Hillary keeps touting her managerial experience. Here is a fine example of how Hillary has handled the most important operation in her entire career.

Hillary campaign is broke, and they are not paying bills that they ran up all over the country.

From MSNBC

We are learning more details of the candidates' January fundraising and spending. Clinton ended with debt of more than $7 million; Obama raised $36 million compared to Clintons' $13.6 million. The Clinton debt does NOT include the $5 million personal loan. "But even that money is illusionary when measured against the reported $7.6 million in debts.

More than $2 million of the red ink is owed to chief consultant and adviser, Mark Penn. But the lengthy laundry list of IOUs also includes unpaid bills ranging from insurance coverage, phone banking, printing and catering at events in Iowa, New Hampshire and California."

This Pennsylvania poll is nice, as it means that Obama's name recognition has saturated to the degree that it's nearly on par with Clinton's in a state where he hasn't started campaigning yet, but there is no way this thing lasts until then. The Democratic nomination will be over very shortly after the March 4th primaries.

Oh, and when it rains, it pours.

Democrats Abroad Results Announced

I don't want to make too much of the "pimping" comment in retrospect but...

"A few weeks ago, 21-year-old Wisconsin superdelegate Jason Rae was taken out to breakfast by Chelsea Clinton in the runup to that state’s Democratic primary.

Two days after the vote, the college junior – who will be the youngest superdelegate at this year’s Democratic National Convention — is undecided no longer: he’s backing Barack Obama."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/21/superdelegate-schmoozed-by-chelsea-backs-obama/

:P

Oh Chelsea, go back to your hedge fund corporation

In his Tuesday morning interview with Matt Lauer, Obama predicted that on March 5th, the result will be clear, that it will be time to move the nomination forward.

This one is over

I don't think that we are going to have to worry about polls in PA. This baby is over 3/5, or shortly thereafter.

Gee, obama is so "lucky." He has only run the best and most organized campaign in recent memory and has the support of 1 million donors and has been blowing the clintons out of the water in state after state. Luck? Give me a break.

Obama supporters gotta love people linking to mydd entries to discredit the Senator..lol

And....a lot of those donors have also been activists in their local communities (the ole grassroots organizaing thing) promoting Obama in all sorts of face-to-face with the voter ways.

I agree with the other commenters (and Obama himself, as noted by John McC) that if present trends continue, this race will be over March 5th or soon thereafter. Even if Clinton doesn't acknowledge the writing on the wall, I expect that the many of the remaining superdelegates will coalesce around Obama in the interest of finishing the race, and Obama's lead will become statistically insurmountable.

But a word of caution for fellow Obama supporters. I stand by my caveat "if present trends continue". I see no reason why they won't, but if Clinton manages to pull off compelling wins on March 4th, the race will continue at least through PA.

Anyone who thinks that Ed Rendell and Michael Nutter have a formidable machine is living in the past. Mr. Ed is an appealing dirtball for whom I've voted many times, but let's not confuse his electability with Hillary's. Same for Michael Nutter, though he is neither charming nor a dirtball. On the ground, Obama's organization in Philly, all volunteers at this point, is moving fast, with help from many local pols who matter. Hillary's is nowhere to be seen. I'm not an Obama plant. I'm just tellin' what the situation is.

The good ship Hillary is sinking fast.

here is what she's going to do, to try desperately to snatch momentum and get those margins going back her way:

1) faux scandals.
2) faux Obama debate flubs.
3) attack ads.

will anyone buy it in the remaining states? they sure haven't thus far. i'm not really convinced she'll drop out 3/4 or 3/5 unless she loses all states that night, and the superdelegate margin reaches about even... or she spends all her money in the next two weeks, but even then, more loans can happen.

In his Tuesday morning interview with Matt Lauer, Obama predicted that on March 5th, the result will be clear, that it will be time to move the nomination forward.

So in other words, it will be over by March 5th.

Where have I heard that line before?

And I would have done it for free.

16 years of hillary-bashing by the right has pretty much dulled many of us to the effect of it. that high 40's negative rating she has translates into a lot of "middle voters" that are not and will not be inspired by a hillary candidacy (or repulsed by attacks against her). she is a known entity.

therefore, the inevitable attacks that will come, regardless of who the dem nominee is, could be presumed to have a different effect on those in the middle ("moderates," "independents," and/or "undecideds"), depending on the candidate. when they attack hillary, there may be indignation amongst those who already support her, but given that there are very few in this country who haven't already formed an opinion about her, it's not likely to move that many voters in her direction. the reaction outside of her supporters will be, "ho-hum, another attack on hillary like we've been hearing for the last 16 years." net effect: little movement, little chance for the "have you no shred of decency..." moment that would be a most welcome development in the context of our political discourse.

the same is not true for obama. the chance that the ugliness of the republican attack machine will offend those "middle" voters is much greater, and the chance that it will bring these voters to him is much greater as well. and there's even the chance that these attacks will leave a lasting negative impression of the republican party with these voters for many years to come.

so, all in all the natural tendencies of the republican party to slime their opponents has a much better upside with an obama candidacy than with a clinton candidacy.