In the aftermath of his blowout victory in North Carolina and closer-than-expected defeat in Indiana, Senator Barack Obama was hailed by the political pundancy as heir apparent to the Democratic nomination.
Despite dropping the Hoosier State, the Illinois Senator kept political junkies (this blogger included) up well past their bedtime, waiting to see if results from Obama-friendly Lake County could produce an unlikely victory over Hillary Clinton, hours after many networks had called Indiana for the Senator from New York.
Perhaps it was the fact that morning was fast approaching or a lack of fresh coffee brewing, but usually tight-lipped political analysts were letting it rip in Wednesday's wee morning hours. Tim Russert, host of NBC's Meet the Press and seen by many as one of the most hard-hitting, objective procurers of information in electoral politics today proclaimed around midnight that “We now know who the Democratic nominee’s going to be, and no one’s going to dispute it".
Obviously, Russert's comments, and those like them from other political journalists across the country, did draw objections from solid Clinton backers, whom, either due to an unwillingness to accept an ever-clearer fate or sheer delusion, refuse to accept that Obama has the race sewn up.
The momentum continued throughout the day for Obama, as he picked up the backing of four new superdelegates, as well as former Democratic presidential candidate, George McGovern of South Dakota. McGovern's pledged support for Obama is key in two regards. First, he had previously been an ardent supporter of Hillary Clinton, and his change of heart could symbolize a tide of similar things to come amongst party leaders across the country. Secondly, McGovern's home state of South Dakota takes to the polls on 03 June, the final day of the Democratic primary season, and his backing, coupled with that of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, could help Obama to a heart victory in the large, rural state.
Hillary Clinton, though less than convincing in her Indiana victory speech last night, made every effort to convince skeptics that she was very much continuing her bid for the Democratic nomination. Despite early reports of a cancellation of all scheduled appearance, Clinton's camp dashed these claims, and she was back at the stump in Shepherdstown, West Virginia at 9:00 Eastern Wednesday morning, clamoring for votes in the next Democratic contest.
It also become known Wednesday that Clinton recently injected over $6 million in personal funds into her cash-strapped campaign, which follows a similar move just after Super Tuesday. Some analysts had already expressed doubt as to Clinton's ability to compete in the remaining contests due to financial constraints. Wednesday's development that she had made such a substantial personal contribution only fuels the fire.
Coming to you from Gallup, New Mexico, this is the New Mexico Progressive. Be sure to leave your comments, and respond to our poll regarding the Democratic race. Stop back in soon!
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