Slacking, Redemption

Nearly two weeks since my last post. I let myself off the hook because I've had a nasty bug for about 10 days, but I need to show a little more dedication to my own project. Many observations have been ruminating, so without further ado:

The February 5th races led to a few surprises, but the main result was a draw with a slight edge for Obama, simply for surviving. I remember not even 6 months ago thinking this primary would be sealed by Super Tuesday. Instead, the contest is escalating and gaining excitement. Massachusetts was not a big disappointment: the machine politics are far removed from Kennedy, Kerry, and Patrick, and Obama held his own. Neither Edwards or Richardson has endorsed, instead choosing to wait for the right time to play their cards; at this point, I'm not sure if either really matters, unless Edwards' 20something delegates are required for a win. Obama rolled to huge victories in 13 states throughout the country simply by showing up, something that the Clinton campaign is now admitting they didn't do.

The momentum carried Obama to wins in Washington, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Maine. What is astounding is that he won by huge margins (21, 46, 37, and 19 points, respectively) in geographically and demographically diverse states. By this point, he was expected to win the Potomac Primary on the 12th, and I began to get a little nervous about the expectations game: would a win of "only" 10 points in VA be seen as a Clinton victory? Or would there be a huge swing in undecideds a la NH?

Last night, my fears were put to rest. Barack Obama crushed Hillary Clinton by 23 points in Maryland, 51 in DC, and 29 in Virginia, well past most polls of the region. Maybe the Clinton camp can continue to disrespect the voters, saying that MD and DC don't matter, but Virginia? Obama won across all demos, with a decisive win with white males. He's shrinking her supposed base with each successive victory, and her camp is grasping at straws.

Things are getting worse before they get better for Clinton (if they ever do). Long-time Clinton confidante and campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle was fired. According to everyone close to Hillaryland, it was way past due, and possibly too late. Solis Doyle was an ineffective manager and in way over her head. Plus, the person who supposedly coined the term "Hillaryland" for a group of professional adults needs to hit the bricks. Deputy campaign manager Mike Henry also left after the embarrassing loss in Virginia, a state he won for Gov. Tim Kaine (who must. Plus, the surrogates are out freelancing, with Carville saying she needs to win Ohio, Texas, AND Pennsylvania, and Ed Rendell blathering on about race. If I was impartial, I would feel bad. As it is, I'm thrilled that her hubris is coming back to her tenfold.

Wisconsin and Hawaii look to be locks for Barack, and Clinton has conceded both of them to move down to Texas, sombrero in hand. If he goes 10-0 post-Feb. 5, the Clinton-Giuliani comparisons become more apt. She's banking on states where her leads are soft. Plus, thanks to a primary-caucus hybrid only Texas could love, her diminishing leads among Hispanics might not even help in her "firewall state."

As good as the picture looks, Obama supporters need to keep fighting. Hillary has nothing left to do but go negative, so the missiles should start flying... now.