Hey all, I AM signing off now, since you’ll be hearing from me on the Takeaway tomorrow. Clinton just finished up her speech, where she vowed to go “full-speed ahead to the White House.” Her speech echoed Obama’s in many ways, talking about her roots, assuring that the Democratic party WOULD come together (and that she would support Obama, should he be the nominee), and even noting the race wasn’t about her, it was about the voters. She vowed to “fight on” in Kentucky and West Virginia (did she mention Oregon? — if she did I didn’t hear it). There’s nothing to be lost by declaring victory, but one thing is clear, despite the gas-tax holiday, despite Reverend Wright, the margins in this race tracked the polls from two weeks ago — right after the PA primary. The final polls had Obama doing worse in both states — losing significantly in IN, winning by single digits in NC. But, in contradistinction to pretty much all the other primaries, he beat the late polls. Will he use this to argue he can withstand what the Republicans have to throw on him? Bet on it.
You can stay tuned to WNYC AM, where we’ll be airing the BBC through the night for the latest results.
See you in the morning, and on the airwaves…
Windows 
Windows 
Windows 
2 Comments
For everyone who read the blog but didn’t comment (my usual practice), I just want to say how fantastic it is to come home late and have fresh Brian Lehrer political coverage–not interviews, but his own interpretations. I get my dose in the morning, but I never realized how much he facilitates and how little he participates. Such is the nature of the job, but I have to say I wish there were a regular BL op-ed column or blog I could read regularly.
O ye of early rising –
Shortly after midnight local time (1:00 AM New York Time), a ton of results appeared all at once and Hillary’s victory, by a thread, was confirmed. The margin loss, a bit more than 15,000 votes, had been predicted by the Obama staff.
It’s worth noting that MSNBC repeatedly noted that, for most of the evening, a grand total of ONE elected representative was at stake under the Democrats’ proportional rule.
Most of the cable gurus say that Obama has locked it up. It’s mathematically impossible for Hillary to win a majority either of the elected delegates or of the total popular vote.
Can we move on now, please, please please!
Or are you really looking for that expense-account trip to Puerto Rico?