E.J. Dionne points out that while Barack Obama's problem with white working class voters is more acute than normal, this is a Democratic problem, not just an Obama problem:

Cartoonists and satirists mocked Hillary Clinton's incarnation as a fighter for blue-collar voters. Yet those who know her well think the fighting Hillary is closer to her self-image -- as someone who has had to overcome many blows in life -- than the inevitable nominee who wove a web of entitlement around herself and ran on experience, much of which was derivative of her husband's.

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Hillary Clinton is expected to take a massive victory in West Virginia tonight and the Media will be forced to suppress a yawn. They have declared the race over and therefore this would upset their narrative. On NBC at the least, the storyline will be WWTBQ (See Corrente).

I believe the storyline should be the one I have been discussing for days, how can Obama do better with white working class voters. There are thing he can do to improve his performance with that demo. I won't be holding my breath that the Media will find that an interesting issue to discuss. The evilness of Hillary Clinton will be the subject of the night as it is most nights for the Media. I really wonder what they will talk and write about if and when Clinton is out of the race. They have nothing to say about either Obama or McCain. Seriously. [More...]

A new Survey USA Poll in Kentucky came out today. It's Hillary 62%, Barack Obama 30%.

If West Virginia is a convincing win tomorrow and Kentucky goes big for Hillary, the media says it won't matter. I'm hoping they are wrong. So are millions of other Democrats who believe Hillary Clinton is the best candidate.

While Big Tent Democrat has been sold on a unity ticket for months, I am not, regardless of who is on top of the ticket. I don't think they have a better chance of retaking the White House in November together. I think together they will drive Republicans and conservatives out in force. It's not a balanced ticket.

I also don't want to see a joint ticket because I think Hillary Clinton would make a great President, and I don't think she ever will get the chance if she starts off as Vice President under Obama for 8 years. [More...]

John Edwards was just on Larry King and let me tell you I am so impressed with the way he is handling himself. Here is a Democrat that realizes how important having a unified Democratic Party is for November. He has been gracious and complimentary to both candidates. Just what all the Party Elders should be doing.

But Edwards said something that really struck me - Hillary Clinton has become a terrific candidate, just about the time that her chances for winning the nomination are dimming. The irony hurts, especially for Clinton supporters I imagine. A candidate is responsible for his or her campaign of course and Hillary Clinton is responsible for hiring Mark Penn, clearly her biggest mistake. But there can be no doubt that Hillary Clinton is now a terrific candidate, much better than I ever imagined she could be.

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A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds:

Pushing back against political punditry, more than six in 10 Democrats say there's no rush for Hillary Clinton to leave the presidential race even as Barack Obama consolidates his support for the nomination and scores solidly in general-election tests.

Despite Obama's advantage in delegates and popular vote, 64 percent of Democrats in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say Clinton should remain in the race. Even among Obama's supporters, 42 percent say so.

Full poll results are here (pdf). Big Tent Democrat's take on the poll is here.

This is a wonderful finding from an ABC/WaPo poll:

Clinton continues as the preferred choice as Obama's running mate, with 39 percent of Democrats saying they'd like him to pick her if he's the nominee. That peaks at 59 percent of African-Americans, 47 percent of Clinton supporters and 42 percent of women (vs. 34 percent of men).

There's also an indication that Clinton on the ticket would be a slight net plus in the general election: Among all Americans, more say having her run with Obama would make them more likely to vote Democratic (25 percent) than to vote Republican (18 percent). The rest (54 percent) say it wouldn't make a difference in their choice.

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Barack Obama edged out Hillary Clinton in the Missouri by one point. She won everywhere but Kansas City, St. Louis, Jefferson City and Nodeway. In some rural parts of the state, she got 70% of the vote. She got more votes from Democrats than Obama, but he got a large share of the Independent vote.

McCain won a contested primary in Missouri against Huckabee and Romney. Missouri has voted Republican in recent general elections. Its last vote for a Democrat was for Bill Clinton in 1996. A Rasmussen poll last week showed Missouri would vote for McCain over Obama, 47 to 41%. Hillary did better, a statistical tie with McCain.

Missouri is a classic swing state in Presidential Elections that almost always awards its Electoral College Votes to the candidate who wins the White House. George W. Bush won those 11 Electoral Votes four years ago by winning the popular vote 53% to 46%.

Missouri selected its delegates this weekend: Hillary and Obama got equal number of pledged delegates and currently split the state's superdelegates equally.[More...]

This DKos post argues that Barack Obama's inability to connect with white working class voters is limited to Appalachia. That is incorrect in my view and I will discuss why I think so below.

But the question is begged - is that not a problem in and of itself? The Appalachia Phenomenon is used to explain Obama's problem with white working class voters in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and improbably, Maryland. That is 7 states. One is comfortably Democratic, Maryland. Four are solidly Republican, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky (though Bill Clinton won it). But the last two? Ah, Ohio and Pennsylvania. They decide Presidential elections. Even the Appalachian Phenomenon gives serious cause for worry. But the Appalachian Theory does not explain everything. More . . .

Barack Obama the unity candidate? Please. Via Politico, here's Barack Obama stumping in West Virginia today:

One of the saddest episodes in our history was the degree to which returning vets from Vietnam were shunned, demonized and neglected by some because they served in an unpopular war. Too many of those who opposed the war in Vietnam chose to blame not only the leaders who ordered the mission, but the young men who simply answered their country’s call. Four decades later, the sting of that injustice is a wound that has never fully healed, and one that should never be repeated.

Politico says:

Not only is Obama underlining his generational distance from the boomers, but he's also reaching out to swing voters with a back of the hand at the cultural left.

In other words, Obama intends to battle the war-hero McCain by throwing us under the bus. [More...]

One good thing has happened in this Democratic primary process, the silly proclamation of 60% wins and 40 state sweeps is over. Maybe in the future Dems can dream of such things. But not in this Presidential election. Now everyone has seen all the state by state polling and I won't dwell on it. But following in Jeralyn's footsteps, I will discuss what I believe are realistic electoral maps for the likely nominee, Barack Obama and for Hillary Clinton. I also will discuss what this map might mean in terms of a VP choice. More . . .

James Joyner discusses Missouri's Voter ID plan (I call it the GOP's voter suppression scheme):

The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote. The measure would allow far more rigorous demands than the voter ID requirement recently upheld by the Supreme Court, in which voters had to prove their identity with a government-issued card.

Joyner remarks:

This . . . would be defensible if there were strong reason to believe that significant numbers of non-citizens were showing up to vote and skewing the election results. There isn’t. Certainly, illegal aliens have strong incentives to avoid official scrutiny. So, who are these people we’re trying to keep from voting?

Answers to simple questions - Democrats. That is who the Missouri GOP is trying to keep from voting.

By Big Tent Democrat

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article today on the presidential candidates and their positions on federal raids of marijuana dispensaries. It gets it somewhat right, but is a little misleading in my view. With the Oregon vote coming up, it paints Barack Obama as the only true friend of the medical marijuana user. (None are a friend to the recreational user,although Obama once said he was.)

Here's what I've found over the past months:

• Hillary and Obama on Assisted Suicide and Medical Marijauana
• Obama Withdraws Support for Marijuana Decriminalization
• Obama 04 vs. Obama 08 (with video of his comments)
• Obama Backs Decriminalization
• Obama Campaign Retracts Statement Supporting Decriminalization and Obama Used to Favor Decriminalization
• Obama and Medical Pot: More Research Needed [More...]