We are cooking!!!

It's like Fox's ads for the all-star game:

"This time, it counts."

joeb, it looks like there are two different numbers there. CNN has the one you cite, but other people have the one above.

anneeliz, but the link is to MSNBC's numbers, which also have Obama losing, in their case 48-51. what sites have different numbers?

I want my mommy....

She really is fading, folks...fading fast. Her refusal to mention Wisconsin tonight in her speech was so telling. She keeps talking like absolutely nothing happened. Imagine what she'd be like as President when things don't go her way? Oy! This surreal sort-of way she has of trying to pretend things are great when they're not...it's hard to watch sometimes. Furthermore, she kept using her same old lines about Ready on Day One (she really needs to freshen up the message). I almost felt a little sorry for her, and I can't imagine that's the kind of feeling she wants anyone to have. Obama's looking more and more formidable every week...look out McCain.

You have to imagine that the staff of the Clinton campaign is starting to realize that they are not going to win this nomination. As that feeling also settles in with voters, donors, superdelegates, and the media - we could see this race over on March 5th.

(or they fight to the bitter end.)

She threw the kitchen sink at him in the last week and he still crushed. From this point forward:

Barack Obama = Harlem Globetrotters

Hillary Clinton = Washington Generals

Intrade for Obama = 80 ♪♪♪

Drainage! Drainage, Hillary. Drained dry. I'm so sorry. Here, if you have a milkshake, and Obama has a milkshake, and Obama has a straw. There it is, that's a straw, you see? You watching?. And Obama's straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake... Obama... drinks... your... milkshake!

Oh goddamn it my comment follows the drainage comment. That's like following Barack on on the stump. I just can't compete with that.

Fantastic night! Remember that it's just gonna get dirtier folks. The really good news is that the Clinton low-road has not been effective.

Nothing succeeds like success. Therefore, the narrative will likely now shift to how impotent the Clinton dirty war has been.

Could we at last be bidding farewell to triangulation and 50.1% politics? For the disappointed . . . remember that it's not about the candidate, it's about the 20+ year political style of this partnership. It's simply time to move on and it would seem that a majority of progressives would agree.

Yes, you can get out the forks. But just to feed my paranoia you better keep handy the silver case with the supply of garlic, the crucifix, the wooden stake and the heavy mallet around until the evening of March 5th. Meow....hisss!

Watching the coverage before the polls closed, the pundit consensus was that if Hillary won by a hair or at least kept it within 5 points, it would recharge her campaign and reset the race to even. Whereas Obama had to win convincingly AND cut into the various groups that formed Hillary's base in order to have "won" the night. He won 8 in a row, in blowout fashion, prior to tonight. Geez, what's a guy gotta do?

And I see that the controversy for tomorrow will be how rude Obama is for starting his speech in the middle of Clinton's.

Did anyone see Chris Matthews just chew up the Obama surrogate from Texas? OMG!!! That was embarrassing...The surrogate didnt know anything about BO and Chris Matthews just called him out...Olberman tried to pretty it up afterwards, but it was too late...That Rep from Teaxas should have at least read something about BO before he went on the air...

It's been said before, it will be said again:

Tweety's an ass.

Well, this is very encouraging as we move towards Mar 4.

Obama did exceptionally well on the electability issue tonight, too, per the exit polls. He captured 63% versus her 37% as the one who could best beat the GOP nominee. To me, as the primary rolls into its last half, that issue could become the momentum builder that drives the final stake in her campaign. It's going to matter to these next voters, and it's definitely going to matter to the superdelegates.

Don't read too much into the GOP numbers. Remember, McCain has already won and Huckabee supporters have something to prove.

The Dem race is much crazier: hence the larger turnout for both sides.

so who should obama pick for vp?

I guess there's no way she'll concede till after March 4. But I think it's looking less and less likely that this will go all the way to the convention. I mean, it just seems like if she keeps on threatening to rip the party apart, insulting various demographic groups, and, most importantly, losing, she's going to lose the support of the party machine. And it's not like she can run a Huckabee hope-and-a-prayer insurgent campaign indefinitely — I mean, the party machine is her base. Without that, she's is really (and increasingly) nowhere.

If the good of the party were uppermost in her mind, she'd end this now. But it's got to be hard to quit when you've wanted this for so long.... Sometime soon, though, this is going to be over.

Obama won every single ward in Dane County, Wis. City of Madison, suburban, rural, really rural(!), all economic levels, all ethnicities. In 30+ years in politics here, I cannot recall that ever happening before tonight for any campaign.
Amazing and impressive.

Hey Zell,

Have you looked at the latest numbers? It's up to 17% plus now at 58-41. It's another rout. With late votes coming in she may be below 40% for the ninth straight contest. That is truly astounding!

Pablo

Mind you, this is also given that very prominent right-wing talkers (including one who, apparently, subs regularly for OxyRushtin when he's "on a bender", as John Nichols quipped) in WI were urging their listeners to go out and vote for HRC, because they believe she's more easily beatable. Reported by Nichols in an interview on today's Rachel Maddow Show (Hour 1) and widely elsewhere as well, at least on AAR. Haven't looked for links online yet but I suspect they're out there.

A friend of mine sent this to me earlier tonight. Anytime any of you Clinton supporters want to accuse Obama backers of viciousness, I want you to remember this gem from HillaryIs44.com:

wbboei Says:

February 19th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
We need to understand why more women fail to see the significance of Hillary and what her candidacy means to their lives. It is as if they do not understand how the world works. Hillary herself is a wonderful candidate so that is not the issue. This was a central premise of the Penn strategy was strong support from single women. It may just be that these women are as stupid as their limp dicked male counterparts, in which case we need to reach them.

Oh man, Pat Buchannon just said Hillary needed a "Deus Ex Machina" to win. MSNBC just got my viewership for quite some time.

Wow, just wow. . . . I never would have guessed this one. Just like VA, wow. Obama is just so presidential compared to mccain and the clintons. It's like night and day. I don't think mccain has a chance. We are looking at a complete blow-out in November. Wow.

VP Webb all the way. A perfect fit. They are totally on the same page with foreign and domestic policy. Webb is not a great orator like obama, he is just a bulldog. Military creds out the butt. Perfect fit. Webb for VP all the way. Wow.

Holy Moley!
This was a rout compared to the squeaker I was expecting. I knew she was done after the Potomac because of the margins she would need going forward but I at least expected things to stay competitive for a bit yet.

As an Obamanite and a former Cheesehead, I am thrilled but I can't help but feel bad for Hillary despite all of the crap she has been hurling. Aside from the fact that for all her shortcomings, I don't doubt that she really is a loyal civil-servent but imagine putting up with Bill's s**t for all those years for the big prize only to have it be for naught. (Odds of post primary divorce- 2:1)

I am sure Obama will make some rookie mistakes vs. McCain but will find his groove shortly and it won't be pretty for the old man.

I think a woman on the ticket is too risky. here's why:

1) obama can't pick hillary now. it's not about the bad blood that may exist, it's about his message of change and vision for the country that dont jive with a VP hillary.

2) if he picks another woman, i think he runs a risk of pissing off hillary and her supporters even more bc it will look like a snub.

3) let's face it. our nation isn't perfect. there are some who may not vote for a candidate based on skin color. there are also some not comfortable voting for a woman.

obama needs to maximize his chances and the Dem Party's chances and perhaps cover perceived worries that will come up (foreign policy experience, military affairs, liberal voting record, etc).

I notice Obama moving toward the Evan Bayh program of tuition credit for mandatory government service. Evan Bayh would be a good choice, imho

At my ward, which had under 40 people in 2000 and 2004, there were at
least 2000 who managed to get in the room
(no doubt violating all fire regs) and lots more outside, in spite of
no parking for at least mile. (I looked). The situation was similar
all over
Oahu according to friends, basically complete chaos. No organization
could have been prepared for it, simply swamped
everyone. But everyone treated everyone with aloha, no complaints, in
spite of extremely long lines to get in if you needed to
register. Typically this ward would be dominate by elderly
Japanese-Americans. Tonight it was much younger and more diverse -
Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans, Filipino-Americans, Native
Hawaiians, Locals, even a few European-Americans and
African-Americans. They ended up ripping up what paper they had and
marking it with the date, and having people write their choice in.
I did see two Hillary stickers, but my guess is a 80-20 win for Obama.
And not because he is a native son. Didn't get out till 10,
so don't expect counted results in for few days. But for sure an Obama
landslide.

I just went to Hillaryis44. The first thing I noticed is that they are still looking for precinct captains. WTF? This is your firewall state girl! Time to get your butt in gear!

Where have the HRC fans been?
Not following the returns, why self inflict the pain?
From here on out it really is a coronation march.
I don't think HRC will be able to afford much of a campaign after she loses Texas.
Yes She Will! WI is proof positive of that.
Whether she takes it to a first vote at the convention I don't know. I doubt she does now.
For sure it will not be a nomination fight; the worst that happens is that a lot of delegates vote for her and Edwards in a pro forma way before getting religion. The convention is going to want to honor them both for their hard fought blah blah blah. Who knows but I'm betting it'll be like the Oscars show.
Besides don't the Obamabots want many more months of chortling at HRC's failure?

And boyo is Obama lucky in his opponent!
Granpa Munster and his Stepford Wife (you think HRC artificial?) are just so dated, so tv dinners in front of the black and white TV. More Eisenhower than Reagan, yes?
McCain is the only one I feel sorry for. He has spent most of his life maneuvering to be president and his chance has come way too late. Then again only a Republican party on the brink of disaster would nominate him.
And not to be disrespectful but will someone get him a new dentist please? He has to do something about those yellowed teeth; they give him that envied dirty old man look when he smiles and you can almost smell the Old Spice.

So good morning droids! and congratulations all round are in order!

As I wrote here - http://www.kajleers.nl/?p=110 - some time ago already, another narrative is slowly but surely creeping into the matrix.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/02/mccains_experience_presents_ge.html

and

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/02/the_obama_delusion.html

The second one by Robert Samuelson is most intriguing, I find, because it hits the nail right on the head: while Obama is screaming at the top of his lungs that he is a uniter, not a divider, his programme is actually pretty darn partisan Democratic.

The rhetoric doesn't fit the programme.

And before people start shoveling crap at me: no, I'm NOT a Clinton supporter. I just don't want another Republican crook running the White House for another 8 years.

Michael A.,

I agree with you about one of the Blue Dog Democrats (or is it Red Dog, i can never keep it in order) being one of the best choices for VP.
I have thought this before....

Webb would be good because of the military credentials vs a McCain ticket. However, i think any of them would emphasize Obama's ability to draw moderates and independents and his ability to help downstream tickets in the State races...

Obama Webb 08

I would like to see an Obama-Sebelius ticket. I think Obama is going to need a woman on the ticket to reach out to the many women who will be disappointed about Hillary's loss, and Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas is an Obama supporter with a record of successful outreach to moderate Republicans that fits in really well with the unity theme of Obama's campaign. She probably can't swing Kansas to the Democrats at the Presidential level, but I think demographic and personal appeal are more important than appeal in a single swing state.

Looks like we have a least three votes here for an Obama-Sebelius ticket. There are so many good things about the idea, not the least being that she is a well-liked two-time governor of Kansas.

More: (1) Being a woman she can help heal the rift between Obama and those who thought Hillary should be the first female president.
(2) If we can't get a female president this time around, well, getting a female VP ain't so bad.
(3) She is from a red state, but Obama does not believe red states don't matter, so he is going to try to win Kansas. Remember, if Gore had won Tennessee he would be president. So small states do matter.
(4) She is the daughter of a popular former governor of Ohio --- yes, Ohio, a key state and ripe for plucking.
(5) She is Catholic. Clinton seems to be popular among Catholics, so demographically this is good.
(6) Last and not least, she is beautiful to behold.

As to Sen. Webb, we know he was a former cabinet member for Reagan, so he is a good fit there, perhaps Defense or National Security.

Obama-Sebelius '08!