This has been a very important week for Barack Obama. While many may not look back to this week and single it out as the game-changing moment of the campaign, there is a definite feeling of something having changed during this time. It may be the drip, drip, to trickle of new super delegates, it may be the hints dropped by Jimmy Carter as to who he may be endorsing, it may be the general consensus by the big wigs in charge of the Democratic Party that supers ought to start making their decisions sooner rather than later. But something has definitely changed.
One only need look at the recent behavior of Bill and Hillary Clinton, whether it is Bill's red-faced, finger-pointing lecture in California, or Hillary's desperation-fueled rant to Bill Richardson about Obama not being able to win it, to find evidence that something has changed. They now know that Obama will be the nominee. Yes, they will still try to stop him, but you can see it in their eyes, and you can see it in their fundraising results; they realize that the campaign has turned the corner, and it's not headed in their direction.
Maybe it began with Bill Richardson's endorsement three weeks ago; maybe it was pushed along by Bob Casey's endorsement last Friday (I can hardly wait until tomorrow to see who the next big endorsement will be!); maybe it was Obama's humanizing moments at the Altoona hotdog stand and the bowling alley; maybe it was Obama's huge reception at Penn State or his appearance on Hardball; it's hard to pin-point the exact cause of this effect, but you can almost feel the nation beginning to accept Obama as the Democratic nominee for president.
This diary began as a way to point out some positive movement by Obama in several state polls, so here goes.
Check this link out: http://www.pollster.com/...
Research 2000 shows Obama within the MOE in Indiana (C 49, O 46); another poll at Pollster, Insider Advantage, also shows the race tight in PA
(C 45, O 43) -- this confirms previous polls this week showing the race tightening as well. Yet another poll reported over at First Read shows Hillary with an 8 point lead in PA, just a few weeks after that same polling company had her with an 18 point lead. Take these results along with a near consensus by national polls showing Obama ahead of Clinton, and it's clear to see: something has changed.
We have just under 3 weeks to go until the Pennsylvania primary. If Obama can have three more weeks like this one, he'll win PA and the race will be over.