Clinton, Obama Take Aim At Pennsylvania

Washington Post: But Obama Team Tries To Lower Expectations Due To Clinton's Perceived Strengths

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Anne E. Kornblut and Krissah Williams.

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Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are mounting campaign efforts in Pennsylvania on a scale not seen since the Iowa caucuses, even as the Obama campaign attempts to cast the April 22 contest as just another in a string of more than a dozen to go.

Almost immediately after results showed Clinton winning Texas and Ohio on Tuesday night, the campaigns began mobilizing their supporters in Pennsylvania and plotting strategies to win votes across the large, delegate-rich state. Clinton will arrive full of momentum in a state whose demographics set up for her even more favorably than Ohio's, while the Obama campaign will come armed with a sizable money advantage after announcing yesterday that it raised a record $55 million in February.

"It's Iowa on steroids," said T.J. Rooney, chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and a Clinton backer. "There are a lot of Democrats today who are like the dog who caught the mail truck. They finally caught it; now they don't know what to do."

Senior Obama advisers sought to play down the importance of Pennsylvania, which is full of the same kind of white, working-class voters who supported Clinton in Ohio and other states that she won. Pennsylvania also has more senior citizens than Ohio, which favors Clinton as well.

"We're going to campaign hard in Pennsylvania," said David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager. "It's a big, important state. We have a lot of support there. We're going to try to do as well as we can, get as many votes and delegates. They want to just say it's about this next big state. Our view is, we've got to look at the whole picture, which is 611 delegates are left. This is ultimately about the delegate math."

Plouffe noted that Clinton's slim victories in the March 4 contests could represent a smaller net gain in delegates than Obama got by overwhelmingly winning Idaho on Feb. 5, thanks to the Democrats' proportional allocation. The Obama campaign hopes to start winning back those delegates in contests in Wyoming tomorrow and Mississippi on Tuesday, while notching victories after Pennsylvania in smaller places such as Indiana and West Virginia.

"We're not a believer in symbolic wins," Plouffe said. "We have a strategy to win the nomination. And we just have to continue getting as many delegates and votes as we can, from wherever we can."

Senior Obama advisers said they learned a hard lesson about managing expectations ahead of their defeat in Texas, where they had anticipated doing better. Rather than accepting the notion that Pennsylvania will be decisive, they plan to play down their chances in the Keystone State and keep their focus on states such as North Carolina, where they expect to win.

Aside from a demographic advantage, Clinton will have the support of several state Democratic leaders, including Gov. Edward G. Rendell. "He's very engaged, and that's really important," Rooney said. "He brings a fundraising machine like no other. He brings the influence of his office and a large political following."

The state party's executive director, Mary Isenhour, is also in the Clinton camp and will run Clinton's Pennsylvania operation. Another key Clinton backer is Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who will try to help her offset Obama's advantage in a city that will be critical to his performance in the state. Former president Bill Clinton was scheduled to make campaign stops in Philadelphia and its suburbs today.

"We operate from the assumption that Pennsylvania is Clinton country," said Mark Nevins, Clinton's state spokesman. Nevins, who joined the campaign two weeks ago, said Clinton's operation essentially mirrors what Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) had in place four years ago when he beat President Bush in Pennsylvania.

"We can build a team here that is unbeatable," Nevins said. "Even if the other side runs more television ads or sends more mailings, they can't beat us on the ground. We've got the support of the people that control the infrastructure here in the state. We've got that institutional structure that can deliver people on Election Day."

Obama is headed to Wyoming today, and Clinton traveled to Mississippi yesterday. Before leaving Washington, Clinton held a news conference in which she emphasized her national security know-how -- but also said this week's results were a sign that voters want the competition to continue.

"I think that this is good for the party and it has brought so many millions of people into this process and there are many states left to go," Clinton said. "I don't think the voters in the process who have yet to be heard from are ready for this race to be over."

Clinton's advisers fended off renewed demands by the Obama campaign for Clinton to release her recent tax returns. "I, for one, do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president. But perhaps that theory will be tested," said Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson.

Clinton also joined a conference call of her supporters to report that the campaign took in $3 million in the 24 hours that followed the Ohio and Texas primary wins. The Obama team declined to say how much his campaign took in Wednesday. The Obama campaign has recently held back fundraising totals and announced larger hauls after Clinton has revealed her numbers.

Obama did so again on Thursday in releasing his numbers from February, which Clinton had shared a week earlier. The Obama campaign said the $55 million one-month total came from more than 700,000 individual contributors. That surpassed the record-setting $44 million haul Kerry brought in after securing the Democratic nomination in March 2004 and will likely give the Obama campaign an advertising and organizing advantage in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. In all, the Obama campaign has raised $192.4 million.

Clinton raised $35 million last month and heralded the effort as a sign that her campaign had caught fire with Internet donors. But her top fundraisers said they knew they were likely to face another month in the shadow of someone who has rewritten the playbook on fundraising. In January, Obama raised $36 milion while Clinton brought in $13.9 million.

"For us, it was a huge month," said Hassan Nemazee, one of Clinton's finance chairmen. "But then he blew everyone away and the whole model changed."

Staff writers Shailagh Murray and Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.

[b-easy63]

OBAMA DEMOCRATS AND SUPPORTERS, GET A CLUE.

Know what Obama means when he says he needs your help to get change: it means not just your vote--it means your support. How? STOP SAYING YOU WILL SUPPORT THE NOMINEE NO MATTER WHO IT IS. WHY?


1. If you will support the Dem nominee no matter what, why should the status quo not just put their candidate as the nominee and ignore the people''''s choice? (you''''ll vote for who they pick anyway)

2. If you will support the nominee no matter what, Why should Hillary run an honest, fair or even decent campaign? (even if she cheats, you''''ll vote for her no matter what)

3. If you will support the nominee no matter what, why should the SD not support the person who pays them the most or offers the best favors? (even if they ignore the true leader, you will elect who they tell you to no matter what)

Do you people even know who the status quo is or what it is? its not just corruption in Washington--it is YOU. It is who you choose and HOW you choose them. If you keep doing what you always do for the party--why should they change? Why should they stop the war? You''''ll vote for them no matter what.

Why should they fix NAFTA? YOu''''ll vote for them no matter what. Why should they stop backroom deals or stop fixing the elections so their best party pick can win? You''''ll vote for them no matter what. Meanwhile, you each keep doing what it takes to keep them in power.

[popstom1]

Offering Obama VP was a good political move she
knew he would not take it remember Bill Clinton
has the best plitical mind there is if Al or John
would have said hay give a hand there would be no
Bush

[kmccliment]

jed1234561,

Understand with the Fla and MI redo. Hillary will be ahead be a little over 100 delegates. She will also secure the remaining super-dels. This will happen as Nostradamus has written this.

[kmccliment]

NEWS UPDATE:



Barack Obama must make detour through Mississippi while he%u2019s campaigning due to bad weather. Senator Obama was scheduled to meet with the Governor of Mississippi this evening but had to cancel as the Governor%u2019s mansion was hit by an F-1 tornado. Local authorities advise that no one was harmed in the F-1 tornado only the mansion was knocked off its wheels.

[rfcrtl]

Pittsburghers for HILLARY!

[plevy888]

But no one is entitled to a Presidential nomination.

[jed1234561]

Hey Trueprogress,,,a little full of yourself aren''t you? You forgot to say that you are the only "expert" qualified to do anything..."everyone needs to be a womans expert in womenly issues like me, only then can they be the leader"
Exactly what does a "womens studies" degree qualify you to do besides act really pompus and self-inflated and wax poetic about people being "forced to put women in power. Are you sure youre talking about womens rights because it sounds likke your advocating facism
and if that is the case then youre right..HIllary is the candidate for you !!!

[trueprogress]

WE NEED A WORLD VOTE, NOT A "VOTE FOR ME" ROMAN/ROAMING PLEBICITE DOMINATED BY MEN !

As a full Professor of World and Women Studies, I have come to realize that this whole process is nothing more than a misguided charade- a celebrity contest,"A PEOPLE CHOICE AWARDS"- or sadly much like the TV show American Idol. We need to limit the choosing of candidates to experts, from a spectrum of community leaders including from academies of colleges who are able to form, relate and define what is truly best not only for America but for the WORLD community. It is so foolish and parochial to have "regular people" vote for a leader with this much power. They do not have the skills or education to define what we need. Is this how we say who is a brain surgeon- by a silly "people''s vote" - absurd ! After our choosing, the WORLD would decide by members of the UN and other agencies, such as NOW, and HOOUD so that we do not run into a crazy "vote for me" high school student gov''t template. It is not that the "average America" can not think, it is that we in leadership positions can do a better job. Women leadership should be alternated each year with men, by agreement or forced reality of laws.
Hillary is the obvious choice and should be President. The SUPER DELAGATES MUST TO THE RESCUE AND BRING SOME SANITY TO THIS PEOPLES CHOICE CONTEST !

[jed1234561]

I guess Hillary finally realizes that she has no chance of winning the nomination so she is starting to beg Obama for the #2 spot. All this hinting at the dream ticket is her way of preping her supporters for her loss and attempting to hang on to some position in the Whitehouse.
Dream on Hillary, Obama doesn''''''''t need you!!

Obama 08

[jed1234561]

Let%u2019s talk about Hillary Clinton%u2019s tactics over the past couple of weeks.

First of all, her main argument for why she is more qualified than Obama is that she has more experience than he does. I guess she believes that being married to a president makes you qualified to be one because she doesn%u2019t really have much experience in any position other than First Lady; if that makes you qualified to run the country than I guess her argument holds true.

Second, Hillary had slammed Obama for his supposed contact with Canada to reassure the Canadian Government that he did not really dislike NAFTA; he was just saying he did for political gain in the presidential race and he would then go back to supporting NAFTA after the election.
Then we come to find out it was ACTUALLY HILLARY CLINTON who had contacted the Canadian government to ensure them that she would not change the trade deals the US has with Canada but she needed to be critical of NAFTA for the short run because her opponent had been making headway by not supporting NAFTA in REAL POLICY.

Third, Clinton blasted Obama for his implied connection to Rezno, who has been investigated for fraud and Hillary has cried corruption and lamented about ethics.
HELLO%u2026DOES ANYONE REMEMBER A LITTLE THING CALLED WHITEWATER!!

[jed1234561]

I guess Hillary finally realizes that she has no chance of winning the nomination so she is starting to beg Obama for the #2 spot. All this hinting at the dream ticket is her way of preping her supporters for her loss and attempting to hang on to some position in the Whitehouse.
Dream on Hillary, Obama doesn''''t need you!!

Obama 08

[jed1234561]

I guess Hillary finally realizes that she has no chance of winning the nomination so she is starting to beg Obama for the #2 spot. All this hinting at the dream ticket is her way of preping her supporters for her loss and attempting to hang on to some position in the Whitehouse.
Dream on Hillary, Obama doesn''''t need you!!

Obama 08

[cfin5]

Hmmm,...didn''t know d.a.r.n. it was a restricted word.

[cfin5]

Obama had it till Farrakhan opened his big mouth. Penn dems will go Hillary. I''m no dem, but certainly don''t trust the word of muslims concerning any oath, peace treaty and the like they''ll make with us. Uhm,....what is the real "H" word that they use to describe this? Yesir Irfat used it after the Oslo Accords.......can''t think of it *** it!

[therex10]

Oh - I forgot to say that we in PA have already decided if Obama gets the ticket - we''ll switch parties & vote McCain!!

[therex10]

Sorry Obama supporter - PA is going Clinton all the Way!! At least all the Pennsylvanians I know including myself, family & friends!

[whitepicks2]

For those who wish to discuss issues, a conversation would first require raising an issue. After poring over the issues in their public policy papers, and doing some comparisons, I found a basic grasp of Hillary''s and Barack''s positions in which it was reasonable to choose Obama, which I did Feb. 5th. Secondly, any discussion highlighting their distinctions on the issues should include one or more of: dealing with the economy, reforming the health care system, protecting the environment, dealing with the nation''s energy problems, and reforming government in Washington. I neither have noticed any of those discussed here nor do I expect to. Surprise me.

[popstom1]

Barack Obama wrote letters to the city of chicago and
the state of IL. insupport of Tony Rezko for
14 million and you want me to vote for this and you
call the Clinton''s dishonest.

[latina4obama]

The Canadian Press story said a CTV reporter asked Brodie about remarks by Clinton and Obama that they would seek to renegotiate NAFTA.

"He said someone from Clinton''s campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt. ... That someone called us and told us not to worry," the journalist quoted Brodie as saying, according to the report.
CBS News:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/07/politics/main3917405.shtml

[latina4obama]

PA make sure you vote OBAMA. He has the WISDOM that even the so called ''experienced'' contenders do not have. With all their ''Washington ill experience'' they continue to make bad choices.

VOTE OBAMA for CHANGE!