Posted on 08/06/2007 3:52:52 PM PDT by Nachum
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign sought on Monday to assure his supporters he is a potent force and that national polls showing a big lead for Hillary Clinton are of little consequence at this stage.
Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said in a memo to supporters that Obama, an Illinois senator, is doing fine in early-voting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
A number of national polls in the last week or so have given Clinton, a New York senator, a large lead across the country. A Newsweek poll put her lead in the Democratic primary race at 23 points, up from 16 points in June.
"As the Washington insiders focus on irrelevant and wildly inconsistent national polls, there are strong signs in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina of the growing power and potential of this candidacy," Plouffe wrote.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll last week showed Clinton, Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards in a virtual tie in Iowa.
A recent poll by the American Research Group in New Hampshire put Clinton and Obama at 31 percent apiece, and a poll by the same group in South Carolina gave Obama a 4 percent lead over Clinton in that state.
"Remember, each contest affects the next," said Plouffe. "Our strategy has always been to focus like a laser on the early states to create the momentum crucial to later contests."
Plouffe also pointed to Obama's prowess at raising money from 258,000 individual donors as a sign of his strength. Obama raised about $5 million more than Clinton during the second quarter.
At the same time, the Clinton campaign sought to portray a sense of inevitability about her candidacy. Her chief strategist, Mark Penn, issued a memo saying Democrats are looking for someone who can take on the Republicans in the November 2008 election.
"They know she knows how to win and that is reflected in poll after poll that says Hillary is the candidate most likely to win in November," he wrote.
Clinton and Obama have exchanged barbs in the last two weeks over foreign policy, particularly over Obama's willingness to meet leaders of hostile nations and his ruling out the use of nuclear weapons against Islamic militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
So who will be Hillary's running mate?
Yep...Obamalamadingdong is toast...
McCain...you heard it here first.
Most of the country is to smart to vote for either of these kooks. I think we have it in the bag. Won’t it be fun to see Hillary lose? I can’t wait.
Obama, of course. Now that she's got his jewels in her testicle lock box, he'll be easier to control.
but after all this acrimony between Hillary and Obama, and considering that the Clintons hold grudges, and never forget any slights to them, real or imagined, do you really think that she would pick Obama as her running mate?
McCain...you heard it here first.
Yikes! you could be right!
McCain...you heard it here first.
Interesting thought.
I always thought she and obama would kiss and make up. Reagan and Bush did.
Most of the country is to smart to vote for either of these kooks.
I wish I had as much faith in the intelligence of my fellow Americans as you do !!!
But don’t forget also, that Bill has to weigh in with his choice of Hillary’s running mate.
I have a feeling that Bill is running things behind the scenes. And he will advise Hillary that she needs to “balance the ticket”. Bill might say it’s too much for “middle America” to have both a woman and a black man together on the ticket. Or some such drivel.
Gee, are there any more moderate Democrats out there who could balance out Hillary’s strong liberalism? A Hillary and Obama ticket would be very liberal, amonng other things.
I wish I had your confidence. I think she is going to be very tough to beat. Never under estimate your opponent.
How about...Obama?
What really surprises even my own wise self, is that *I* would pick Hillary over Obama. Lookit, Hillary comes off as far more in control and knowledgable about foreign affairs than the very naive Obama.
Yeah, I know she should be, what with having been co President for eight years. Heh.
Newsweek is a fraudulent news magazine and cannot be trusted. Hussein Obama certainly is not at all ready for the big leagues, but it strains belief that her thighness went up 23 pts. over him that quickly. I think Elinor Clift ran this poll.
Bill Clinton was elected TWICE.
And if memory serves, neither time did he get above 50% of the vote.
Good luck trying to beat Womyn / Golden Negro ticket with a Cracker / Honky ticket!
I agree...and don’t forget one of the clintonistas running...Richardson of NM. Hispanic and current governor. I think when all is said and done, hitlery won’t want Obammie as her running mate. She would like the Hispanic vote since she can’t completely count on TX and maybe Richardson could help her win that electoral-vote rich state.
And no, it won’t be the Breck girl, either. Also don’t count out Weasley Clark...there’s no telling what the clintoons will do.
McVain is as good a guess as any, too.
Drudge also had a the USA Today/Gallup poll numbers at a 23 point Hillary lead over Obama.
LOL
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