Keith, This one is for you buddy... Smack Matthews with these Apples!
When you're down 179 Delegates total, there is NO TIME For Momentum or Symbolism. Despite what the media is telling you, Hillary Clinton tonight Failed in West Virginia. Why, you may ask, is kubla000 saying Hillary Clinton has lost West Virginia...
Simply:
Hillary tonight underperformed Obama's best TEN Victories
What does tonight's final tally look like? After reviewing the 2nd Exit Update, Tonight is going to be
65% Clinton
32% Obama
Per the Incredible Poblano
Obama built his 179 Delegate lead on much larger victories than Hillary's 33% Victory Tonight in West Virginia, Home to 5 Electoral Votes... Let's Recap the Scoreboard.
Idaho 4 Electoral Votes
Obama 79%
Clinton 17%
Obama +62%
Hawaii 4 Electoral Votes
Obama 76%
Clinton 24%
Obama +52%
Alaska 3 Electoral Votes
Obama 75%
Clinton 25%
Obama +50%
Washington 11 Electoral Votes
Obama 68%
Clinton 31%
Obama +37%
Georgia 15 Electoral Votes (Competitive with Bob Barr)
Obama 67%
Clinton 31%
Obama +36%
Colorado 9 Electoral Votes
Obama 67%
Clinton 32%
Obama +35%
Minnesota 10 Electoral Votes
Obama 66%
Clinton 32%
Obama +34%
And as Poblano pointed out this morning, No Democrat has won the White House while losing Washington, D.C....
Barack Obama won Washington D.C. by 52%...
52%...
52%...
Despite the pomp and circumstance, Hillary's victory tonight pales in comparison to Obama's landslides... and it's beyond too late anyhow. Enjoy your night Senator Clinton. You did win. But you lost because you didn't win by 52%. This was your Most Lay-Up State... and your margin didn't eclipse Obama's most Favorable.
PS: Do you recall the Virgin Islands? Hillary didn't even make Threshold there... Obama walked away with all 3 Delegates. That's 70%+
PPS: I forgot Democrats Abroad
Obama: 65.8%
Clinton: 32.5%
Let's see if Clinton out performs our Ex-Pats... with 20% in, it's right at 33%
UPDATE: Per Mark Halperin, the bar was clearly set at 68%... with 19% in, it's 63%, the 33% Poblano predicted.
Number (as a percentage) Hillary Clinton has to get of the vote in West Virginia for the press to take notice and assign it some meaning: 68
FINAL UPDATE
With 90% Reporting Hillary is up by a stronger margin than original writing. She's leading Obama 67% - 26%. That's a 41 point margin, larger than some of Obama's other victories in Georgia, Washington and Minnesota, However, I'll keep this dairy to put the 67% bar in perspective.
Obama got 67%+ in Colorado, Georgia, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Virgin Islands and Washington DC.
For the critics, this puts Clinton's victory in perspective. She didn't outperform Obama... if anything, with only 5 contests left, she finally put up a score similar to Obama... Better late than never.
Also, I'd overlooked
Kansas
Obama 74%
Clinton 26%
Nebraska
Obama 68%
Clinton 32%
To the critics... Clinton didn't contest those states either just like Obama didn't contest W. Virginia...