Back in 1992, Bill Clinton became the “comeback kid” when he beat expectations in the New Hampshire primary. His campaign was in a free fall after Gennifer Flowers came forward with scandalous accusations against Clinton, alleging a long term affair. In response, Bill and Hillary Clinton appeared on 60 Minutes and defused the crisis. Of course, he later won the nomination and two terms in the White House.
Fast forward 16 years and Hillary Clinton has faced plenty of obstacles in her quest for the nomination. In fact, numerous times, she has been written off by the media, which is clearly infatuated with Barack Obama. Yet, time and time again, Hillary has been the “comeback kid” and defeated Obama in key contests. She did it again last night and handily beat Obama in the Pennsylvania primary by a convincing 55-45% margin, despite being outspent 3-1 on the airwaves.
Clinton has a clear edge over Obama among Catholics, blue collar voters, women, older voters and whites. Obama continues to do well with African Americans, younger voters and those with post-graduate degrees. While the media has been promoting Obama as the de-facto nominee, he has encountered a series of problems in recent weeks that will continue to plaque his campaign.
He is finding it difficult to expand his base and will continue to have trouble overcoming his association with Reverend Jeremiah Wright and his comments at a San Francisco fundraiser claiming that working class people “cling” to guns, God and anti-immigrant beliefs due to poor economic conditions.Obama has ties to an unrepentant terrorist and he is closely connected to an indicted Chicago businessman. To make matters even worse, Michelle Obama has made a series of insulting comments about this country. On policy issues, Obama is out of the mainstream with the American public. He was ranked by the National Journal as the most liberal U.S. Senator, more liberal than Clinton, Ted Kennedy or Harry Reid. All of this baggage will make Obama an inviting target for John McCain in the general election. The Republican will have an easy time painting Obama as a radical.
Democrats would be wise to pass on Obama and nominate Clinton. She has proven herself to be resilient and has made an impressive comeback after being dismissed by the media. She still has to overcome his lead in elected delegates, but she might very well pass Obama in the popular vote totals. Most importantly, she is winning in the key battleground states that Democrats need to win this fall. Without Ohio and Pennsylvania, Democrats have no chance to win the presidency in November. Hillary Clinton has a chance to beat McCain in those states; while Obama will be a real underdog.
If Clinton keeps winning, the super delegates will start to line up behind her and she will overtake Obama. If Clinton secures the nomination, there will be bedlam in the Democratic Party and total disgust among African American voters, but the split can be at least partially healed. The quest for power and the desire to beat McCain will likely unite a vast majority of Democrats behind whatever nominee emerges.
At this point, the Democratic race is still Obama’s race to lose, but if he keeps performing like he did in Pennsylvania, lose the race is exactly what he will do.
Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him
I wonder what the liberals will blame the spanking mc cain is going to give them I have always voted for democrat even though I back no party and hate bush but i will vote mc cain this time Clone Huey P. LOng and we will vote for him until than vote for smitty Written by Lil DabIl do
on 4/24/2008
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I wonder how much money the Bayou Buzz makes on the polling market? Even more so, I wonder what they base their poll numbers on, and how they present them to the market at large.... Or are they just on one political groups payroll????? Written by I luv propaganda, please! spoon feed me some more
on 4/24/2008
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I hope she gets the Democrat ticket nomination.... She is our saviour of sorts... Written by Yahhhyyyyyy Hillary!!!!!!! Go Girl! Go!!!!
on 4/24/2008
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I have not had sex with that woman, Hillary Clinton Written by Bill Clinton
on 4/24/2008
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'zackly... her negatives are too high. Republicans want her to get the nomination for that reason. I must confess I did not vote the last two elections (Zydeco stuff), but I damn sure would vote against whoever (Lucifer, Mohammed, Bin Laden, my ex-Mother-in-Law) runs against Hillary. Written by can't drink hot kafe til' da hole in my hed heals
on 4/24/2008
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Tee Dub, dear, you are right on point. Written by RhettsWife
on 4/23/2008
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Hillary will get the nomination, either by votes or by party insider manipulation. The blacks will grumble, but the only thing that is undeniably certain is that the blacks will vote for her against McCain in their usual 90%+ numbers. Whether Hillary can get enough white votes to be elected will be the only question. In the primaries, each democrat tries to outdo the others to pander for the black vote and the nomination. But once the primaries are over, the democrats can and will continue to take the black vote for granted. It's a guarantee. Written by the analyst.
on 4/23/2008
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Poboy, I think your crystal ball is probably crystal clear. Written by ..Oh well, buckle your seatbelts, its time for ?
on 4/23/2008
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Really doesn't matter. McCain will defeat either one, probably easily. Some will accuse me of wishful thinking but at least 50% of the country will crawl across 3 miles of broken glass to vote against Hillary and Obama's negatives will be too much for him to overcome by the time November rolls around. The Republicans will beat him to death with Rev Wright to the point he will wish he had never heard of the man. I don't think the Obama camp has a clue about how many whites are turned off by his association with this racist. It's going to be interesting to say the least. Written by poboy1
on 4/23/2008
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Nice double talk good speak Tdubbbbbb................ The whole thing is a sham, after she gets the backing then comes the whining about Michigan and Florida, and once tuff is tuff is stated, then Chewbaca becomes another Gore trillogy and stands in the wings waiting for four years to pass for another chance after McCain gets elected, and Hillary sort of fades away because 4 years from now her 'lustre' fades even more, much like the youth she once possessed, and Chelsea dreams of political aspirations in the future, and folks like Piyush are being 'groomed', and it goes on and on and on and on...................... You see, we are not electing a President, we are voting on what the most popular soft drink flavor is. Coca Bama, or Royal Clinton cola, or McCain flavored softdrinks..... But, I suppose they have to make a living too, and someone has to have someone to send contributions to, so I suppose the woild jus goes roun an roun.... Written by ..So what is the REAL thing????
on 4/23/2008
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OMG I agree with TeeDub. Not only that but since neither of the candidates can reach the magic number, the candidate will be Selected (how sweet it is) by the party hacks. How can the party say that once chosen, Obama cannot win big Blue States? Hillary would make history as the first woman President but Obama would be the first Black President. It has been the black voters in block vote that has elected most democrats. How can they deny this candidate? Hillary will be easier to attack. As far as the Florida and Michigan delegations, sure people voted but by the rules the party set forward before the vote, those votes were never to be counted. Even the media is beginning to recognize that the Party will change the rules as many times as necessary to give Hillary the nomination though. So hang on, it isn't over yet. Written by Sharon
on 4/23/2008
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The only problem with your analysis is that Hillary has run out of big states. If she loses both Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th, the superdelegates will begin moving to Obama. Obama would have to lose both for Hillary to have any chance at the nomination. Written by David Quidd
on 4/23/2008
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I've been hearing the "Democrats would be wise to nominate Clinton" meme a lot over the last several months, and it's almost ALWAYS coming from right-wing types like Jeff. I think it's a bit akin to Br'er Rabbit begging not be thrown into the briar patch. I don't buy the argument - I think her negatives are too high, and she mobilizes the right wing like no other Democratic candidate would. TW Written by Tee Dub
on 4/23/2008
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Back in 1992, Bill Clinton became the “comeback kid” when he beat expectations in the 
