More Bad News For Hillary

[Dr. Shane]

Gov. Richardson endorses Obama

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson endorsed former rival Barack Obama's presidential bid Friday, giving Obama a boost from a well-known Democrat who once served in Bill Clinton's administration.

Obama's candidacy is a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our nation," Richardson said at a rally in Portland, Ore., where Obama is campaigning in advance of the May 20 Oregon primary. Turning to Obama, Richardson said, "I am very proud to endorse your candidacy."

"For him to stand before you today and not just offer his endorsement but offer his confidence that I will perform the task of commander in chief and president of the United States with the kind of excellence he wants to see ... I can't be more honored," said Obama.

The endorsement from Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, comes despite his ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's chief rival. Richardson served as U.N. ambassador and energy secretary in the presidential administration of Clinton's husband, Bill Clinton.

Richardson ended his own Democratic presidential bid Jan. 10 after finishing well back in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. His endorsement had been pursued by both Clinton and Obama, and his position as governor also means he will be a "super delegate" at the Democratic National Convention in August.

Richardson's endorsement also could help Obama pick up support among Hispanics, who are the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority.

Clinton has been the favorite of Hispanics in primaries and caucuses, according to exit polls. She won the New Mexico caucus in early February with a nearly 2-to-1 advantage among Hispanics.

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[Dr. Shane]

CBS Poll: Good Reviews For Obama Speech

Sen. Barack Obama's speech on race this week, in which he discussed his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his controversial longtime minister, has received largely positive reviews, according to a new CBS News poll.

But the percentage of voters who think Obama would unite the country as president has dropped since late February.

Sixty-nine percent of voters who have heard or read about Obama’s speech say he did a good job addressing the issue of race relations, and 63 percent of voters following the events say they agree with Obama's views on race relations. Seventy-one percent say he did a good job explaining his relationship with Wright.

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[Dr. Shane]

FOXNews Poll

Fifty-seven percent of Americans do not believe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama shares the controversial views of his former spiritual mentor Jeremiah Wright, while about one in four (24 percent) believes he does share the Rev. Wright’s views. And a sizable minority has doubts about Obama because of his pastor’s comments, according to a new FOX News poll.

Republicans (36 percent) are more likely than independents (20 percent) and Democrats (17 percent) to think Obama shares Wright’s controversial and unpatriotic views. Whites (25 percent) are more likely than blacks (15 percent) to think so.

Over a third of voters (35 percent) and a quarter of Democrats (26 percent) and independents (27 percent) say Obama’s relationship with Rev. Wright has caused them to have doubts about him. Here the racial breakdown is stark: 40 percent of whites and 2 percent of blacks have doubts.

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[Dr. Shane]

Story behind the story: The Clinton myth

One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning.

Her own campaign acknowledges there is no way that she will finish ahead in pledged delegates. That means the only way she wins is if Democratic superdelegates are ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency.

Unless Clinton is able to at least win the primary popular vote — which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle — and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, she has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.

People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet.

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[John317]

If the super delegates haven't already pledged themselves to Obama before the convention, and if in August, the polls show Obama losing badly to McCain, you can be sure that the Democrats will not nominate Obama. There will be riots in the streets of Denver and elsewhere if they deny it to him, but I can't believe that the Democratic party will nominate someone who is far behind in the polls and cannot win.

It is much too early to tell whether he can win or not, because of course he could come back to be on top, but at this point it doesn't look good for him.

My own feeling is that Obama will bounce back enough to be the Democratic nominee but that McCain will win the general election. It's McCain's to lose at this point. If Americans lose confidence in McCain due to age-- for instance, if they see signs of forgetfulness or inability to keep up-- he'll likely lose.

[Dr. Shane]

Hillary can't win without the black vote. The superdelegates know that. Hillary's negative numbers are over 50% and have been for a long time. Hillary should have bowed out before Texas and Ohio. All she is doing now is damaging Obama for the general both in bad media coverage and making him spend money that he should be using for the general election.