Obama Catches Clinton On Capitol Hill

Washington Post: Dem Rivals Have Equal Number Of Endorsements From Party's Senators, Representatives

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Jonathan Weisman and Shailagh Murray.

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With endorsements coming in from California, Iowa and Indiana, Sen. Barack Obama yesterday pulled even with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for support on Capitol Hill, as Democratic lawmakers shrugged off his recent struggles.

Obama (Ill.) received the backing of Rep. Baron P. Hill, a conservative from a critical district in southern Indiana; Rep. Bruce Braley, an Iowa freshman who grabbed a Republican seat in 2006; and Rep. Lois Capps, who has held her liberal Santa Barbara, Calif., seat for five full terms and whose son-in-law works for the Obama campaign.

A congressional contest that Clinton once dominated is now knotted at 97, and the senator from New York continues to lose ground with the one group that can still deliver her the nomination -- the party leaders and elected officials known as superdelegates. (See the full CBS News delegate count here.)

For the Clinton campaign, the reemergence of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., soon after Obama's comments about "bitter" small-town voters, was supposed to be the moment when superdelegates decided Obama could not be elected president. Instead, he has won more superdelegate endorsements than Clinton in recent days, whittling her once-overwhelming lead down to about 20.

At an hour-long Obama campaign stop that focused on jobs and health care yesterday at a factory in Indianapolis, no voters asked about Wright. And the candidate told the workers that an Indiana win for him could end the long Democratic nomination fight.

"If we win Indiana, we've got this nomination," Obama said. "We will win the general election, then we can roll up our sleeves and start changing the country."

On Monday, Obama took the endorsement lead among his Democratic Senate colleagues when Sen. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.) announced his support. Obama then pulled even overall after four House nods in two days, with even some rural lawmakers in tough, Republican-leaning districts giving him the benefit of the doubt. Swing-district lawmakers said they are no longer as certain as they once were that Obama would be less divisive than Clinton and attract the support of independents and Republicans in November -- but between the two, he appears to still be the better option.

"I am pleased that Senator Obama clearly and unequivocally denounced Reverend Wright's remarks," Hill said in a statement yesterday. "Hoosiers don't feel that way about our country, I don't feel that way about our country and Senator Obama made it abundantly clear that he doesn't feel that way either."

For elected superdelegates such as Hill, taking a public stand holds considerable political risk. The National Republican Congressional Committee, which hopes to take Hill's always-contested seat in November, quickly attacked him for backing a candidate "who recently claimed that people 'cling' to their religion and the Second Amendment because they are 'bitter.' "

Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio), who remains neutral, marveled that Hill -- who lost his seat in 2004 to Republican Michael E. Sodrel, won it back in 2006 and is likely to face a rematch with Sodrel in November -- came out for Obama. But he said he was even more amazed by Tuesday's endorsement of Obama by Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Ky.), whose district is likely to vote overwhelmingly for Clinton in the Kentucky Democratic primary May 20.

"That's courageous," he said.

Hill and other lawmakers made clear that Obama's recent efforts to put the "bitter" comments behind him and distance himself from his former pastor have satisfied them that he is the best candidate for the top of the Democratic ticket.

"Anybody who did not think Republicans would characterize either of our candidates somehow as deeply flawed has been living in another country, if not another planet," said Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), who remains undecided but believes Obama will be the nominee.

Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), an Obama supporter, said that at this point there are very few truly uncommitted lawmakers among the 92 who have not publicly endorsed, and he predicted that Obama would seal a majority of them by the final Democratic primaries on June 3.

Amid the positive signs for Obama was one worrisome development: a new television ad by Mississippi congressional candidate Travis Childers, a Democrat, that tries to create distance between Childers and his party's potential nominee. Childers's GOP opponent, Greg Davis, linked him to "liberal Barack Obama" in a previous ad that places Childers's face next to Wright's. The narrator says, "When Obama's pastor cursed America, blaming us for 9/11, Childers said nothing."

The new Childers ad denounces "lies and attacks linking me to politicians I don't know and have never even met." (You can read more about the ad and watch it here.)

Braley, the Iowa freshman, said he had already concluded that Obama holds "potential as a leading national figure" because of the "energy and enthusiasm" that he has generated among voters. But he said he was further reassured by the way Obama handled the Wright issue, which erupted again over the weekend.

"He made it very clear where he stands," Braley said.

Staff writer Perry Bacon Jr., traveling with Clinton, contributed to this report.

Hillary cried on TV when things were tough in NH during the campaign. What is she going to do if there is a crisis at 3am, start blubbering like a baby. The last thing the U.S. needs is Hillary in the oval office getting emotional and showing weakness. If we are going to have a woman President we need our own iron lady who will never show emotion under pressure. America deserves a strong leader, not a cry baby !
Posted by RowdyTexas2 at 06:52 AM : May 02, 2008

You have obviously forgotten your earlier claim that Hillary would get busy and work her butt off to accomplish her come from behind quest for the DNP nomination. As you so fervently exclaimed, "like she has ALWAYS done." Her N.H. histrionics were already history. What on earth did she do to turn you off, or are your posts, as O. Henry said:
".. beautiful and simple, as truly great swindles are."

What will be your next gimcrack?

[ladymack10]

TO ALL THE OBAMA SUPPORTERS:

Since the media is refusing to reveal/report the Paul vs Clinton fraud case in court right now, we need to create our own movement and flood every blog on CNN and every blogging website on the World Wide Web with information from the case regardless of what the topic is. For those that don''t know - Google Paul vs Clinton and hold on to your shirt with what you read!!

OBAMANACS UNITE!!! LET''S DO THIS!!

[sgtrds]

Who needs some political blogsite to add up the votes for them. I can add them up myself!

Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 08:57 AM : May 02, 2008

Ahh yes, the magic numbers you get from the little voices in your head tell you Obama doesn''t have the lead in popular votes when even the Clinton camp acknowledges that he does. Perhaps you''d care to show your math to back this fantasy up being as you can''t find one website or polling entity, from the DNC on down that agrees with your voice in the head.

[rowdytexan2]

OMG - When Senator Obama didn''''t denounce his former paster even though it would have been politically expedient, his opponents decry "He won''''t denounce Wright, he''''s anti-American". Then when his former paster betrays that loyalty and Senator Obama distances himself from Wright, he is "throw(ing) his family and friends under the bus for his own gain". Just can''''t win with the puny minded. Fuggin self richeous hypocrites with their faux sanctimony make me wanna puke.


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Posted by EddyNewHope at 01:46 AM : May 02, 2008

It makes me wanna puke to when Obama honkers ignore his tremendously large lying habits, and keep going goo goo ga ga oooooo ooooo, let''s all vote for Obama.

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by SgtRDS at 01:37 AM : May 02, 2008

Who needs some political blogsite to add up the votes for them. I can add them up myself!

Obama hasn''t had the popular vote since Mississippi.

Feel free to go add them yourself instead of depending on someone else.

[agog2]

Wake up Democratic Super delegates if you cast your vote for Obama. You will be casting your vote for John McCain in November. Not until the inner core of the major cities clean up (The Hood) get rid of the drugs, drive by shootings, gangs and pimps, but most of all make it safe for a young white couple to walk the street after dark in the black neighborhood, will a black man or black woman ever be elected as president of the United States of America. Yes a lot of white people are afraid of blacks, but that is only because of the deep prejudice of blacks that live in the inner core of our major cities. Hillary Clinton can beat John McCain in November, don%u2019t waste your vote on Obama.

[eddynewhope]

OMG - When Senator Obama didn''t denounce his former paster even though it would have been politically expedient, his opponents decry "He won''t denounce Wright, he''s anti-American". Then when his former paster betrays that loyalty and Senator Obama distances himself from Wright, he is "throw(ing) his family and friends under the bus for his own gain". Just can''t win with the puny minded. Fuggin self richeous hypocrites with their faux sanctimony make me wanna puke.

[kmccliment]

***********,

what kind of experience do you need to be president. a junior senator that likes to give speeches and throw his family and friends under the bus for his own gain dont cut it.

[sgtrds]

Ahhh RowdyTexan - He has actually won more states, more delegates, and more of the popular vote. He also closed a 170 super delegate gap to less than 20. No one has won the race yet but considering that the race is based on delegate count, and that the count is 1,731 to 1,596, the odds of a Hillary Clinton victory are approaching mathematical impossibility.

Posted by EddyNewHope at 01:33 AM : May 02, 2008

I showed Rowdy to a link that has the official totals showing Barack has a nearly insurmountable lead in the popular vote in another thread of this blog, but she responded that she believes in the magic totals she keeps in her own head that say the official totals are wrong. It would seem that she''s gone so far around the bend that she''s hearing voices. A common problem in the Bush family to be sure, but rare in someone who claims to be a Democrat. personally I think it shows she''s an inbred GOP''er all the way and needs to come out of the closet as a McCain supporter like Hillary is.

[agog2]

Wake up Democratic Super delegates if you cast your vote for Obama. You will be casting your vote for John McCain in November. Not until the inner core of the major cities clean up (The Hood) get rid of the drugs, drive by shootings, gangs and pimps, but most of all make it safe for a young white couple to walk the street after dark in the black neighborhood, will a black man or black woman ever be elected as president of the United States of America. Yes a lot of white people are afraid of blacks, but that is only because of the deep prejudice of blacks that live in the inner core of our major cities. Hillary Clinton can beat John McCain in November, don%u2019t waste your vote on Obama.