According to the cable news shows and some polls today, Obama has the Democratic nomination all but sewn up.

As we wrote earlier, two polls in Ohio show Hillary with a ten point lead.

She's also picking up endorsements. Today, she was endorsed by the Akron Beacon Journal even though it recognized Barack Obama seems to be the party's favorite.

Many Ohioans surely will join the chant ''Yes, we can!'' in the coming days. They may do so thinking about ''electability.'' This editorial page has in mind the question of which candidate would make the stronger president, which candidate is more prepared for all the Oval Office presents its occupant, and the many challenges before the country at home and abroad.

We recommend a vote for Hillary Clinton in the March 4 presidential primary.

She also received the endorsement today of a dozen Cleveland officals and community leaders , adding to more than 20 who have previously endorsed her.

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Bump and Update (TL): ARG Ohio poll out today has Clinton 49% and Obama 39%.

In Ohio, Obama leads among men 49% to 37% (46% of likely Democratic primary voters) and Clinton leads among women 59% to 31%. Clinton leads among white voters 56% to 31% (82% of likely Democratic primary voters) and Obama leads among African American voters 79% to 15% (16% of likely Democratic primary voters). Among voters age 18 to 49 (61% of likely Democratic primary voters), it is Clinton 43% and Obama 42%. Among voters age 50 years and older, Clinton leads 58% to 34%.

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By Big Tent Democrat

While Hillary Clinton's lead in Ohio is smaller than it was, it remains a double digit lead according to the latest Quinnipiac poll:

Clinton 51 (55)
Obama 40 (34)

Inside the numbers:

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By Big Tent Democrat

Is this is sign of some buyer's remorse regarding Obama? Via Ezra Klein, John Judis questions the Obama unity schtick:

Obama's commitment to radical centrism could also be severely tested. Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, who enjoyed the support of popular movements, gave priority to getting their substantive legislative agendas adopted; and they succeeded by uniting their supporters and dividing their opponents. If they had focused first on uniting Democrats and Republicans behind common objectives, they probably would not have gotten their way. And, if they had initially turned their attention, as Obama has proposed, to "the most sweeping ethics reform in history," it is unlikely they would have passed public works spending (Roosevelt) or tax cuts (Reagan). Jimmy Carter, too, provides a cautionary tale: The last Democrat to take office on a radical centrist agenda, Carter failed to tame Congress or K Street and was defeated for reelection. He had campaigned for the presidency on the presumption that reformers could overturn the status quo in Washington. In the end, he turned out to be wrong.

(Emphasis suppied.) Anyone else concerned about this Unity Theory of Change? Mark Schmitt, this is your cue.

By Big Tent Democrat

Why smart writers like Jon Alter write stupid columns like this remains a mystery:

If Hillary Clinton wanted a graceful exit, she'd drop out now—before the March 4 Texas and Ohio primaries—and endorse Barack Obama. . . . [T]o withdraw this week would be the best thing imaginable for Hillary's political career. She won't, of course, and for reasons that help explain why she's in so much trouble in the first place.

What reason could that possibly be? That she wants the voters to decide? The hubris and boorishness inherent in Alter's really dumb column is amazing. The funny thing is he imagines it is advice on how to be dignified. It seems to me Alter needs some lessons of his own on grace.

A new national AP poll out today finds Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a statistical tie.

Overall, Obama has 46 percent to Clinton's 43 percent, a virtual tie. Clinton had a slight 5 point lead nationally in early February.

The AP stresses the increase in white male support for Obama. He's also increased among youth, liberals, those earning more than $50k a year and voters with college or graduate degrees. But, Hillary maintains a big lead in her core constituency as well.

Clinton maintains robust leads among some groups that have been cornerstones of her candidacy, including those age 65 and up, white women and people earning under $50,000 annually.

By Big Tent Democrat

I am on a Howard Wolfson press conference call and in response to an Andrea Mitchell question about whether the Clinton camp was involved in pushing the Obama Somali garb photo. Wolfson answered "No, not that I am aware of."

Wolfson excoriated the Media (and implicitly bloggers like me) who ran with the story with out doing some independent reporting. I would defend myself by saying that when asked for a statement, the Clinton camp did not issue a denial. Suspending common sense is not a requisite to reporting imo.

If something further develops, I will add it to this post.

NOTE - Comments are now closed.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

Let me start with this statement - that all politicians are, by definition, shameless hypocrites. And I expect that most of them will do whatever they are allowed to get away with in terms of hypocrisy. And all credit to the Obama campaign for exploiting the Obama Rules to the hilt.

Here, from the conservative publication, the NY Sun, comes the latest on the Obama Rules:

Senator Clinton's campaign is charging Senator Obama with hypocrisy for denouncing independently funded advertising campaigns which supported his opponents in Iowa but saying little about similar efforts being mounted now on his behalf in Ohio. . . . The Clinton campaign's salvo against Mr. Obama came in response to what the New York senator's aides said was a plan by a supermarket union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on pro-Obama television advertising in Ohio between now and the March 4 primary. A spokeswoman for the UFCW, Jill Cashen, confirmed late last night that group funded by union members will roll out TV ads across Ohio tomorrow which underscore the Illinois senator's commitment to universal health care and other issues. . . .[MORE]

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

Update [2008-2-25 13:36:24 by Big Tent Democrat]: There could be some clarification on this that may exonerate the Clinton campaign. I will await a further statement and see what it says. It is also worth noting that Daily Kos accepts that the Clinton Campaign had nothing to to do with this.

I think Josh Marshall gets it right on the Obama garb flap:

[W]e got [a] statement in which the Clinton camp says Obama should be "ashamed" at saying the picture is "divisive," without addressing one way or another what they're accused of doing. . . . Put it all together and the Clinton camp would appear to be unwilling to make even the most perfunctory denial that they are or were circulating this photo around.

We held up on this because we never want to take Drudge as a fact witness for anything. But I think the Clinton camp's statement speaks for itself.

I think Josh is right here. And shame on the Clinton camp for pushing this photo out there.

[Update (TL): Comments now closed, there's a new thread on this.]

While I happen to agree at present that Barack Obama does not have sufficient experience to be President, I think it's pretty obvious voters around the country aren't sold on the concept.

At a fundraiser in Boston today, Hillary told her supporters:

"We're going to emphasize more and more the experience gap," Clinton told several hundred supporters who had paid at least $500 to attend a Boston fundraiser. "You'll hear a lot about it the next eight days."

The New York senator said the posters voters are bringing to her events indicate that the issue of experience is coming to the forefront.

"When I first started, it was 'You Go Girl,' 'Women Making History,' all about the pioneering nature of my candidacy," Clinton said. Recently, she said, the signs had changed. "In Houston last night, it was, 'We Want Experience, Not An Experiment,' and 'The White House Is No Place for Training Wheels,'" she said.

Can this work now? I'm not convinced. Perhaps, if John McCain, who has begun making the same argument about Obama, keeps hitting the experience factor this week, it might resonate. [More...]

Nation of Islam founder Louis Farrakhan is now singing the praises of Barack Obama:

In his first major public address since a cancer crisis, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan said Sunday that presidential candidate Barack Obama is the "hope of the entire world" that the U.S. will change for the better.

"This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better," he said. "This young man is capturing audiences of black and brown and red and yellow. If you look at Barack Obama's audiences and look at the effect of his words, those people are being transformed."

Obama isn't happy with the endorsement:

Said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton: "Sen. Obama has been clear in his objections to Minister Farrakhan's past pronouncements and has not solicited the minister's support."

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Check out today's Gallup Daily Tracking Poll showing the month of February, with latest results taken Feb. 22-23. (Larger version here.)

Hillary started February off with 47%. She's now at 46%. She rose 4% in the past few days.

Obama peaked on Feb. 17 at 49%. He had a 7 percent lead over Hillary then. Now, he's down 2 percent to 47% and has stayed flat the last few days. Hillary, meanwhile, is up 4 points from Feb. 17.

In the last few days alone, Obama has stayed flat while Hillary has risen 1%.

Where's the momentum?

By Big Tent Democrat

The Associated Press continues its atrocious coverage, here it directs its attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism:

Sen. Barack Obama's refusal to wear an American flag lapel pin along with a photo of him not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem led conservatives on Internet and in the media to question his patriotism. Now Obama's wife, Michelle, has drawn their ire, too, for saying recently that she's really proud of her country for the first time in her adult life.

Conservative consultants say that combined, the cases could be an issue for Obama in the general election if he wins the nomination, especially as he runs against Vietnam war hero Sen. John McCain.

Yes, as Mark Halperin says, the Media's political coverage is a freak show. Does this mean that the Media is now going to open up the show on Obama? This is just outrageous.

Update (TL): Comments now closed.