all four of Obama''s Democratic rivals at the candidate''s behest. All other candidates were disposed of by Obama%u2019s challenges. He then went on to win the election.
http://***********/2zwwte
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by hinnis April 9, 2008 3:33 PM EDT
Shalopass: Yes, it is instructive to compare Obama''s Senate record with that of Hillary Clinton. For a good article about this, here is one from factcheck.org:
A VERY GOOD ARTICLE FROM FACTCHECK.ORG ABOUT OBAMA%u2019S SENATE RECORD VS. HILLARY%u2019S ENTITLED
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
April 1, 2008
A widely forwarded e-mail claims that Obama''s bills are more substantive and numerous than Clinton''s. Don''t believe it.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/substance_abuse.html
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by jy2008 April 9, 2008 3:32 PM EDT
Being smart is a gift. You may still get some credit for doing nothing. But do not ask too much if you are just SmartNothing.

No matter how many double standards exist, this one nation needs only one standard for president, what have you contributed.
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by ronnnm April 9, 2008 3:00 PM EDT
Clinton and Obama supporters both argue their candidate is the only one that can win. Clinton supporters base that on their experience from past elections and I think they are correct. Obama supporters argue that it is different this time. This in most cases would be incorrect. At the present time 82% of the country feels that we, as a country, are moving in the wrong direction. A good majority felt that way four years ago and reelected Bush. In my opinion Clinton not McCain is the closest thing to the mendacious, once swaggering GWB. Based on the second Bush term I think that her political aura will remind voters of Bush and they will reject it.

Instead voters will choose change not because they are confident that Obama will actually turn out to be right but simply because he offers something different from McCain-Bush agenda, which they know has not worked.

Choosing a president is unfortunately like shooting craps. Your guessing on an outcome but you don''t know what you''ll get.
This time I believe it is different the voters will chose change and Obama will be our next president. The odds that I am correct are slightly better than 50%. The odds of Clinton being our next president are 5%. I like Obama''s chances better than the other two.
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by leef531 April 9, 2008 2:04 PM EDT
Rev Wright will be little shame and embarrassment compared to McCains performance in Presidential Debates. With all respect to Senator McCain, he is no match for Senator''s Obama intelligence, not to mention ''memory''.
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by shalopash April 9, 2008 2:01 PM EDT
Just so this board is not so one sided I feel I have to take up for Mr. Obama. I really wish people would give it up on Rev. Wright. I''m so tired of hearing this. Thank God we live in country where Rev. Wright has the freedom to be critical of things the government does that he does not agree with. Do you guys live and breath everything that comes out of your pastor''s mouth. I doubt it. Do some research and look at what Obama has done in the legislature (state) and in the Senate (federal) as opposed to Hillary. It will surprise you. Then you may speak. Speaking from knowledge is a wonderful thing.
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