The media is in a froth over the coming contests in Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania. They are analyzing from every angle; talking to every surrogate and doing the math. But, IMO, they are overlooking a few facts in their reporting.
Clinton and her machine seem to be in a bit of a panic. They have replaced the campaign manager with an Afro-American from Clinton's personal staff from her White House days. Obama seems to be on a bit of a surge right now. He won four contests over the weekend of 09-10 Feb 08. He won Washington, Louisiana, Nebraska and on Sunday he won Maine. Most were caucuses, which he seems to have a good feel for, but nonetheless Clinton is falling behind in the race.
Yes, the delegate count is still close, too close to call a front runner, but the momentum is swinging into Obama's favor. 12 Feb. 08 primaries were not looking good for Clinton either. At least that is the call of the media. Obama won all three contests, DC, Maryland and Virginia and won by huge margins. His message is getting out to the people. Clinton’s people need to think about a punt about this time.
She is trying to lessen the effect of Obama's wins by having her surrogates state on talk shows that they were expecting to do not as well as Obama, but the truth is there has got to be a bit of a panic within the workings of her political machine. A year ago she, Clinton, was considered the inevitable nominee. And she campaigned as the inevitable candidate. But for all their impressive political experience, her handlers did not foresee the coming storm from Obama.
IMO, the Clinton machine overlooked a few things that could have made a big difference in her campaign. They never thought that they would have money problems. Her big money contributors have been tapped out and she has to find a new source of money for her campaign. They overlooked the possible popularity of Obama to the American voter. They thought his inexperience would be his downfall and he would be short lived at best. Clinton’s people did not pay attention, at first, to the voter and their concern for the country. They thought that her name and her legislative experience could trump anything. So far, they were mistaken. And finally, they, the Clinton people, did not learn anything from Dean in 2004 or from Paul in this cycle. That is the importance of the internet. It has become the most important tool for a campaign and should not be underestimated. One or a combination of several could prove disastrous to the Clinton Machine.
I have watched just about every stump speech and after election speech the two have made and I see one major difference in the two candidates style, which IMO, makes the difference in what is happening in this election cycle. These are: Clinton is all about her. "Elect me and I will give you the change you seek"," I am the only one who can stand up to McCain", etc. Then there is Obama, his speeches are about "we". We can make change, we can win, we can do what is needed. I think that is a major item in this campaign. Obama gives the people hope and a sense of their importance in the process.
Will his style win out? Only the Democratic voter has that answer. They must choose between "me" and "we". And we can only sincerely hope that they will make the best choice for the country.