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Obama Gets Another Congressional Endorsement, Rep. Lois Capps of California
The Obama campaign's super-delegate offensive is continuing with their third Congressional endorsement of the day, Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA).
This endorsement is especially interesting because the Clintons were close to her late husband, Congressman Walter Capps, and helped raise money and campaigned for her when she ran for the seat.
Earlier today Obama received the endorsements of Reps. Bruce Braley (IA) and Baron Hill (IN), compared to one super so far for Hillary, DNC member William George of Pennsylvania. As of right now, Clinton's lead among super-delegates is only about 20 declared votes.
Late Update: Hillary has also picked up the support of Puerto Rico super-delegate Luisette Cabanas.
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Correction: Hillary got two today, one from Puerto Rico and the other from Pennsylvania.
April 30, 2008 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is indeed 3-2 today. Almost like there's a lever at the Obama campaign to automatically announce a superdelegate pickup whenever Hillary does : )
April 30, 2008 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
NOW WILL YOUR RELEASE MY FAMILY?
(insert ransom note reply from Cappis here)
HOPEism: The sinking ship is not half full it is half empty.
April 30, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
This hat trick is amazing. He is makin' it rain on Hillary.
April 30, 2008 12:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hear, Hear. Yes, We Can.
April 30, 2008 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Super endorsements since Pennsylvania primary:
Obama 10
Clinton 5
Wow! That PA primary sure was a debacle. A few more devastating losses like that and we'll have those two cute little Obama girls playing on the South Lawn.
April 30, 2008 1:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
AMEN to that. My kids (19 & 13) are crazy about Obama though they are from the largest democracy country (India for the uninitiated).
April 30, 2008 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
GOBAMA!!! GOBAMA!!
April 30, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I guess that Clinton hasn't gone "a very long way in making her case to super-delegates that Obama is really a weak candidate," huh?
April 30, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not really. The supers haven't been listening in on the Clinton conference calls the way the reporters have.
April 30, 2008 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
She is making the case but no one is buying what she is selling, it appears.
April 30, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow - nice! Yes We Can!!! ;)
April 30, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
What's the margin at at this point?
It would be interesting to track the superdelegate shifts over the last couple of weeks and try to project whether we can expect there to be a specific point when Obama passes Clinton in overall superdelegates. I wonder what happens then.
April 30, 2008 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
She's up by 20 in the superdelegate count. As of today, he needs 136 delegates to have earned the majority of the delegates, and 286 to clinch the nomination.
April 30, 2008 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
What's the distinction there? Is it whether FL and MI are included? Or something else?
April 30, 2008 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Majority of the pledged delegates means that it would be statistically impossible for Clinton to overtake him. The other number represents the number needed to reach 2024.
April 30, 2008 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Right, I caught that somewhere else (you were missing the word "pledged" in there :) ) Note that per the jed report, Obama's posted a counter on his website:
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/04/obama-campaig-1.html
April 30, 2008 2:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't it 17 now?
April 30, 2008 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think she is up like 18-19 at this point. Not looking good considering she was up over 100 a few months ago.
April 30, 2008 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hm. Wasn't Clinton up by about 30 on the day of the PA primary?
April 30, 2008 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh my gosh! My heart is racing from all of this good news! How many more will we get today?
Obama '08
April 30, 2008 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
It looks like Obama will just roll them out as necessary to stay one ahead of Clinton for the day. Why use up all the strategic reserves?
April 30, 2008 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nothing quiets the home crowd during a comeback like the visitors draining a long three.
April 30, 2008 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Love the analogy!
April 30, 2008 1:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
That made me laugh out loud! Best comment of the day so far! ;)
April 30, 2008 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
And he was fouled . . .
April 30, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Clintons are like the Pistons of old with their "Jordan Rules." Looks like Obama's making the free throws down the stretch, though.
April 30, 2008 1:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
A perfect analogy since we are heading into "Basketball Primary" Tuesday (for the non-sports inclined, IN and NC are basketball crazy states with numerous NCAA championships between their various universities). I think Obama's "basketball vote" can put him over in both states. Let's hope he continues to hit nothing but net.
April 30, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Perfect. Go Tarheels (for Obama)!
April 30, 2008 1:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, not everyone in NC is a Heels fan.
Obama needs the Wolfpack, Blue Devils, and Demon Deacons too!
April 30, 2008 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wonderful news. Keep them coming. Meanwhile, I tip my hat to Gov Dean for encouraging this superdelegate coming-out week.
April 30, 2008 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Love the picture, Greg. I always wanted to learn bagpipes (still have some time for that on the wishlist).
I think Obama has a bunch of these elected super-delegates locked up. Expect him to continue to one-up Clinton over the coming weeks. One here, one there, drip drip.
I also think he believes that taking this primary to all 50 states is a good thing, regardless of the negative ads. But I'm a kool aid drinking, latte-liberal.
Fun to watch how this plays out. Even with all the shitty news (most of it completely mind-boggingly stupid), I am confident of an Obama victory.
On another note, why no criticism of the stupid "gas tax holiday" on the MSM? Is it really that difficult a concept to understand how pointless such a holiday would be?
April 30, 2008 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Two brief responses:
1) Mind-bogglingly stupid does not begin to describe it. Honestly, I can understand why the Republicans would want to make this race about specious distractions like Wright or flag-pins, but it simply boggles the mind to see democrats lap up the puddles of right-wing talking points that the FOX-news crowd is pissing out of late. It makes one feel like he has stepped through the looking glass.
2) Do you remember just before super Tues, when we both had resigned ourselves to the idea that Clinton would be the nominee and we would be o.k. (not entheusiastic, but o.k.) with that? I remember having an exchange with you where we both mentioned how much effort we were pouring into the campaigns in our states and how strangely useless this seemed, given that we were both sure that Clinton was going to lock it up. Can you even believe that such a time and such an outlook on the race was even possible?
Did you see that Paul Krugman did at least grudgingly admit that Clinton was wrong and Obama was right about this. That is hardly the sort of coverage that the issue deserves, but it is at least a small victory.
April 30, 2008 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
"On another note, why no criticism of the stupid "gas tax holiday" on the MSM? Is it really that difficult a concept to understand how pointless such a holiday would be?"
You are going under the assumption that the MSM programs coverage of anything beyond Rev. Wright, flag pins, Barack's middle name and Britney Spears.
April 30, 2008 1:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just for the record, Greg, I thought the photo of you smiling at your son's birthday was great!
April 30, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, reminded me of Bob Saget (both look wise and head-screwed-in-the right-place wise).
(Gee, I hope it was complimentary.)
April 30, 2008 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Super Delegates have been offended by
Hillary's dismissive attitude toward Rocky Balboa.
April 30, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
This made me chuckle...
April 30, 2008 1:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, she does make Rocky look like a pansy.
April 30, 2008 1:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like what she said:
“Barack Obama is the better choice because of something larger and perhaps more important. Simply put, he has made a call to the better angels of our nature. He is challenging us to lift ourselves out of the ugliness that increasingly consumes Washington, where the heat of your argument counts for more than the light it should bring,” Capps said in a statement. “He is asking us to stand together as Americans and transcend the traditional lines that have so often divided us by party affiliation, economic status, gender, or race.”
April 30, 2008 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Tuzla Annie's just about out of ammo. Can't wait to get after McSame. Yes We Can
April 30, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Depending on who's count you use, HRC is up 19-22 super-delegates.
Using the counts at RCP, she would be up 20.
Either way, as long as he at least matches her delegate to delegate, he wins.
Despite all of Clinton's arguements about popular vote etc, the measure is still delegates. At the end of the day, who ever has the most - wins. That isn't to say that the other stuff won't influence the delegate count but every super that endorses Obama, it makes her job that much harder.
Like the primaries, the fewer contests left, the steeper the hill she has to climb. The fewer the delegates left, the more she needs to convince.
April 30, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
And, of course, her arguments to the super delegates about popular vote, electoral vote, and "big state" wins seem to be falling flat. That's important - they're not buying into her (and the media's) spins.
April 30, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Chelsea Clinton just bagged a superdelegate for her mother. The youngest Clinton is campaigning today in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A few moments ago, at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazon, Luisette Cabanas, an unpledged superdelegate, announced her support for Clinton, giving the campaign the majority of automatic** delegates on the island."
Chelsea is the rising star.
April 30, 2008 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh good - she can take over from Jeb in 2024.
God help us!
April 30, 2008 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
HA!
April 30, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good, maybe she'll have better luck than her mother when she decides to run for President - then she can have her mother AND her father f*ck up her campaign. Sorry, but Hillary's running out of time and the supers aren't buying her bullshit arguments that Obama is weak, or that she's leading in the popular vote. He's getting closer and closer to shutting this down every day.
April 30, 2008 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Indeed, Chelseas's rise would at least belong to her, and not to her lying philandering husband, the very source of Sen Clinton's wretched dishonesty.
April 30, 2008 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Haddalife,
Drinking your Alka-Seltzer today?!
April 30, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
She could be, but why the heck did she take a job working for a hedge fund? I hope this campaign helps her find her true calling.
April 30, 2008 1:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
At least Chelsea isn't afraid to be seen with gay people, or even to use the word "gay", which her mom seems to have quite a problem with.
April 30, 2008 1:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rising star?!!
Oh hell. Gotalife fantasizes another Clinton Preznitry right after Jeb Bush's son is done his Bush number on this country as Preznit, which will right after Hillary is done obliterating a part of the world as Preznit.
Sheeets! Gotalife, curb your fantasy life already.
April 30, 2008 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
oh, yeah -- Link for your quote?
April 30, 2008 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well what do you expect? Hillary claims she is from Peurto Rico, doesn't she?
April 30, 2008 1:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's see: Obama dumps Wright and picks up 3 SD's.
I wonder what Clinton would have to do to pick up 3 SD's in one day.
April 30, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Perish the thought - I don't even want to go there! ;)
April 30, 2008 1:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, she does have such a lot of baggage to jettison (or so she says). If she loses this nomination, I suspect the one monogrammed "BC" might get the shove.
April 30, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, I want to go there... BILL
April 30, 2008 2:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, if she dumps Bill, I'll be less worried at 3 am should the Tonya Harding strategy work.
April 30, 2008 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Clinton won California.
So much for following the will of the people.
BS.
I am starting to realize the dems want to lose.
April 30, 2008 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought you wanted them exercising their independent judgment...
April 30, 2008 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
She certainly hasn't made a lot of friends with her "San Francisco" smear.
April 30, 2008 1:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
And the sooner you jump off the bandwagon, the happier we'll all be!
April 30, 2008 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dude, California today would not vote for Hillary. He tied her on election day; she just had a big lead with names and the whole misbeggoten political establishment of the state had endorsed her in 2007
April 30, 2008 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
California is now the golden OBAMA state!
April 30, 2008 1:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's looking like McCain is your candidate! The McCain/Clinton Gas Tax pander-fest, the Obliterate Iran Policy - Some kool-aid clinton supporters are showing their true stripes.
April 30, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Buck up: come January, the combination of the permanent Democratic majority and President Obama will allow Senator Clinton to spearhead some really significant legislation.
April 30, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
This tired argument again?
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html
Do yourself a favor and look at all of the supers from states that Obama won (he has won twice as many as you know) that have endorsed Hillary.
For example...Terry McAuliffe is a VA Super Delegate. Virginia went OVERWHELMINGLY to Obama. Do you want to continue this line of attack or didn't your talking-points tell you that Hillary wants the Supers to make independent decisions???
Your hypocrisy is showing.
April 30, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Puerto Rico is not a state, and does not get counted in the Presidential election.
April 30, 2008 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
But curiously PR gets more (many, many more) democratic delegates than several actual states. Go figure.
April 30, 2008 1:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't they count as .5 delegates, since they're territories?
April 30, 2008 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Strangely no. Some territories get only 0.5 delegates, but Peurto Rico's are full-potency (as it were).
April 30, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Super Delegates shun Senator Clinton because they are afraid that their own campaigns would get Broke Cooties from Hillary's bankrupt operation!!!
April 30, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Me, like most long-time Dems are just tired of the Clintons.
If this was any other candidate than HRC, the race would have been over, but with the media's help, the Clinton cabal refuses to go out gracefully.
Her winning the late primaries reminds me of Jerry Brown's late primary triumphs in 1976.
April 30, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would love to see Hillary end up as the mayor of Oakland!
April 30, 2008 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Then she can claim another 'home state' to her growing list!
April 30, 2008 1:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I would love to see Hillary end up as the mayor of Oakland!"
Just keep her out of Southern California.
April 30, 2008 1:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
DemConWatch says the difference is down to 18, but they don't have the PR super counted.
But really that figure is not important. Hillary needs to do much better than staying even.
April 30, 2008 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
So, Clinton needs to garner delegates at a rate of slightly better than two to one. Instead, she can't even keep it one to one.
Yay superdelegates! I think they're finally convinced that Obama is, in fact, tough enough. He's been hit by both Clintons, McCain, the GOP, the entire MSM, and a personal betrayal by his pastor, and he's never once lost his cool. He's still standing, and he's still focused on the things that drew so many of us to him in the first place.
That's real strength.
April 30, 2008 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why the heck does PR have 55 delegates? Don't you have to want to be part of the USA to take part in our elections?
Probably a topic for another day, I realize.
April 30, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
this gives him the lead in each elected catagory: representatives 79-78, governors 14-11, and senators 16(+2 shadow)-13.
April 30, 2008 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary's lead has been "obliterated"!
April 30, 2008 1:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
How about this argument to the Superdels: Hillary is a shoo-in to win PR in the Fall!
April 30, 2008 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Clinton disqualifies herself no matter who else is running, unless the new Democratic foreign policy now includes the plank of Obliteration.
Calling for the erasure of Iran with nukes disqualifies her from the Senate, much less the presidency. She will never get my vote. "Nuke em all" is expected from her uneducated stalwarts, but remains inhumanely criminal for a sitting Senator.
No more lying obliteratti.
Pax,
M.
April 30, 2008 1:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nice try Got No Life - I can see you're not familiar with the congressional map of the California Republic.
The majority of Capps' district is in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, both of which went Obama. Boo yah!
April 30, 2008 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
:)
April 30, 2008 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Guys, guys, guys. No one's more pro-Barack and more pro-new politics than I am, but let us not misconstrue what's happening.
It is clear, and has long been clear, that Obama has a certain number of privately committed super delegates in his pocket who have agreed that he can roll them out on an as-needed or as desired basis. I applaud it. It is great theatre and a great way to put a bump in front of any Hillmentum that may start happening (it's not a coincidence that he picked up supers immediately after Ohio/Texas and Pennsylvania.) But let us, please, not delude ourselves that these are converts.
So does Hillary have a similar bag? Best evidence says "no." If she does, she's apparently hoarding them in preparation for letting them all loose at once at some strategic moment. My guess, however, is that she used all of hers early, back during the heyday of her inevitability.
April 30, 2008 2:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Im not the sharpest knife in the drawer, matter of fact not even close, but if Obama can just play the game of matching her on announcements or one upping her every time she announces isnt that a good thing?
April 30, 2008 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Considering that Hillary will need about twice as many supers as Obama, hell yeah that's a good thing.
April 30, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Douglas....I thought I had a grasp of that concept...lol
April 30, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Folks just are not smelling what Hillary is cooking.
April 30, 2008 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Smells like ass.
April 30, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't praise Oilbama too much, he may decide to start using Cocaine again. I just filled up my gas tank paying 4$ a gallon. I sure am glad Oilbama voted for Dick Cheney's Big Oil Energy bill.
April 30, 2008 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
You guy's are unnnnnn believable....lol
April 30, 2008 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lois's district went strongly for Obama, and local Obama folks circulated a petition asking her to represent the will of the voters who'd elected her. Guess she listened.
April 30, 2008 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
More great news! Hope we see another 1-2 before the day ends.
April 30, 2008 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just read this morning where New Jersey, which clinton won in February, new polls are showing that they would now go for Obama with something like a 10 point lead.
I guess the real answer to your "so much for the will of the people" comment is: People can WAKE UP, think for themselves and change their minds.
Actually, from what I am hearing, many early voters who went for hillary before Obama came on the scene in CALIFORNIA wish they could take their votes back also!
April 30, 2008 2:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am sure all voters everywhere wish they could take back their Oilbama votes everytime they fill up at the gas pump. Oilbama voting for Dick Cheney's Big Oil Energy bill is one of the reasons gas is at 4$ a gallon.
April 30, 2008 2:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh get off it. That bill has nothing to do with your gas prices, and you either know that and are being particularly contrary, or you are a braindead idiot.
Of course, if you're one of those people who thinks the McCain/Clinton gas tax holiday is a great solution to your problems, I'll have to assume the latter.
April 30, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have family in NJ, and they are saying that people who voted for HRC now regret doing so. My brother, who voted for Hillary, is now hoping Obama wins the primary so he can get a second chance in the general election--to redeem himself. If this is true, that some of the early state voters are now having buyer's remorse about HRC, that could sway some supers who are nervous about overturning the popular vote in their state.
April 30, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love how his campaign drops a Superdelegate every time Hillary does.... juuuuuuust to keep one ahead for the day. It literally makes me giggle with glee. Damn they are SO SMART in the Obama campaign.
Hillary: I would like to announce the support of so and so.
Obama: Trump! I have another one too!
Heheheheheheheh
Go Obama '08!
April 30, 2008 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, the world's coolest guy endorses world's other coolest guy.
Go Fonz, Happy Days are here again.
http://www.lacitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/aaaaayyyy/6975/
April 30, 2008 4:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
So Obama jumped the shark.
April 30, 2008 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Im sorry thats the best avatar I have seen....lol
April 30, 2008 7:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Elmer Im speaking of
April 30, 2008 7:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Capps is Obama spokeman Burton's mother-in-law.
Bet he had to work hard for that one.
April 30, 2008 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gee - didn't work for Bill Clinton when it came to Bill Richardson, did it? Still stings, I know.
April 30, 2008 7:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Got a life...The only difference between the Hillary and Obama are 2 words...Veracity and Integrity...other than that both democrats.
April 30, 2008 7:16 PM | Reply | Permalink