Obama closing the gap in Indiana, but is it enough?

Add comment May 6th, 2008

As votes begin to be counted in Lake County, Indiana, Barack Obama is closing the gap  between him and Hillary Clinton. At the moment, it’s a 51-49 contest, with 25 percent of the vote counted in Lake County. In that corner of northwest Indiana, which is really part of Chicagoland, Obama was leading with 75 percent of the vote.

Obama takes NC; Clinton wins Indiana?? Lake County vote still out.

1 comment May 6th, 2008

Barack Obama did better than I expected in North Carolina, winning a decisive victory on the strength of a coalition of blacks, young voters and college-educated voters. In Indiana, all counties have been counted save one — Lake County in northwest Indiana, where Obama is supposed to be strong. Whether it’s strong enough to surmount Hillary Clinton’s statewide lead of  about 43,000 votes is questionable, but if Clinton gets a win here, it will be close.

Overall, a good night for Obama at the end of a very bad two weeks of his campaign. Still, the media pundits are seeing the contest in terms of the “white working class voters,” who are for Clinton. So, the commentators’ template is, “Obama would be in trouble in November because he can’t win the white working class vote.” Rarely did I hear “Clinton would be in trouble in November because she can’t win the black vote,” which is going 92 percent for Obama.

The way the pundits have it figured, if Clinton is the nominee, she’ll get the black vote because almost all blacks vote Democratic and have nowhere else to go,  while white, working class voters would bolt their party if Obama is the nominee and vote for McCain.

I’m not so sure. The myopic talking heads on TV ihave been so miserably wrong this year that it just could be that the opposite of what they say may indeed be true!

Manzullo in Oval Office ceremony to award gold medal to Burma democracy activist

1 comment May 6th, 2008

U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, went to the Oval Office in the White House today, May 6 to observe President Bush sign a House-Senate resolution awarding a congressional gold medal to Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyiay 6, 2008, in the Oval Office. The democracy crusader is being held under house arrest by the miltary dictators who run Burma, which they call Myanmar.She received the medal for her courageous and unwavering commitment to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and democracy in Burma, Manzullo’s office says.

Joining Bush and Manzullo for the signing were Laura Bush, Senator Dianne Feinstein, (D-CA.); Congressman Joe Crowley of New York; Senator Mitch McConnell, (R-KY).

Fearless forecast: Obama will win NC, Hillary will take Indiana

Add comment May 6th, 2008

Alright, I might as well get in on the elections prediction racket. Indiana and North Carolina are having Democratic primaries today. Here’s what I think will happen:

North Carolina: Barack Obama had been far ahead in the polls, but they’ve been closing as Hillary Clinton took a page from her husband’s Arkansas past and began campaigning as a redneck , standing on the back of a red pick ‘em up truck and vowing to smash both Iran and OPEC. Shezaaaam!

Obama will win the state 57-43.

In Indiana, Obama picked up on the state’s obsession with basketball (rent the classic movie “Hoosiers” starring Gene Hackman and you’ll understand) and did a lot of parking lot pick up photo ops.

However, the Billary machine has hit him hard with negative ads and her support for a federal gas tax holiday could help her.

Hillary will win Indiana, 52 to 48.

I’m curious about who will take “Mayberry,” which as Andy Griffith Show fans know, is the real NC town of Mount Airy, Andy’s home town.

I’m thinking Hillary, but I’m not sure. I’ll go down the fillin’ station and ask Goob what he thinks will happen today.