Obama Camp: State-By-State, We're More Electable
Last night the Obama campaign released a memo to superdelegates arguing that Hillary Clinton is not the strongest Democratic general election candidate against John McCain, as her campaign has claimed.
Obama's "ability to expand the Democratic base, and his ability to capture the crucial Independent vote, make him a stronger candidate than Senator Clinton, who would enter the fall campaign with the highest unfavorable ratings of any nominee in half a century," the campaign argues.
The memo notes out a number of big states – among them California, New York, and Obama's home state of Illinois – where polls show Obama faring better or essentially equal to Clinton in head-to-head match ups against McCain. It also spotlights some "traditional battlegrounds" like Pennsylvania and Michigan and notes the relative performance of Obama and Clinton against McCain among independents.
"...when it comes to head-to-head match-ups versus John McCain, Obama performs better than Clinton in key states and shows the potential to put new states in play for Democrats up and down the ballot," the memo claims.
The Wall Street Journal has posted the full memo here.
Clinton, meanwhile, is pushing the argument that she is ahead in the popular vote – a claim that, if they buy it, could be the basis for superdelegates to throw their support behind her.
The argument is based on the inclusion of the vote totals in Florida and Michigan, two states Clinton won, and the exclusion of the results from caucus states, where accurate vote counts are not kept. Florida and Michigan's delegates were stripped because the states held their primaries before the national party permitted; the candidates did not campaign in the two states, and in Michigan, Obama's name wasn't on the ballot.
As the New York Times notes, Clinton has tried to sway uncommitted superdelegates in private meetings in Washington over the past two days, stressing her strength with women and blue-collar workers and her improved fundraising after her Pennsylvania victory.
Obama's "ability to expand the Democratic base, and his ability to capture the crucial Independent vote, make him a stronger candidate than Senator Clinton, who would enter the fall campaign with the highest unfavorable ratings of any nominee in half a century," the campaign argues.
The memo notes out a number of big states – among them California, New York, and Obama's home state of Illinois – where polls show Obama faring better or essentially equal to Clinton in head-to-head match ups against McCain. It also spotlights some "traditional battlegrounds" like Pennsylvania and Michigan and notes the relative performance of Obama and Clinton against McCain among independents.
"...when it comes to head-to-head match-ups versus John McCain, Obama performs better than Clinton in key states and shows the potential to put new states in play for Democrats up and down the ballot," the memo claims.
The Wall Street Journal has posted the full memo here.
Clinton, meanwhile, is pushing the argument that she is ahead in the popular vote – a claim that, if they buy it, could be the basis for superdelegates to throw their support behind her.
The argument is based on the inclusion of the vote totals in Florida and Michigan, two states Clinton won, and the exclusion of the results from caucus states, where accurate vote counts are not kept. Florida and Michigan's delegates were stripped because the states held their primaries before the national party permitted; the candidates did not campaign in the two states, and in Michigan, Obama's name wasn't on the ballot.
As the New York Times notes, Clinton has tried to sway uncommitted superdelegates in private meetings in Washington over the past two days, stressing her strength with women and blue-collar workers and her improved fundraising after her Pennsylvania victory.
