The poll of more than 56K people was conducted in the aftermath of Hillary Clinton’s primary wins in Ohio and Texas. Forty percent of respondents say Obama can take political heat. Eight percent are not sure.Obama looked pretty shaky during his “concession speech” in Texas. His statement: “No matter what happens tonight, we have nearly the same delegate lead that we did this morning, and we are on our way to winning this nomination.” came off as sour grapes. An upbeat Clinton, meanwhile, pointed out that no Democrat or Republican ever became president after losing the Ohio primary.
The media worm has turned on the Illinois Senator—thanks to Clinton’s campaign staff and the “Saturday Night Live” skit about the fawning coverage received by Obama.
Todd Spivak, writing in the Houston Press, has a longish (4,449 words) piece recalling his days as a cub reporter covering Obama as an Illinois State Senator. [Thanks to gweni, who responded to my earlier blog and pointed out the Spivak article.]
The article takes a hard look at Obama’s skimpy record. The Senator is profiled as an aloof individual who did very little for his district until taken under the wing of a political fixer. Obama was virtually unknown when he ran for the U.S. Senate, getting the nod only after successfully challenging the nominating petitions of key competitors.
Spivak wrote: “Obama has spent his entire political career trying to win the next step up. Every three years, he has aspired to a more powerful political position.” He is now gunning for the ultimate prize. What’s he going to do after three years in the White House?
Some of the novelty of the Obama candidacy wore off last night. Crusty and long on experience John McCain will trash the neophyte Obama.
The best route for Obama is to swallow some pride and agree to serve as Vice President. Obama needs national seasoning. Clinton needs the backing of Obama's “cult-like” supporters who will stay home if their guy isn’t on the ballot of Election Day.
The Clinton/Obama dream ticket would result in the Democrats control of the White House for at least the next 16 years.
(Photo: Greater Surbiton blog)