For Clinton, Penn. Now About Lowering Expectations
A few weeks ago, when Sen. Hillary Clinton was a head by 16 -20 percent, Pennsylvania looked like a walk in the park. It seemed likely she would get that sorely needed double-digit victory over Sen. Barack Obama that she needed to catch up in the popular vote (she has almost no chance of catching him when it comes to pledged delegates) and make a strong argument to superdelegates that she was the smart choice for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
That was then ... this is now. Now it all depends on how you define "significant" -- because that needed double-digit victory has now become mid-single digits.
On CBS's "Face the Nation," Gov. Ed Rendell said Clinton would win the state by as many as seven percentage points, even in the face of `"obscene'" campaign spending by Obama in the finally days leading up to primary
"We've been outspent three-and-a-half to one," Rendell, a Clinton supporter said. "A win by middle-digits -- four, five, six, seven -- would be very significant."
But yesterday, speaking to Clinton supporters in York, Rendell's message was a bit different.
"Not to put any pressure on you folks, but this is it, this is it," said Rendell. "We're gonna we win, no doubt about it, but we gotta win big. If we win big, we're going to wind up with more votes than Barack Obama. It's gonna be a very big decision for the superdelegates."
Others believe that Rendell's call for a big victory is right on the money. For instance, the Wall Street Journal said Frioday that "Anything less than a double-digit victory could solidify the perception that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is the inevitable Democratic nominee, sparking a flow of superdelegates to his side."
"The bigger the number, the better," says Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf. "She needs to do exceptionally well in Pennsylvania. If not, the pressure for her to leave will be greater."
But the official word from the Clinton campaign is that a win is a win is a win. The Obama camp, meanwhile, says that anything less than double-digits is a victory for him.
Only time will tell.
(TOM NOTE: The is why I love our readers. Noah Kunin pointsout below that it was film director Ron Reiner, not Ed Rendell that made the "this is it" folks remark. The remarks was reported in the media as being from Rendell.
Interestingly, this is a double drop for me. I saw the remark, which was reportedly made by Rendell, in other media but wanted to see if I could find a Pennsylvania paper that carried it. I did find it in the York paper - but I didn't read closely enough. Because sure enough the paper quotes Reiner as making the remark. Good get, Noah.)
4:48 PM ET | 04-20-2008 | permalink
