January 31, 2008

Why is Obama coming to Hartford?

He obviously wouldn't consider it given the high stakes on Super Tuesday unless his campaign is convinced a stop here on Monday might well put Connecticut into his column.
And since Obama is almost certainly going to lose California and New York, the biggies next week, it makes sense that he will try to focus on winning some other states so that the day isn't a disaster. The key for him is to be able to stand in front of the cameras and make a convincing case that he's still viable.
As long as he can do that -- by winning Connecticut and a few other states -- he can make a serious, perhaps convincing argument to Democrats in subsequent primaries that he should get their votes.
I don't have access to the internal polling, of course, but I'm pretty sure that Connecticut is now one of the hottest battlegrounds between Clinton and Obama. The stakes are small, but the outcome actually matters.
So I guess those who wanted to move the primary up to be part of Super Tuesday were right on the money. We actually matter, for a change.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Steve - your previous post regarding the surge in voter affiliation changes - was there a rise in the number of african american voters for Bristol?

Steve Collins said...

The number of black voters in Bristol is so small that it would be impossible to tell even if there was a way to know the race of those signing up.

Anonymous said...

Many Independents and Republicans I know are registering as Democrats to vote for Clinton.

The reason is that the Republicans feel McCain has a better chance AGAINST Clinton than Obama.

Perkin Warbeck said...

As of Sunday, California is trending Obama and they are now tied. He's gaining at least a couple of points a day....While there is some make up to be done because of early voters, his positive margins are routinely underestimated because his supporters are harder to reach by landline. Don't be too shocked by an Obama win on Tuesday...