Pundit_Sidebar

February 4, 2008

Obama Headlines Will Fuel His Drive to the Top (Dick Morris)

@ 4:36 pm

The USA Today headline on Monday said it all: "Obama Erases Clinton Lead."  The press on the day before Super Tuesday has been the best that Barack Obama could hope for.  In a race dominated by perception, you could not buy more favorable publicity than the published reports of his closing the gap with Hillary.

He will also benefit from the companion articles in most papers showing that McCain enjoys a comfortable lead over Romney.  With independents able to vote in either party primary in half of the Super Tuesday states, this information may induce many anti-Hillary voters to back Obama rather than McCain as the most likely way to beat her.  They may figure that McCain no longer needs their votes, but that Obama needs them badly as he is now within striking distance of victory.

Such is the power of perception in this race, and so widespread is tactical voting that the Monday newspapers are almost as important as a primary before the actual voting on Tuesday.  It’s really the media primary, and Obama won it decisively on Monday.

Even before he got headlines most politicians can only dream about, Obama was the beneficiary of a bump in his favor on Sunday night.

Last week featured an Obama surge on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as news of his South Carolina win and the Kennedy endorsement made the rounds.  His success in calling the Clintons on their racial tactics played a key role in this movement.

But the race leveled off on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, perhaps because Hillary did OK in the debate and won in Florida.

But Sunday was Obama's night (as I suspect Monday will be), possibly because his Kennedy endorsement ad was starting to take effect and possibly because his young voters were waking up to the race and flocking to his candidacy.  The Wow! factor may be propelling the shift.

In any case, Hillary is now talking about a long state-by-state fight that will go longer than she once thought it would and her campaign is saying that she will win "substantial" numbers of delegates.  Gone are the predictions of victory.

Archived under: Presidential Campaign
Permalink TrackBack EMail This Post


Share this post
del.icio.us:Obama Headlines Will Fuel His Drive to the Top digg:Obama Headlines Will Fuel His Drive to the Top newsvine:Obama Headlines Will Fuel His Drive to the Top reddit:Obama Headlines Will Fuel His Drive to the Top fark:Obama Headlines Will Fuel His Drive to the Top Y!:Obama Headlines Will Fuel His Drive to the Top What's This



7 Comments »

The Hill welcomes comment from anyone and will almost always post it whether it is favorable or critical, as long as it is substantive and advances debate.

  1. It's hard to believe how brainwashed the American public has become. Whatever the outcome, the results starting in January 2009 are fairly predictable to a great extent.

    Comment by Robert Rosencrans — February 4, 2008 @ 6:31 pm

  2. That's correct Rosie. I can't wait to hear you squealing for the next eight years, as we peal away the layers of incompetence and corruption. I know that every time President Clinton or President Obama walk by, and we hear "Hail To The Chief", your panties will be all in a twist. What fun!

    Comment by Chris Calbi — February 5, 2008 @ 10:25 am

  3. obama blog,
    vote obama in 08
    text 10958, for all information on race…

    Comment by donald hardial — February 5, 2008 @ 10:38 am

  4. I couldn't be more delighted with Obama wins, coast to coast, and Hillary's permanent demise, but… it is scary that the media picks our nominees on both sides. However Hillary deserves the negative press after the decades long pass she has been given, and she is at the top on all the shady deals Bill makes, but notice it's always Bill that gets blamed.

    Comment by Rita — February 5, 2008 @ 12:00 pm

  5. Guys make sure you check out the article "The Intoxication of Inspiration" on the blogzine SAVAGE POLITICS (not related to Mike Savage) at www.savagepolitics.com. It is awesome……everyone should read it before voting.

    Comment by Elsylee — February 5, 2008 @ 3:29 pm

  6. Wrong again, Dickie. Just because you obsessively hate the woman doesn't mean she's going to lose.

    Comment by Chris Calbi — February 6, 2008 @ 11:18 am

  7. Regarding opst #3 above, the updated way to recieve the Obama information on your cell phone is from your mobile browser, type the URL: www.m3k.us/OBAMAwap.aspx

    Comment by David S — October 20, 2008 @ 7:21 am

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment

Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions
rss

The contents of this site are © 2008 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications Inc.