Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

People are complicated. Love is not.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

When we show up, we win.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Not all heroes wear capes.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2008 / Primary Results Open Thread

Primary Results Open Thread

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Discuss.

Lisa Caputo, Clinton lackey, on MSNBC– Obama started ahead, people made up their mind a month ago, so Rev. Wright has not taken effect, and he spent more, so North Carolina does not count.

Welcome to the majority, North Carolina. You don’t count.

*** Update ***

Norah O’Donnell is quite clearly pregnant, which explains my prom dress comment from two weeks ago.

*** Update #2 ***

Harold Ford is babbling about Hillary being on Obama’s ticket as VEEP.

Not gonna happen. And then there is this, again:

*** Update #3 ***

From the speech- “thank you for a win in a ‘big state.'” Heh.

Reader Interactions

269Comments

  2. 2.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    North Carolina just joined the League of States That No Longer Count.

  4. 4.

    PeterJ

    Everyone called NC for Obama.

    That’s bad for Obama and really good for Clinton.

  5. 5.

    Adam

    That’s bad for Obama and really good for Clinton.

    this is excellent news / for hillary / blah blah blah

  6. 6.

    Desmond

    Probably 10-15 points in NC. He’s going to need big turnout in Indianapolis to win Indiana thought.

  8. 8.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    Wait, I can hear it now…

    “B-B-But they called North Carolina right away, but not Indiana! The media hates Hillary!”

  10. 10.

    gypsy howell

    He’s going to need big turnout in Indianapolis to win Indiana.

    I wouldn’t hold out any hope for that. Gas Tax RULZ, baby!

  11. 11.

    ksmiami

    What will be interesting is to see what Hillmonster will do if she somehow ends up the nominee and yet all the “elite” democrats financially abandon her. I know I already have

  12. 12.

    crw

    Meanwhile, on the GOP side, once against in Indiana nearly 1 in 4 Republicans (thus far) want someone who’s name isn’t John McCain.

  13. 13.

    gypsy howell

    chopper, that only proves that she’s actually running as a republican. Her supporters’ second choice is McCain? not somethig I’d be bragging about if I were her.

  14. 14.

    Nate

    I’ll start moving the goal posts in:

    This is a HUGE win for Obama in NC! Hillary can’t possibly make up the difference in pledged delegate. It’s time to unite the party!!!

    /Common Sense

  15. 15.

    zack

    “This primary election on Tuesday is a game changer. This is going to make a huge difference in what happens going forward. The entire country – probably even a lot of the world is looking to see what North Carolina decides.”
    ~ Hillary Clinton, May 2, 2008

    May 6, 2008:

    North Carolina doesn’t matter, it doesn’t count – it’s “insignificant.”

  16. 16.

    Desmond

    Obama’s winning Indianapolis 60-40 so far, with 11% reporting. He should be able to net at least 20,000 votes there overall. Monroe is just beginning to report, and he’s getting 70% there.

  17. 17.

    slippy hussein toad

    I don’t know why we even bother with those states. Colorado and Texas are possibly worth caring about, and maybe Virginia might be worth caring about in the forseeable future, but as far as the Dems are concerned, the rest of those states are just a waste.

    -p.luk, choking to death on the Hillary Kool-aid.

  18. 18.

    BFR

    According to the exit polls, half of Clinton’s supporters in Indiana would not vote for Obama in a general election match up with John McCain. A third of Clinton voters said they would pick McCain over Clinton, while 17 percent said they would not vote at all.

    What a train wreck…that’s all I can say.

  19. 19.

    Martin

    So, per CNN exits – about a 4-5% win for Clinton in IN, and about a 13-14% win for Obama in NC. He /might/ cover his delegate loss in PA depending on how these come in.

  20. 20.

    PeterJ

    Why don’t the Clinton followers complain about republican crossover votes anymore?

    That’s a simple question with a simple answer.

  21. 21.

    Desmond

    Let’s also keep an eye on Lake county; it’s part of the Chicago metro area, and the second largest county in Indiana. It hasn’t begun to report yet.

  22. 22.

    rob!

    one time en route from Florida to New Jersey, the car my friend and i were driving broke down in North Carolina, and we had a horrible, horrible experience there. ever since then, i’ve HATED north carolina.

    tonight, all is forgiven.

    Obama brings people together. MUP!

  23. 23.

    Dennis - SGMM

    The Clinton campaign has announced that Hillary’s new set of deeply held beliefs (Which superseded her old set of deeply held beliefs) makes her more electable. Therefore, the super delegates must give her the nomination no matter what.

  24. 24.

    Martin

    Meanwhile, on the GOP side, once against in Indiana nearly 1 in 4 Republicans (thus far) want someone who’s name isn’t John McCain.

    From CNN exits, a full 9% of Dem primary voters are clear crossovers. That is, they announced in the exit poll that they prefer McCain over the person they voted for. That’s 21K voters at the time that I write this. There are fewer than 100K votes cast on the GOP side, so a pretty big chunk of GOP voters have come over and they’re presumably all McCain supporters given that they didn’t bother to make the symbolic non-McCain GOP vote.

    Of the 9% of crossover, 7% of all voters picked Clinton in the primary but would vote McCain over Clinton in the general. 2% of all voters picked Obama in the primary but would vote McCain over Obama in the general.

    Based on that, take 5 points off of Clinton’s margin if you want to see what a reasonably defined cohort of democratic voters want.

  25. 25.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    I like how Obama’s down by 14 with a third of the vote counted, but kos is still “He can win this thing!”

  26. 26.

    crw

    From CNN exits, a full 9% of Dem primary voters are clear crossovers. That is, they announced in the exit poll that they prefer McCain over the person they voted for. That’s 21K voters at the time that I write this. There are fewer than 100K votes cast on the GOP side, so a pretty big chunk of GOP voters have come over and they’re presumably all McCain supporters given that they didn’t bother to make the symbolic non-McCain GOP vote.

    I was going to say…that’s either a hell of a lot of Operation Chaos voters, or McCain is truly fucked.

  27. 27.

    wasabi gasp

    Old people are a friggin’ disgrace.

    Don’t be surprised when you find your walker missing it’s tennis balls.

  30. 30.

    Adam

    I like how Obama’s down by 14 with a third of the vote counted, but kos is still “He can win this thing!”

    That vote’s almost entirely in the rural areas of the state, so it’s actually not out of the question.

    That said, no matter how it comes out, fuck Indiana. I hate that place.

  31. 31.

    4tehlulz

    Harold Ickes, staying classy:

    “We don’t know enough about Senator Obama yet. We don’t need an October Surprise. And (the chance of) an October Surprise with Hillary is remote”

    The MUP is going to bomb Iran? Oh shi-

  32. 32.

    Llelldorin

    I like how Obama’s down by 14 with a third of the vote counted, but kos is still “He can win this thing!”

    How crazy that is depends how much IN is like CA. Here in California poll-watching is always a bit demented, because Los Angeles county is a full third of the state population, to the left of the rest of the state, and reports very late. I have no idea if IN is like that with respect to Gary and Indianapolis, or if it’s a more normal slow drift (upon which we’re just watching for the margin).

  33. 33.

    Martin

    Obama was down like this in Missouri and won there. It has everything to do with who reports first. Notice that not one county up near Illinois has reported at all. And if you look at the counties going for Clinton so far, many are almost all in. Monroe, which should be strong Obama is only 1% reporting. Indianapolis only 23% in. The only strong Obama district that’s mostly in is Fort Wayne.

    There’s still a bunch all around the state not reporting at all, but there’s a lot of room out there. That the networks have exits and haven’t called this at Clinton +14% tells you that their data shows that it’s close.

  34. 34.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    “We don’t know enough about Senator Obama yet. We don’t need an October Surprise. And (the chance of) an October Surprise with Hillary is remote”

    Good grief. ‘October surprise?’ That’s what you’re down to arguing now? Stick a fork in them, they’re done.

  36. 36.

    The Other Steve

    It’s all down to the final results. NC has more delegates, and if Obama wins it by a larger margin than Hillary wins IN, he’ll come out tonight with a net gain in delegates.

    I like how Obama’s down by 14 with a third of the vote counted, but kos is still “He can win this thing!”

    It depends on where that first third is. Rural, urban, near Chicago, east side, etc.

    I’d be surprised if the margin does not narrow somewhat. Cole predicted a 5 point spread, I suspect it’ll be around 9, just like Pennsylvania.

  37. 37.

    Martin

    because Los Angeles county is a full third of the state population, to the left of the rest of the state, and reports very late

    If at all!

  38. 38.

    ThymeZone

    Blah blah blah. That keeps me in harmony with the thread.

    Tomorrow, Obama will have more delegates and one big day closer to the nomination.

    Okay, what else is on tv tonight?

  39. 39.

    Ninerdave

    I like how Obama’s down by 14 with a third of the vote counted, but kos is still “He can win this thing!”

    Depends on where they are getting results from. If Obama strong holds have yet to report, then maybe he has a chance. Dunno yet.

  40. 40.

    Jorge

    Is it me, or is MSNBC’s Chuck Todd sane and rational about his analysis? I think that is what I see but after 45 minutes of Lou Dobb’s “White men are the most oppressed group in the world so Obama sucks” I can’t tell what is good anymore.

  41. 41.

    Tropical Fats

    I grew up in Northwest Indiana and went to Purdue. I can state with certainty that Hillary will win big in Indiana because her core constituency is morons. And the moron:human ratio in Indiana is at least 10:1.

  42. 42.

    cleek

    dear Hillary supporters, tell us again how Obama is the cult candidate.

    * Half of Hillary backers in Indiana wouldn’t support Obama in a general elex against McCain, compared to a third of Obama backers who wouldn’t back Hillary.

    * It’s worse in North Carolina: There, only 45% of Hillary supporters say they’d back Obama against McCain, compared to 59% of Obama backers who’d vote for Hillary.

    fuck you people. fuck you right in the ear.

  43. 43.

    John Cole

    Chuck Todd has been, without exception, the best political commentator this election. He is measured, reasonable, and doesn’t make shit up.

  44. 44.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    Is it me, or is MSNBC’s Chuck Todd sane and rational about his analysis?

    patronizing.luk said he was in the tank for Obama, so, yeah, he’s clear.

  45. 45.

    PeterJ

    Of the 9% of crossover, 7% of all voters picked Clinton in the primary but would vote McCain over Clinton in the general. 2% of all voters picked Obama in the primary but would vote McCain over Obama in the general.

    Based on that, take 5 points off of Clinton’s margin if you want to see what a reasonably defined cohort of democratic voters want.

    Either myiq0.8xu or P.Lunatic argued over at TalkLeft that the republicans crossing over in Texas voting for Clinton was women that were going to vote for Clinton, because of her gender, in the GE.

    I would love to hear them defend the crossover vote in Indiana.

  46. 46.

    4tehlulz

    fuck you people. fuck you right in the ear.

    Meh. It’s NC and IN. It’s not that big a deal.

  47. 47.

    The Other Steve

    I’d be surprised if the margin does not narrow somewhat. Cole predicted a 5 point spread, I suspect it’ll be around 9, just like Pennsylvania.

    No sooner did I write this, and it’s down to a 12 point spread with 41% reporting. and the big counties in the northwest up around Gary and South Bend haven’t turned in results.

  48. 48.

    firebrand

    Speaking as a resident of Lake County, IN, I can’t say who’s going to win it. I will say that race will be a BIG issue. Count on a lot of Hillary voters here voting for her because Barack Obama’s black. You can bank on that.

  49. 49.

    Martin

    After looking at raw vote numbers, I don’t see Obama making up the gap in IN, even with him overperforming as Kos notes.

  50. 50.

    The Other Steve

    Chuck Todd has been, without exception, the best political commentator this election. He is measured, reasonable, and doesn’t make shit up.

    That’s because he’s biased towards facts. Obviously a flaming liberal.

  51. 51.

    Gold Star for Robot Boy

    Great CNN map of Indiana.
    As you can see, the Chicagoland counties have yet to be counted. Those will boost Obama, big time.

  52. 52.

    Pooh

    I don’t know what this means (if anything) but CNN has Obama by 30 in NC with 11% reporting. ~ 10 for HRC in IND with ~45% IIRC.

  54. 54.

    PeterJ

    CBS has called Indiana for Clinton.

    This obviously means that it’s over for Obama. Will he drop out tonight or tomorrow?

    /SNARK

  55. 55.

    Chris

    For those of you who, like me, feel like you’re watching a rerun, there’s a great episode of Nova on right now about the evolutionary origin of flowers in China.

  56. 56.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    don’t know what this means (if anything) but CNN has Obama by 30 in NC with 11% reporting. ~ 10 for HRC in IND with ~45% IIRC.

    Dandy Don Says:

    “Turn out the lights…”

  57. 57.

    Dennis - SGMM

    He is measured, reasonable, and doesn’t make shit up.

    Then he’s an elitist bastard.

  58. 58.

    Pooh

    I don’t know what this means (if anything) but CNN has Obama by 30 in NC with 11% reporting. ~ 10 for HRC in IND with ~45% IIRC.

    Meh, upon further examination, the early reporting appears to be largely in latte-sipping elitist University type places like Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte…

  59. 59.

    Gold Star for Robot Boy

    Also yet to report in Indiana: Tippecanoe County, home to Purdue.
    From Politico’s What to Watch For:

    Obama needs to pile up large margins in Indianapolis in the middle of the state and in Gary’s Lake County in the northwest corner, which is part of the Chicago media market.
    Both areas boast significant African American populations. Gary, a city of 100,000 residents, is 84 percent black. Indianapolis, population 780,000, is 25 percent black.
    A good night for Obama would mean 10- to 20-point margins in both areas, analysts said.

    Currently, Marion County (Indy) is +26 for Obama, w/46% reporting.
    Lots of signs, none of them good for HRC

  60. 60.

    The Other Steve

    Ok, I’m going to go eat some pie and play BF2.

    You guys have fun.

  61. 61.

    firebrand

    Gold Star for Robot Boy Says:

    Great CNN map of Indiana.
    As you can see, the Chicagoland counties have yet to be counted. Those will boost Obama, big time.

    Don’t be so sure. NW Indiana has Gary at the core (which will be solid Obama), surrounded by white suburbs. These suburbs are reliably Republican all year round. They always go with the more conservative candidate. And as far as people here are concerned, Hillary’s the Republican and Barack’s the Democrat. Doesn’t mean Obama will lose Lake County, but I’m not sure he’ll sweep it either. One other thing: in the fall, no matter whether Hillary or Barack wins here, all those voters that went for Hillary will go for John McCain.

  63. 63.

    John S.

    CBS has called Indiana for Clinton.

    Yet nobody else has. I find that really odd.

    Perhaps they’re afraid of another Missouri?

  64. 64.

    The Other Steve

    I’m going to mention one more thing.

    I think Obama made a mistake moving his rhetoric from Hope to issues. He needs to go back to talking about hope and the future. That’s what people want to hear.

  66. 66.

    EdinLA

    Down to 7% in Indiana. If he can pull it out, I want to go over to TalkLeft and see their collective heads explode. BTD will probably have an aneurism. I hope he doesn’t, though.

  67. 67.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    I think Obama’s doing just fine. Hillary bet the bank on making things close in North Carolina, and she’ll be lucky if she breaks 15%. Her surrogates are left stammering about October surprises. It’s over.

  68. 68.

    Gold Star for Robot Boy

    South Bend should be an Obama stronghold too. They are also at 0%.

    Dunno about that. Aren’t Catholics holding steady for HRC?

  69. 69.

    The Other Steve

    It’d be nice if Obama won Indiana. It’d give Hillary an excuse to drop out gracefully.

    Ok, back to BF2 and pie

  70. 70.

    Desmond

    South Bend is like 35% black. Meaning, over half of the Democratic primary voters.

  71. 71.

    John

    Obama won Elkhart County big. My sense is that South Bend should be more favorable to Obama than Elkhart.

  73. 73.

    Gold Star for Robot Boy

    On the R side of the Indiana ballot, candidates not named McCain got nearly one-quarter of the vote.

  76. 76.

    p.a.

    From TPM:

    Hillary the Shotslinger

    Terry McAuliffe is on a roll today, telling MSNBC:

    “She loves to sit, throw ’em back. So to me this is nothin’ new. We all hear about the story that she and John McCain actually had a shot contest, I think in the Ukraine or somewhere around the world. And she actually beat John McCain in a shot contest. She’s a girl from Illinois who likes to throw ’em down with the rest of us.”

    If I may plagiarize the founder of this blog, KILL ME NOW.

    Lincoln had a famous quote about the bloodshed of the Civil War being payment for the sin of slavery. What will be the punishment for this kind of spreading stupidity? Or is this the punishment for November 2000?
    Other empires fell due to arrogance, greed, militarism, laziness. Any collapse from teh stupid?

  77. 77.

    Ted

    Chuck Todd has been, without exception, the best political commentator this election. He is measured, reasonable, and doesn’t make shit up.

    Plenty of people agree. I’d say he needs a show, but it would take away time he could be doing his analysis and reporting.

  79. 79.

    Mary

    I have a massive girlcrush on Donna Brazile. When the weasel Alex disingenuously wondered aloud if Obama’s presidential team would include people like his “friends” Ayers and Wright, I wanted to deck him, but she did it for me.

  80. 80.

    Ninerdave

    If you are wondering why NBC hasn’t called. They are waiting for Lake and another county on the IL boarder, and a couple around Indy.

  81. 81.

    Warren Terra

    EdinLA Says:

    Down to 7% in Indiana. If he can pull it out, I want to go over to TalkLeft and see their collective heads explode. BTD will probably have an aneurism. I hope he doesn’t, though.

    Doesn’t the hilariously (‘Hillaryously’?) misnamed “Big Tent Democrat” periodically claim that he is an Obama supporter, no really, no matter that every one of his posts is dedicated to boosting Clinton and slamming Obama?

  82. 82.

    Desmond

    You know, I think it could be very close. Obama might net 30,000 in Lake if he gets over 60%.

  83. 83.

    Andrew

    That said, no matter how it comes out, fuck Indiana. I hate that place.

    WHAT WAS MICHAEL JACKSON THINKING??!?

  84. 84.

    Gold Star for Robot Boy

    If you are wondering why NBC hasn’t called…

    Only CBS, I think, has called Indiana. Makes them the outlier, so to speak.

  85. 85.

    Gold Star for Robot Boy

    St. Joseph County/South Bend/Notre Dame goes +6 for Obama, all precincts reporting.

  87. 87.

    Warren Terra

    P.S. Speaking of “TalkLeft”, I just waded into their fever swamps out of curiousity (well, looked at their front page, which I think is only dipping a toe into the fever swamp), and saw this gem, from Jeralyn:

    I just dumped CNN for Fox. I won’t go near MSNBC.

    A telling decision, that.

  89. 89.

    Andrew

    Also, my county went for Obama by 40%. Take that, non-creative class of Orange County.

  91. 91.

    PeterJ

    Doesn’t the hilariously (‘Hillaryously’?) misnamed “Big Tent Democrat” periodically claim that he is an Obama supporter, no really, no matter that every one of his posts is dedicated to boosting Clinton and slamming Obama?

    He’s vetting Obama so that Obama will be able to win the GE. Sadly, since no one is vetting Clinton, she would have lost the GE horribly. So it’s a good thing that she’s losing the primary.

  94. 94.

    Calouste

    6% margin in Indiana now with 65% reporting. Close enough that if Clinton wins, she’ll pick up only a few delegates. On the other had, she is 26% behind in North Carolina.

    Whatever happens, there be a decent narrative for Clinton to drop out, something which hasn’t been there since before the TX/OH primaries.

  95. 95.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    And she actually beat John McCain in a shot contest.

    Wow! Beating a 90-year-old man in a drinking contest is a real accomplishment!

    If only she were as good at primary contests as she is at drinking contests.

  96. 96.

    Ted

    Doesn’t the hilariously (‘Hillaryously’?) misnamed “Big Tent Democrat” periodically claim that he is an Obama supporter, no really, no matter that every one of his posts is dedicated to boosting Clinton and slamming Obama?

    Doesn’t he still work in Wal-Mart’s legal department?

  97. 97.

    Gold Star for Robot Boy

    Indy/Marion County is +30 for Obama, two-thirds reporting.
    Remember, the longer it takes for the nets to declare, the more Obama wins the expectations game.
    Think of HRC as a potential NFL or NBA draftee, sitting in the green room while team after team passes on her.

  98. 98.

    Dennis - SGMM

    “She loves to sit, throw ‘em back. So to me this is nothin’ new. We all hear about the story that she and John McCain actually had a shot contest, I think in the Ukraine or somewhere around the world. And she actually beat John McCain in a shot contest. She’s a girl from Illinois who likes to throw ‘em down with the rest of us.”

    The 3AM Phone Call:

    Clinton: Thish the presnent, who the fuck’s calling?
    Voice: This is the National Hurricane Center, ma’am, Hurricane Moe is now a Category 5, it’ll make landfall near Galveston, Texas around dawn.
    Clinton: Wha?
    Voice: A major hurricane is going to strike the Texas Gulf Coast five hours from now. We thought that you might want to take action.
    Clinton: Texas?
    Voice: Yes, ma’am, Texas.
    Clinton: Fuckin’ head’s killin’ me. You said Texas?
    Voice: Yes, ma’am, Texas.
    Clinton: Need ‘nother drink. Fuckin’ heads killin’ me.
    Voice: About Texas, Madam President…
    Clinton: Fuck ’em. Didn’t vote for me anyway. Call the fuckin’ Red Cross or somebody else who gives a shit.

  99. 99.

    Krista

    I just dumped CNN for Fox. I won’t go near MSNBC.

    Ye gods. Shouldn’t that set off alarm bells in anybody with any self-awareness?

    53/47 with 67% reporting. Clinton will win Indiana, but it won’t be by anywhere near as much as she needed. Especially as it’s 61/37 in North Carolina.

  100. 100.

    PeterJ

    That the trolls have disappeared since the results started to come in says a lot.

  101. 101.

    Gold Star for Robot Boy

    From a Kos commenter:

    Clinton count hit the wall in IN – Almost all of the rural counties where Clinton leads are 100% in per CNN. Obama still has half of Indy and a lot of the suburbs, Lake County, and most of the university county to go.

    By “university county,” I think that’s Tippecanoe, with Purdue – although Monroe County/IU seems to be stuck on 9% reporting.

  102. 102.

    Rick Taylor

    The tone at Talk Left is different. You actually have afew non-Obama supporters saying if Obama wins big in NC and hold Indiana close, it could be the end, and they’re glad she took the fight to NC; that’s something I haven’t seen before. Of course there are still those calling for Obama to drop out if he can’t win Indiana, but the general tone is as reasonable as I’ve ever seen it.

  103. 103.

    Andrew

    Imagine if Hillary dropped out of the race tonight! John Cole and Andrew Sullivan would pass out from a rush of escaping relief from CDS and the Hillary crowd could very well spontaneously combust. Big fun.

  105. 105.

    Ninerdave

    Keith right before O’s speech that IN is now too close to call. Dare I dream?

    I’ll ponder it on my bus ride home.

  107. 107.

    John S.

    That the trolls have disappeared since the results started to come in says a lot.

    They’re breaking out the cyanide capsules and readying the GBCW posts.

  108. 108.

    null pointer exception

    Goddamn. I am supposed to be working on the final project for a class but it is impossible to tear myself away from primary coverage :(

  110. 110.

    Mary

    null, I’m supposed to be a responsible working adult finishing a project for a client. Guess I’m getting up at 4 AM.

  111. 111.

    null pointer exception

    I am glad Obama confronted and rejected this BS meme of democrats not voting for him in GE.

  112. 112.

    ThymeZone

    Another classic BigO speech. Reaching out, calling people up, not talking down to them. Ideas, not electioneering stunts.

    I’m confident that Barack will win this nomination, and then the White House, and if that happens, this is going to be a year to remember and be proud of in this country.

    TZ happy.

  113. 113.

    null pointer exception

    Mary, I am supposed to be a responsible adult too :) I am supposed to be working on the final project for a class for my master’s degree :p

  114. 114.

    rob!

    “thank you for a win in a ‘big state'”–the first politician that makes me laugh ON PURPOSE.

  115. 115.

    Josh E.

    Obama just congratulated Hillary on her win in Indiana.

    Yes, because he understands that he needs Hil supporters in a few months. This primary has been hard-fought but it may be time for us O supporters to dial it back rhetorically. Even for myiq and P.Luk.

  116. 116.

    null pointer exception

    A big state. A swing state. A state where we will fight if I am the democratic nominee. Awesome.

  118. 118.

    L. Ron Obama

    He talked the economy with a banker and a business woman and then turned to the very perky Allison Humphries, who wore an Obama button. She was “in sales” and set about trying to convince him to order up a beautiful set of counter-tops for the White House. What kind do they have at the White House, she asked.

    Mr. Obama squinted at her, and shrugged. “I really don’t know what kind of countertops we have there,” he said. “That’s waaaaay out of my depth.”

    I have a job for the wingnutosphere!

  120. 120.

    Martin

    Goddamn. I am supposed to be working on the final project for a class but it is impossible to tear myself away from primary coverage

    Clinton misspoke and referred to Obama as ‘Sambo’ in her speech tonight, realized that was the end and dropped out of the race.

    Go finish your project.

  122. 122.

    ThymeZone

    Barack is back. What a great speech.

    I have a feeling that even the insane Hillabots are listening to this speech, and they know ….. he still has it, and their candidate is done.

    Damn, this guy is good.

  123. 123.

    The Other Steve

    Whatever happens, there be a decent narrative for Clinton to drop out, something which hasn’t been there since before the TX/OH primaries.

    I think only if Obama wins Indiana. Her supporters are too cultlike to support her dropping on a tie.

  124. 124.

    Mary

    null, I have my Master’s. You can live a fine life without it, because you know what it gets you? Lots of guilt about not completing work for clients on an exciting election night.

    3%?? Holy fucking shit. Poblano was estimating 2.9% for Clinton earlier tonight, but OMG OMG OMG …

    (Did Obama just say “This is the time to end it?”)

  125. 125.

    null pointer exception

    Martin:
    Heh. I can’t miss this Obama speach for anything in the world.

  126. 126.

    Martin

    41K votes. Most of Marion in though. None of Lake. Only about 1/3 of the college counties. I don’t think the votes are out there, but goddamn did Clinton get her ass kicked in Indy. And huge, huge turnout. Good job Indiana. Turnout is the best thing about his primary.

    Even for myiq and P.Luk.

    How about everyone but those two?

  127. 127.

    ThymeZone

    This speech puts the Wright “controversy” in the ground and throws six feet of dirt on it. This is the real Obama message.

    Listen up, Republicans.

  128. 128.

    ThymeZone

    Friends, try to picture yourself as John McCain, having to face three months of what you just saw in order to win the General Election.

    I wouldn’t want to be the GOP right now.

  130. 130.

    jnfr

    Excellent speech by Obama. He sounds like the candidate. He’s all about healing the party, followed by his big picture, inspiring MUP stuff. I think this night turns the picture back in his favor, entirely.

    Also, I love Chuck Todd, always have.

    And that testy moment with Brazile on CNN was excellent. This is a fun night.

    Oh, and also, on MSNBC: Scarborough can’t deal with Rachel Maddow, so he set up this side thing with Harold Ford, and it sucks big time.

  133. 133.

    Soylent Green

    “And, has thou slain the Hillarwock?

    Come to my arms, my obamish boy!

    O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’

    He chortled in his joy.

  134. 134.

    John Cole

    What happened with Brazille on CNN. I prefer to watch Olbermann and Maddow and Chuck Todd.

    I have to also admit having a soft spot for Pitchfork Pat because he just does not give a fuck and will say anything.

  135. 135.

    Kirk

    For the past two weeks, all I’ve seen from the punditocracy has been the noise of how Wright has hurt Obama. And the response is, only in the minds of the punditocracy.

    One way to get a good estimate of how a candidate’s doing is to use the median of the past 30 days of polls as a benchmark. Hillary comes out about +5 in Indiana, and Obama about +11 in North Carolina. If Wright was “that big a deal”, then Hillary should have out-performed in both states. Right now, CNN has Hillary +4% in Indiana (74% reporting), and Obama +16% in NC (54% reporting). Wright obviously had no impact in Indiana, and unless there’s a big swing in the remaining half of the voters it’s the same in North Carolina as well.

    Wright did not hurt Obama. The Great Gas Tax cut neither helped Clinton nor hurt Obama. it’s too late for “Clinton’s gonna,” it’s time to look at “Obama Is.”

  136. 136.

    cbear

    That the trolls have disappeared since the results started to come in says a lot.

    Public Service Announcement:

    LOST HILLBOT: Blind in right eye, left ear missing, splinted fingers, covered in Cheeto-dust, carries broken calculator, whimpers incessantly, recently castrated and lobotomized, missing since Tuesday night, last seen in vicinity of TalkShit and Hillary(minus)44 blogs:

    Answers to “Lucky P.huk”

    If found, please return to Clinton Campaign Headquarters.

    Thank you.

  137. 137.

    reid

    I hope Hillary enjoyed prolonging this another month or two in such an unpleasant way. The price was burning a lot of bridges. We won’t forget her abysmal, nasty campaign. No more presidential runs for you!

  138. 138.

    Martin

    Via GOS:

    Chuck Todd says Obama campaign thinks they came up about 10K votes short.

    That’s 1%. That’s amazing if true.

  139. 139.

    CBD

    Is Hillary going to drop out?

    CNN is “reporting” they are waiting for her to speak… Seems a bit early for a Victory Speech.

    ***thinking wishfully****

  140. 140.

    wasabi gasp

    That guy makes my eyes wettish…a little…sometimes…yeah, sometimes a little not dry.

  141. 141.

    null pointer exception

    I am really looking forward to voting (and contributing) to re-elect President Obama in 2012 :)

  143. 143.

    John Cole

    Is Hillary going to drop out?

    LMAO. You have to be kidding me. Is there something in the past few months that would lead you to believe she would quit before she is dragged kicking and screaming from the race?

  144. 144.

    Martin

    So much for SUSA. NC: Obama +5, IN: Clinton +12

    All the pollsters suck, though Zogby still sucks the hardest.

  146. 146.

    AkaDad

    That guy makes my eyes wettish…a little…sometimes…yeah, sometimes a little not dry.

    I tingle all over, and I kinda like it.

  147. 147.

    Dulcie

    Lou Dobbs is a putz.

    I want to poke Chris Matthews in the eye with a hot, sharp poker.

  148. 148.

    Rick Taylor

    I hope Hillary enjoyed prolonging this another month or two in such an unpleasant way. The price was burning a lot of bridges. We won’t forget her abysmal, nasty campaign. No more presidential runs for you!

    On the plus side, no one can say she didn’t give it everything. That might make coming together behind the Democratic nominee a little more tolerable for some who supported her. But yes, in any future runs, they’ll be a larger contingent of -anybody-but-Hillary voters.

  150. 150.

    CBD

    LMAO. You have to be kidding me. Is there something in the past few months that would lead you to believe she would quit before she is dragged kicking and screaming from the race?

    Deborah Jean Palfrey ;P

  151. 151.

    PeterJ

    That’s 1%. That’s amazing if true.

    It will be very interesting contrasting Clinton’s speech with Obama’s.

    Indiana is no win for her. If she wins slim and only because of republicans than won’t vote for her in November, then that’s much, much worse than if she had lost a tight primary.

  152. 152.

    firebrand

    I can’t believe it!! Obama’s cut down Hillary’s lead in Indiana to 4 points?! HOLY SHIT! I figured her floor was 6-7 points at least! After the media drubbing Obama got the past 3 weeks, not to mention the race factor, I always figured Hillary would have an easy time here. And here Obama is, closing the gap! And they still haven’t counted Lake County! UNBELIEVABLE! I can’t remember the last time I felt so proud to be a Hoosier!!

  153. 153.

    jnfr

    What happened with Brazille on CNN

    I was actually switching back and forth for a while since Scarborough/Ford were annoying me so much. CNN was pretty good tonight, and I’m usually an MSNBC fan (as long as they keep Tweety sedated).

    Anyway, she was going back and forth with a Republican strategist who I didn’t recognize and don’t recall his name – he was going on about Wright and Ayers and all that shit. And they brought in Paul Begala who was being fairly reasonable, but he started talking about how things should be in =his= democratic party, and Brazile was just pissed with both of them. She slapped the Republican (verbally of course) about bringing up the Ayers thing, and slapped Begala (also verbally) about “his” party – It’s our party, Paul! Our party! And we have to come together (etc)

    Which Begala agreed with, and the Republican guy looked shocked and shut up, and it was nice to see Donna break out of her usual quiet shell a bit.

  154. 154.

    Ted

    I tingle all over, and I kinda like it.

    As long as you don’t get a “feeling going up” your “leg.

    Is there something in the past few months that would lead you to believe she would quit before she is dragged kicking and screaming from the race?

    Only thing I can think of would be the need to save at least a little face, in preparation for another run. Being a screaming, Malkin-esque loser wouldn’t help her much with that.

  155. 155.

    Genine

    I have to also admit having a soft spot for Pitchfork Pat because he just does not give a fuck and will say anything.

    Gotta respect that.

  156. 156.

    Adam

    CNN is “reporting” they are waiting for her to speak… Seems a bit early for a Victory Speech.

    They just don’t want to get burned in the case that they might lose or it’s too close to call. That’d be fatal at this point. Of course, they’re probably all going nuts backstage wanting to get on with it before people go to bed — they know that more and more people are getting bored and turning off the coverage and the last thing they saw was Obama.

    Man, it’s funny just thinking about it. This is a great result, really.

  157. 157.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    Obama did congratulate Hillary on winning Indiana, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s on her way to delivering her victory speech.

    Still, tonight had to hurt. Let’s see where she goes from here.

  158. 158.

    Warren Terra

    The Indiana margin is now down to 3.2% with Gary, Indiana still outstanding.

    I realize Clinton is tenacious, but here’s hoping that John Cole’s (entirely admirable!) West Virginia phonebanking was a wasted effort.

    And for those wanting to reinforce Obama’s momentum, might I suggest sending in some cash?

  159. 159.

    KRK

    firebrand Says:
    I can’t remember the last time I felt so proud to be a Hoosier!!

    RUDY!!!!!

  160. 160.

    Desmond

    Guys, it’s going to get very close in Indiana. She’s up by ~35,000, and I bet you anything that Obama will net 30,000 in Lake county alone. The problem is that there isn’t much left beyond that where Obama will run up the numbers.

  162. 162.

    Adam

    The problem is that there isn’t much left beyond that where Obama will run up the numbers.

    There isn’t anywhere else left where she can make up the difference either, though.

    Man, must suck to have so much turning on a county that borders, um, Illinois :D

  163. 163.

    dr. bloor

    You know you’re spinning bullshit when you’re getting called out by David Gergen, who sounds sensible compared to what you’re saying.

    Lanny Davis, thanks for playing.

  164. 164.

    Chris Johnson

    It makes you wonder if the tinfoilhattiest Clinton-haters were prescient.

    Hillary’s got a gun…
    Hillary’s got a gun…
    The whole world’s come undone…
    and Hillary’s got a gun…
    What’d that MUPPie doooo?
    What’d he put her throoo-oooo?

    :D

    Seriously, what the fuck would we do if Hil totally lost it and gave Obama a friendly hug while wearing a Borgia poison ring? The Magical Unity Pony collapses and dies with green froth coming from his mouth, and Hil quickly removes the odd ring she was wearing and cries, oh no! whatever shall I do to save the Party? Oh wait, I know this one…

    ahahahaha…

  165. 165.

    Martin

    Down to 31K. Unreal.

    And for the record, I think there is a real chance that Hillary will toss in after this. We just burned through 200 of the last 700 delegates available and Clinton will clearly lose ground. I know she talks about taking this to the end, but she needs to say that – every candidate says they’re taking it to the end, oftentimes within 72 hours of dropping out. Don’t ascribe any more meaning to those statements than they deserve.

  166. 166.

    Genine

    This is so exciting. It could end. Yes, she’s moved goalposts, but there aren’t that many goalposts left. I’d like to think Hillary will end this with some dignity.

  167. 167.

    t jasper parnell

    If she were staying in she would be speaking right now, wouldn’t she? Tying to get ahead of the curve and all that.

  168. 168.

    Desmond

    John Edwards was talking about going through to the VERY END just a few days before he dropped out. Don’t believe a word of their posturing, even when it’s a sociopath like Hillary Clinton.

  169. 169.

    chopper

    Guys, it’s going to get very close in Indiana. She’s up by ~35,000, and I bet you anything that Obama will net 30,000 in Lake county alone. The problem is that there isn’t much left beyond that where Obama will run up the numbers.

    this might be one of those margin-of-errors contests. shit.

  171. 171.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    Gavin Floyd has a no-hitter going through the seventh.

    Oh, and Pumpkinhead is backing up Pat Buchannotwinthelection in sensing that the SD’s are going to ask Hillary, “What do you gain by staying?”

  172. 172.

    Chris

    And Harold Ford is on practically begging for Obama to pick Clinton as VP.

  174. 174.

    KRK

    Whether she wants to pack it in or not, the money’s going to dry up starting tonight. If it hasn’t already (rumor of an other personal loan floating out there).
    And her daily operating expenses alone are huge, supporting that crack team of advisors she’s got. She’ll have no money for events or ad buys.

  175. 175.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    Also, is that Harold Ford or since when did MSNBC pick up Derek Jeter for election analysis?

  176. 176.

    Civilized Crank

    Up over 40k again… he is going to a Marion Cty spread to pull it off (67-33). Still to make it this close will make the usual McAuliffe spin more ridiculous.

  178. 178.

    Svensker

    Begala said that for Obama to be really strong he would have to go beyond being simply the candidate of “blacks and eggheads.” (he really said that) Donna Brazille got a glint in her eye and started moving her head back and forth like cobra ready to strike and told Begala to STFU pretty much. “It’s time to get beyond this divisiveness and recognize that we are all Democrats. Are you saying that there are no black working class Democrats? Is that what you’re saying? I’m tired of this divisiveness and it’s time for us to move forward together.” etc. She got applause on the set.

  180. 180.

    Andrew

    Can someone make Harold Ford go away? No one wants a Clinton vice presidency, including, I suspect, Hillary Clinton.

    Eh, it’s the only way Harold Ford is going to score a cushy administration job, so he’s pandering to his constituency, Hillary Clinton.

  181. 181.

    J. Michael Neal

    Also, is that Harold Ford or since when did MSNBC pick up Derek Jeter for election analysis?
    May 6th, 2008 at 9:12 pm

    This whole night has been just past a diving Ford. And, like Jeter, he has trouble going to his left.

  183. 183.

    Genine

    Doug H. (Fausto no more) Says:

    Also, is that Harold Ford or since when did MSNBC pick up Derek Jeter for election analysis?

    Harold Ford is crazy.

  184. 184.

    chopper

    Are you saying that there are no black working class Democrats? Is that what you’re saying?

    i guess he’s also saying there aren’t any black eggheads.

  185. 185.

    PeterJ

    If Hillary loses, will she demand a recount?

    That will hurt more than it will help, she would have needed a decisive win in Indiana and be able to cut down Obama’s lead in North Carolina considerably to be able to justity her fighting on. She acomplished neither of those goals.

    Also, Rush Limbaugh and friends will crow about how they delivered Clinton a win in Indiana, something that won’t be very good for her either…

  186. 186.

    KRK

    Apparently Fox News just pointed out that that Democratic nominee’s acceptance speech at the convention in Denver will occur on the 45th anniversary of MLK, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

    Now there’s an omen.

  189. 189.

    firebrand

    Svensker Says:

    Begala said that for Obama to be really strong he would have to go beyond being simply the candidate of “blacks and eggheads.” (he really said that) Donna Brazille got a glint in her eye and started moving her head back and forth like cobra ready to strike and told Begala to STFU pretty much. “It’s time to get beyond this divisiveness and recognize that we are all Democrats. Are you saying that there are no black working class Democrats? Is that what you’re saying? I’m tired of this divisiveness and it’s time for us to move forward together.” etc. She got applause on the set.

    Watching Donna rip Paul “The Forehead” Begala a new one was beautiful. It was like watching those old SNL Hardball skits, where Darrell Hammond as Chris Matthews would constantly beat up on Chris Kattan’s whiny, annoying Paul Begala. Pure win. Obama smacking down James Carville (a.k.a. Skeletor) the other day was equally thrilling.

  190. 190.

    Martin

    CNN says that Obama needs about 57% of Lake to pull even. Less than Marion, but pretty damn big anyway. Might be midnight ET before results come in there.

  191. 191.

    Mary

    Tonight was the first time I ever saw Lanny Davis. What an odious little stoat.

  192. 192.

    Chris Johnson

    Okay, this is REALLY wrong, but if she breaks both her primaries at the same time, do we get to shoot her? :)

  193. 193.

    john b

    just got back from reynolds coliseum here in raleigh.

    that place was PUMPED!

    so glad that our primary is over. now i can breathe.

  194. 194.

    firebrand

    Martin Says:

    CNN says that Obama needs about 57% of Lake to pull even. Less than Marion, but pretty damn big anyway. Might be midnight ET before results come in there.

    57% seems pretty high for Obama here. If he got it, it would be a shock, frankly. But then again, I’m shocked that Indiana is still so close. It really shouldn’t be. Hillary should be running away with the vote here. That she isn’t tells me that anything could happen.

  195. 195.

    Adam

    Okay, this is REALLY wrong, but if she breaks both her primaries at the same time, do we get to shoot her?

    Wow. Classy.

  196. 196.

    Desmond

    57% seems pretty high for Obama here.

    Why does 57% seem high? He got 67% in Indianapolis, and Lake is right next to Chicago. It’s practically PART of Chicago. And 25% black. I think 57% might be quite conservative for Lake.

  197. 197.

    Svensker

    Donna Brazile just ripped Lanny Davis a new one. Day-um, I like that woman.

  198. 198.

    firebrand

    Chris Johnson Says:

    Okay, this is REALLY wrong, but if she breaks both her primaries at the same time, do we get to shoot her? :)

    I’ll trade shooting her for shooting Lanny Davis. That evil little fucking scumbag is a blight on the face of the human race. If we were on a space station, I’d shove him into an airlock and vent him into space.

  200. 200.

    reid

    Tonight was the first time I ever saw Lanny Davis. What an odious little stoat.

    Heh. Other words that come to mind: twerp, twit, obsequious pawn, Wormtongue; the fawning little dog that bounces off the bulldog (Hillary) in the cartoons. Don’t you mess with his Clintons! No!

  201. 201.

    chopper

    57% seems pretty high for Obama here. If he got it, it would be a shock, frankly. But then again, I’m shocked that Indiana is still so close. It really shouldn’t be. Hillary should be running away with the vote here. That she isn’t tells me that anything could happen.

    who knows. gary is a frickin liberal-ass place. i think GOTV is going to be a real variable here.

  202. 202.

    jnfr

    Svensker has a better memory than I do, but then I’ve dipped into the wine a bit this evening.

  203. 203.

    KRK

    Okay, john b, you’re in NC.

    Can you tell me who the 20,000 voters are who bothered to tick a box on the presidential race but couldn’t decide which one they prefer? Are these Edwards dead-enders or something else?

  204. 204.

    chopper

    85% in and clinton’s ahead by about 40K. most everything has been counted except for lake and union. it’s all going to come down to lake.

    this is nuts. i figured she’d take IN by almost double digits.

  205. 205.

    nightjar

    Okay, this is REALLY wrong, but if she breaks both her primaries at the same time, do we get to shoot her

    Stupid remark and very uncool.

  206. 206.

    firebrand

    Desmond Says:

    57% seems pretty high for Obama here.

    Why does 57% seem high? He got 67% in Indianapolis, and Lake is right next to Chicago. It’s practically PART of Chicago. And 25% black. I think 57% might be quite conservative for Lake.

    Trust me, if you lived here, you’d know why. Those white suburbs are Republican, through and through. It’s considered a minor earthquake if a Democrat gets elected to anything. And Hillary’s been effective in convincing people here that she’s basically a Republican-in-Democratic clothing. Gary may be a hot spot for Obama, but the majority of the vote in Lake County is outside of Gary. And Hillary ought to be real competitive there. And don’t necessarily conflate Lake County as some kind of appendage to Chicago. There are certainly similarities, but the electoral demographics are substantially different.

    The way this night has gone so far, though, anything could happen. But I’m still betting that 57% is too high for Obama to get to.

  208. 208.

    Martin

    Rudy Clay, the chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party, said the counting of 11,000 absentee ballots is delaying the announcement of vote totals here.

    Lake looks like something around 130K turnout or so.

  210. 210.

    Mary

    I cannot listen to that women. She has a manic glitter. She skeers me something fierce.

    Plus that pantsuit is just a tinge too green to qualify as Carolina blue. She FAILS at subliminables.

  212. 212.

    CBD

    Chelsea and Bill look like they are ready to cry.

    Odd look for a winning team.

  215. 215.

    t jasper parnell

    It is the damndest think, it sounds like Obama’s only not nearly as good. What can this mean?

  216. 216.

    Desmond

    Those white suburbs are Republican, through and through.

    But how many of those Republicans will vote in the Democratic primary? Just looking at Indianapolis, I’d be surprised if Obama got less than 60% in Lake.

  218. 218.

    Nim, ham hock of liberty

    Donna Brazile just ripped Lanny Davis a new one. Day-um, I like that woman.

    Don’t let one good night fool you. She’s horrible for the Democratic Party. Very Lieberman-esque.

  219. 219.

    Martin

    And she leads with gas.

    The experienced policy wonk promises that as leader of the most powerful nation on earth, she’ll tackle the really huge issues of our time – delivering us as much as a buck and a half at the gas pump. Doing the job that nobody else is qualified to do. Maybe Pennysaver can work on that trade deficit and the looming mortgage crisis for us.

  222. 222.

    reid

    I think it’d be quite appropriate if one of those old-timey hooks slowly came out and pulled Hillary away from her podium. I think that’s what it’ll come down to.

  223. 223.

    KRK

    This is the only time I’ve been able to tolerate listening to her, because she’s powerless. So her jabs are farce. She knows she’s lost. It finally sunk in.

  224. 224.

    Svensker

    Nim, ham hock of liberty Says:

    Donna Brazile just ripped Lanny Davis a new one. Day-um, I like that woman.

    Yeah, I remember that from the Clinton/Gore days. But during this primary she has been my kinda woman.

  225. 225.

    firebrand

    Another thing: if Hillary wins Indiana by around 4 points or less? That’s Rush Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos right there. If she wins by that much, she has only Rush Limbaugh to thank. And imagine how that taints her victory.

  226. 226.

    J. Michael Neal

    People are following this race because it’s so close. I win, he wins, I win, he wins, I win, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins, I win, he wins, I win, he wins, I win, he wins . . .

  227. 227.

    Chris Johnson

    Nightjar- it’s OK, you know unless it’s a silver bullet she’ll be fine…

  228. 228.

    Leo

    Theory: Obama’s Chicago contacts managed to get Lake County’s reporting delayed until after Clinton spoke and perhaps after the newspapers went to press.

    If so, its a brilliant play.

  230. 230.

    KRK

    I think the incoherence reflects that she was completely unprepared for these results. There’s that crack team again.

  232. 232.

    firebrand

    Desmond Says:

    Those white suburbs are Republican, through and through.

    But how many of those Republicans will vote in the Democratic primary? Just looking at Indianapolis, I’d be surprised if Obama got less than 60% in Lake.

    Indianapolis isn’t Lake County. And if you saw the people at the polling places today across Lake County, you’d notice the high concentration of Republicans. I know quite a few who were openly proclaming to the Precinct Chairs that they were voting because of Operation Chaos.

    Again, it’s not definitive, but the odds are against Obama here, as far as I see it. I’d love to be proven wrong, though. The rest of the state has blown away my expectations, after all.

  234. 234.

    KRK

    Hah – take that Montana and South Dakota!

    Now you’re “the other states.”

  235. 235.

    Martin

    I would just like to point out that she’s doing more thanking than usual. I think we’re working up to ending on a high note. And yeah, Bill looks like he’s having trouble holding it together. No smiles – and he smiles a lot.

  237. 237.

    Genine

    “We must make sure the votes of Florida and Michigan are counted.”

    But she didn’t think it was important before!!!

    That’s the thing that drives me crazy!

  238. 238.

    reid

    Just when you think she may be laying the groundwork for a gracious easing out… she brings up Florida and Michigan, and how she’ll win in November. Ugh.

  241. 241.

    t jasper parnell

    I cannot make the slightest bit of sense out of this: Give me money, I can talk like Obama, I feel badly about Burma. I mean really, after that whole change you can Xerox this is the best they can do? Shit, she should have promised to invade Canada for its oil shale.

  242. 242.

    Adam

    Theory: Obama’s Chicago contacts managed to get Lake County’s reporting delayed until after Clinton spoke and perhaps after the newspapers went to press.

    If so, its a brilliant play.

    Murphy’s Razor: As a general rule, never attribute to conspiracy what can be explained more easily by overall incompetence. Realistically, there’s no way the Lake Country officials could have known that things would be this close. Them’s just the breaks.

  244. 244.

    Adam

    Are they even looking at the count in NC? The way things are going now, they’re not going to win the popular vote count even with FL and MI.

    (I still don’t know how we’re supposed to count MI given Obama wasn’t even on the ballot. If those votes count, seems like the caucus numbers should at least be thrown in there…)

  245. 245.

    Chris Johnson

    Hah. I take back my obligatory- and perfect- Eight Belles snark, IF she conceded the nomination, gracefully or gracelessly, I don’t care.

    Otherwise, I stand by my fucking snark. I’ll apologize for that tasteless but harmless wiseassery when she apologizes for saying that John McCain would make a better Commander-In-Chief than Obama would. And I hope she does break both her primaries, now.

  247. 247.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    Still apprx 220K votes still to be tallied with Obama down by less than 40k – according to Russert, who displayed an impish grin as he announced the news.

  248. 248.

    john b

    Can you tell me who the 20,000 voters are who bothered to tick a box on the presidential race but couldn’t decide which one they prefer? Are these Edwards dead-enders or something else?

    funnily, 4% of the republicans chose undecided (among the 26% of the republicans that didn’t vote for mccain. this is really encouraging for november.

  249. 249.

    KRK

    According to The Field, there was a court order keeping certain precincts open for an extra 90 minutes.

  250. 250.

    Leo

    It’s pretty hard to see incompetance preventing ANY precincts from reporting. County officials have released statements saying they are waiting until all provisional ballots are counted. That’s a choice make by someone.

  251. 251.

    Warren Terra

    nightjar, you write that as if Canada actually had. They still haven’t, you know. Their voice deserves to be heard.

    And Brigadoon hasn’t weighed in. This race isn’t over until we’ve let everyone have their say, even mythical Scottish villages that only appear once every hundred years.

  252. 252.

    Adam

    Next she’ll be claiming Canada hasn’t voted yet.

    Well… that at least has the virtue of being true

  253. 253.

    Martin

    She managed to work in 9-11, too. A+

    Fail! It’s all about the gas. Should have gone with 7-11.

  254. 254.

    Martin

    Lanny Davis: “This is a big win for Hillary.”

    Hillary needs to kneecap this shithead. He just pisses people off.

  255. 255.

    Leo

    Er. That wasn’t very clear.

    It’s pretty hard to see incompetance leading to NO precincts reporting, is probably a better way to put it.

  256. 256.

    nightjar

    even mythical Scottish villages that only appear once every hundred years

    And their Druid ancestors. They were white working class and Obama must close the deal.

  257. 257.

    firebrand

    I’m not surprised the vote’s taking this long to come out in Lake. We don’t have competitive elections here in anything. The turnout must have been way too much for people to handle.

  258. 258.

    Warren Terra

    firebrand, with no guarantees for its accuracy, my comment from the other Balloon Juice thread:

    NPR’s reporter just said Gary, Indiana managed to turn out a few thousand extra ballots as a rush order and have now realized the new ballots don’t fit into the machine tabulators. The ballots – perfectly valid, no fraud, just bad execution – will be read by hand. Tomorrow.

    No need to keep on hitting “refresh”, I guess.

  259. 259.

    firebrand

    Warren Terra, that doesn’t sound wrong to me. I doubt anyone here was prepared for heavy turnout. Once again, this county doesn’t have competitive anything during election season. So the turnout had to have overwhelmed all the election people running the primary here.

  260. 260.

    Martin

    Gary Mayor Clay:

    “Let me tell you, when all the votes are counted, when Gary comes in, I think you’re looking at something for the word to see,”

    …

    “I don’t know what the numbers are yet, but Gary has absolutely produced in large numbers for Obama here.”

    NPR’s reporter just said Gary, Indiana managed to turn out a few thousand extra ballots as a rush order and have now realized the new ballots don’t fit into the machine tabulators. The ballots – perfectly valid, no fraud, just bad execution – will be read by hand. Tomorrow.

    Shorter Clay: We’re photocopying extra Obama votes as fast as we can.

    Man, this looks bad…

  261. 261.

    Phoenix Woman

    Wow. The 214K margin of victory in NC erases the PA loss utterly. Plus, Obama comes away from today with a gain of eight delegates — seven from the primaries, plus a NC super — to his lead on Hillary.

    Hillary’s speech tonight was bizarre. At first, it sounded as if she was ready to openly accept reality — but then she did the equivalent of shouting “BUT ARMY GROUP STEINER WILL SAVE US!”

    Meanwhile, in his spare time, Barack Obama is brokering a cease-fire that could save tens of thousands of lives and lower the price of oil about $10 a barrel. For real. This is what a statesman looks like, people.

  262. 262.

    zoe from pittsburgh

    Lanny Davis: It’s a good night for Hillary, you didn’t see Chelsea crying behind her, did you?
    —————

    Hey, where did all the Hillbots go? Do you think they went to bed? Maybe Mary and Greg and myiqis0 will suddenly forget about balloonjuice.

  263. 263.

    nightjar

    Shorter Clay: We’re photocopying extra Obama votes as fast as we can.

    Man, this looks bad…

    Yea, it really does. Gives the impression of the old Chicago maxim “vote early and often”

  264. 264.

    Warren Terra

    Um, Martin, you’re conflating a quote attributed to Mayor Clay (for which you don’t provide a link) to a comment I wrote. I realize I’m pseudonymous, but I assure you I’ve never even met the gentleman. You even included my disclaimer that, so far as I could tell, the mis-sized ballots seemed to be an honest if inconvenient blunder rather than any indication of fraud.

    In short, you are full of fail.

  265. 265.

    zoe from pittsburgh

    99% counted in NC and he won by OVER 200,000 votes. Eek!

    Now we’re just waiting for Gary, Indiana.

    Tim Russert just said “we now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be.”

  266. 266.

    zzyzx

    A 2% lead doesn’t matter much who wins. It’s a delegate or two tops. This destroys all of Clinton’s remaining measures.

    I think you guys need to fly me out to New Orleans the week before the general if this is what happens.

  267. 267.

    Mary

    There’s a Hillbot called Mary at The Carpetbagger, but she doesn’t post here, I think. Certainly not under this name. I’d notice that.

    From TPM:

    On MSNBC, Tim Russert just reported that Hillary was scheduled to appear on the morning shows tomorrow.

    But, says Russert, she canceled all her appearances.

  268. 268.

    zoe from pittsburgh

    I switched over to FauxNews just in time to hear Karl Rove say “it’s over for Hillary.”

    Amazing. I guess he is physically capable of telling the truth.

  269. 269.

    zoe from pittsburgh

    Sorry Mary, I just got overly excited. I meant CB’s Hilbot Mary, not you.

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