THE CARROLL NEWS: Obama sweeps weekend primaries

Obama sweeps weekend primaries
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Meghan Wolf on 13 February, 2008 04:00:00
 
“Today, the voters from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast to the heart of
America, stood up to say, ‘Yes we can,’” said Sen. Barack
Obama, addressing an applauding crowd at the Democratic party’s annual
Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner.
Obama had a reason to celebrate – the weekend had spelled out his victory
in the primaries over fellow senator and high-running Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Even in Maine, where he had been running behind Clinton in the polls, and where
a snowstorm that occurred was expected to hinder voter turnout, he secured
victory, according to The Associated Press.
All the while, he gained an increased number of national delegates momentum to
bring up the speed of his campaign.
“It’s very good for Obama, and he was expected to win, but
obviously, he needed to meet those expectations,” said Larry Schwab, a
political science professor at John Carroll University. “It was generally
felt that Clinton had a small lead, and his [Obama’s] victories cut into
that lead.”
Obama and Clinton have consistently been going neck-and-neck in Democratic
primaries, but now Obama is developing a more distinct advantage. In addition to
the four states he won, there also came victory in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
bringing his weekend wins to a total of five, according to the AP.
Out of 12 states that held caucuses in lieu of primaries, he won 11. He also
gained a strong amount of support among areas dense with African-American
voters.
On the same day that Clinton lost Maine to Obama, her campaign manager, Patti
Solis Doyle, stepped down. Solis Doyle was replaced by Maggie Williams, a senior
campaign adviser.
“I have been proud to manage this campaign, and prouder still to call
Hillary my friend for more than sixteen years,” Solis Doyle wrote in an
e-mail sent to the Clinton campaign. “I know that she will make a great
president. This has already been the longest presidential campaign in the
history of our nation, and one that has required enormous sacrifices from all of
us and our families.”
Solis Doyle said that she is confident in Williams’ ability to manage the
campaign, and that she herself will now serve as a senior campaign adviser.
Clinton’s deputy campaign manager, Mike Henry, resigned on Tuesday night.
That same night, Hillary Clinton lost three more races to Barack Obama.
In the Republican race, former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee scraped up a
few wins that undermined the status of Sen. John McCain, according to the AP.
He won the Kansas caucuses and gained 60 percent of the state’s vote to
McCain’s 24 percent. He also won the Louisiana primary and added 36
delegates to his previous total of 234.
Although Huckabee’s wins have not been enough to edge McCain out of the
top spot, the losses for the Arizona senator were an embarrassment.
However, McCain remained insistent in his campaign’s security, saying
that it was still doing well, but needed more work and more energy in its
conservative base.
“We are doing fine,” McCain said, according to FOX News. “We
have 700 some close to 800 delegates. And the last time I checked, Gov. Huckabee
has very few.”
Huckabee, despite his recent victories, is mathematically incapable of winning
the party’s nomination. However, he said that he will remain in the race
until McCain wins 1,191 delegates, enough to secure his victory in the party.
McCain already has an established reputation in the race, and Huckabee’s
rivalry against him will ensure media attention on the Republicans until primary
nomination is secure.
President Bush commented on the current presidential race, having previously
withheld from such.
He said that Huckabee was “a good, solid conservative person,”
despite Huckabee’s previously saying that the Bush administration has an
“arrogant bunker mentality.”
Bush referred to McCain as a “true conservative,” saying that there
is also more convincing needed to be done to ensure solid Republican backing for
his campaign, according to the AP.
In spite of his losses, McCain’s standing in the election is decidedly
secure with the GOP, and he is certain that Huckabee’s victories have not
set him back too severely.
When discussing the rivalry at an Annapolis news conference, McCain said,
“It’s pretty clear that we won.” McCain also sweeped the three
GOP races Tuesday night.