Hillary's Concession Speech Will Kick Off Battle For Her Supporters
Her speech in Washington, where she will concede defeat and endorse Obama, starts in moments. Watch it streamed live here.
What today's speech really represents is the kick-off of the grueling battle that will unfold over her supporters. John McCain's campaign advisers say they plan to compete aggressively for them, and indeed they are already conducting focus groups among Hillary supporters in key battleground states:
Republicans plan to describe Obama as an elitist from the Hyde Park section of Chicago, where liberal professors mingle in an academic world that is alien to most working-class voters. They plan to make sure Clinton's voters do not forget about Obama's comments that working-class people are bitter and cling to their guns and religion as a way of dealing with the economic uncertainty they face....In recent days, the Republican campaign has held focus groups in the Rust Belt and Appalachian states where Obama's messages of hope and change failed to translate into votes, including one session in Pittsburgh -- Obama lost in Pennsylvania to Clinton, and it will almost surely be a critical swing state in the fall. McCain advisers said they found a palpable unease with Obama among those groups.
So today Hillary's speech will be closely watched for signs of how ardently -- and how effectively -- she makes Obama's case. Now that the McCain team has signaled that they are going to aggressively compete for her supporters, Hillary's actions today and in coming weeks could end up having a palpable impact, whether she effectively rallies her supporters behind Obama, or alternatively, whether she fails to this.
We'll be blogging Hillary's speech here.
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