Bump and Update: A Democratic party official disputes Obama's claim he won more delegates. National delegates from Nevada won't be decided for months. The Washington Post has a similar report.

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The AP has the newest delegate count after the Nevada caucus results.

Clinton won 13 delegates in Nevada on Saturday, compared to 12 for Obama, an AP analysis of caucus results showed. All of Nevada's 25 Democratic delegates have been awarded.

Clinton leads the overall race for delegates with 237, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates. She is followed by Obama with 135 and former Sen. John Edwards with 50. A total of 2,025 delegates are needed to secure the Democratic nomination.

Update: CNN just read a statement from Barack Obama saying he has more delegates than Hillary Clinton. Maybe he's not counting the Superdelegates? If so, that's a big mistake. They are there and they count. [More...]

This is too stupid for words:

Barack Obama may have won the most delegates in Saturday's Nevada Caucus, even though Hillary Clinton bested his statewide turnout by about six points. . . . Barack Obama released an official statement celebrating a delegate victory . . .

So Obama is trumpeting LOSING by 6 points while spending the week crying about voter disenfranchisement? The Democratic voters of Nevada clearly chose Clinton and Obama is celebrating that the intent of the voters may be thwarted by these atrocious caucus rules?

This is pathetic, insulting and ridiculous. Shame on the Obama campaign for this.

Kevin Drum effectively eviscerates a curious defense of Barack Obama's vision of postpartisanshp by historian Joseph Ellis. Kevin quotes Ellis and then comments:

Let the argument about the viability and practicality of Obama's major message go forward. But as it does, even his critics need to acknowledge that he is not a weird historical aberration. His message has roots in our deepest political traditions. Indeed, it is in accord with the most heartfelt and cherished version of our original intentions as a people and a nation.

Consider it acknowledged. But this sure seems like a backward argument to me. If even the brilliant, farsighted political visionaries who wrote the constitution and founded our country were unable to keep to their nonfactional ways for more than a few months, what does that say about the death grip that partisanship has on human politics? And what, in turn, does that have to say about Obama's apparent belief that he can overcome it?

(Emphasis supplied.) It says that Obama is either faking it, which I fervently wish, or he is a fool. The problem with even faking it of course is that it is a disastrous political strategy and disastrous for a progressive agenda. I truly hope that this Nevada result will wake him up and make him abandon Axelrod's postpartisan nonsense and really try to be an advocate for a Democratic progressive agenda.

While Chris Bowers reaches for a union based explanation of Hillary's win in Nevada, the entrance polls clearly tell a different story -- it was Democrats, women and Latinos who gave Hillary the win.

Democrats went 51-39 for Clinton over Obama. Obama won independents by 47-33.

Women went for Clinton by 51-39 over Obama. Men split 47-45 for Obama.

Latinos went 64-26 for Clinton. Whites went 52-34 for Clinton. African Americans went 84-16 for Obama.

Obama is likely to score a big win in South Carolina based on his dominance of the African American vote. But he has significant troubles down the road if he can not do better with Democrats, women and Latinos.

CNN calls Nevada for Hillary Clinton. And, she won the majority of the at-large caucuses on the Las Vegas strip, despite the culinary workers endorsement.

Clinton has carried at sites in the Flamingo, the Rio, Paris Las Vegas, the Bellagio, and Wynn Las Vegas. Only the site at Caesars has gone for Obama so far. First vote at the Mirage was 178 for Clinton and 153 for Obama and 3 for Edwards and three uncommitted. So on second round, that site, too, apparently will go for Clinton. The Luxor site is closely divided and voting again. No word from New York New York.

Update: Harry Reid was right. Caucus turnout exceeded 100,000. Final at-large strip caucus tally: Hillary wins 7, Obama 2. With 91% of vote in, it's Hillary 51%, Obama 45%, Edwards 4%. In Clark County, it's Hillary 55%, Obama 44%.

Update: Hillary has won 7 of 9 of the strip caucuses.

Update: 81% of vote in, Hillary has 51%, Obama 45%, Edwards 4%. CNN says African American voters went overwhelmingly for Obama, Latino voters went huge for Hillary. Obama won younger vote, Hillary won older voters and women voters. John King needs to wake up. He just called Hillary's win "close." It's not close, it's just not as big a margin as the polls gave her a few months ago. [More...]

Update: 1:17pm Hillary wins Nevada -- and takes the Las Vegas strip.

Update: 1:05 pm PT: Hillary wins the Bellagio and the Tropicana caucuses. She has four of nine of the at-large caucuses so far.

Update: 1:00pm PT 60% of precincts reporting and Hillary leads Obama 50% to 45%. Interestingly, with 58% of Clark County in, Hillary is leading Obama 55% to 42%.

Update: 12:51 pm PT Obama has left Las Vegas for Chicago. He won't be making any remarks. I'd say that means he doesn't expect to win. 25% of precincts are in and Hillary is leading but not enough votes in yet to call the race.

More below:

Bump and Update: ABC had Ron Paul beating John McCain. Now they say McCain is in second place.

The Republicans started their caucuses two hours earlier than Democrats.

Fox News and NBC have projected Mitt Romney the winner.

Update: NBC has McCain second and Ron Paul third. CNN has them tied right now.

Speaking for me only

With this story coming out that Obama was the politician who received contributions of illegally gotten funds from an associate of corruption accused Tony Rezko, let me state my view that like the Norman Hsu contributions received by various pols, including Clinton and Obama, it is clear that Barack Obama did absolutely nothing wrong and this should be an absolute non-issue. It would be wrong of any campaign to try and make hay of this. I hope they do not.

The Washington Post in an editorial today castigates Nevada for choosing Saturday morning to hold caucuses when religious conservative and observant Jewish people and 7th Day Adventists will have to choose between their faith and their desire to participate in caucuses.

Last week, Just Engage, the official blog of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs weighed in with Separation of Shul and State. [More..]

Anyone have a prediction for the Nevada caucus results?

I think Hillary Clinton will win. The Washington Post reports Obama's senior campaign advisor David Axelrod may be leaning towards that view as well:

"Senator Clinton has some real structural advantages here," said Obama senior adviser David Axelrod. "She started off with a strong lead. They've run a very, very aggressive campaign. We recognize that there are significant barriers. I think it's going to be a very competitive race, but I think she has an edge going in."

I hope Edwards makes a strong showing. I'd really like him to stay in the race.

Poll below.

Update [2008-1-19 13:24:46 by Big Tent Democrat]: Romney wins Nevada.

As of December, 2007, for active registered voters:

• 980,400 active registered voters
• 397,247 Democrats
• 392,362 Republicans
• 141,195 Unaffiliated

The numbers for total registered voters are:

• 1,235,616 total registered voters
• 499,850 Democrats
• 480,437 Republicans
• 189,112 Unaffiliated

Active voters are defined as "registered voters who maintain a current residence address with their local county clerk and the Secretary of State’s Office." [More...]

Josh Marshall points to Bill Moyers' commentary on the brouhaha over Hillary's LBJ/MLK comments. Moyers also provides a wonderful tribute to both LBJ and MLK. Watch it. A great piece.