With SEIU endorsing Obama, and Rep. John Lewis withdrawing his superdelegate vote from Hillary, her day is going to end on a less positive note than it began on -- her great showing in the OH and PA polls and her New Mexico win.

Mr. Lewis said he and other prominent African American party leaders had been moved by Mr. Obama’s recent victories and his ability to transcend racial and geographic lines. Though Mr. Lewis had praise for Mrs. Clinton and for her historic candidacy, he said he would decide within days whether to formally endorse Mr. Obama.

He also said he and other lawmakers would meet in the coming days to decide how they intended to weigh into the nominating fight.

...The comments by Mr. Lewis underscored a growing sentiment among some of the party’s black leaders that they should not stand in the way of Mr. Obama’s historic quest for the nomination and should not go against the will of their constituents.

So this ends up being about race? [More..]

By Big Tent Democrat

Here's one standard:

This is America. I have freedom of speech and freedom of choice and I'm free to change my vote. I don't have to answer to anyone except God and my conscience.

-Christine Samuels, Superdelegate, New Jersey

I think that is fair. I think the popular vote should be her guide but the rules clearly allow her to make her own independent choice. That the state she represents voted by double digits for the opponent of the person Ms. Andrews has endorsed clearly indicates that she is not following the will of the voters.

Is Ms. Samuels subverting democracy? Does Move On condemn this move? How about the Super Delegate Transparency Project? Is Barack Obama encouraging the subversion of democracy by accepting the endorsement of Ms. Samuels (or Sens. Kerry and Kennedy, and Gov. Deval Patrick of MA)? Of course not. But it just goes to show how ridiculous some people look when they lambaste in the most outrageous ways the candidates in this race. For the sake of their own credibility, I hope that folks learn to have a little bit of measured judgment before going off on their latest tirade against either Obama or Clinton.

It's Official. Hillary has won New Mexico. She will get 14 delegates to Barack Obama's 12.

Vote total: Clinton 73,105 votes, Obama 71,396

Even sporting a pair of blue boxing gloves, Hillary Clinton came out swinging today at a General Motors plant in Ohio:

In a speech to General Motors workers and executives, Clinton trumped Obama's own economic plan from a day before and appeared to be channeling former rival John Edwards' populist anti-corporate message.

The Specifics of her plan:

She said she would rein in oil, insurance, credit card, student loan and Wall Street investment companies and generate $55 billion a year that would be used for middle class tax cuts, create jobs and pay for an array of domestic programs.

On Obama: [more]

Big Tent Democrat wrote earlier about the Quinnepac poll showing Hillary leading Barack Obama in Ohio, and PA. From the same poll, via MyDD, about a contest between McCain and Hillary and Obama:

• Florida: McCain 44 percent - Clinton 42 percent; McCain 41 percent - Obama 39 percent;
• Ohio: McCain 44 percent - Clinton 43 percent; McCain 42 percent - Obama 40 percent;
• Pennsylvania: Clinton 46 percent - McCain 40 percent; Obama 42 percent - McCain 41 percent.

In Georgia, an Insider Advantage poll today shows:

McCain: 47 percent, Clinton: 40 percent
McCain: 48 percent, Obama: 40 percent

In both contests independent voters said they would vote for McCain by a 52 percent-to-30 percent margin. Among Democrats, 75 percent said they would vote for Clinton. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats said they would vote for Obama.

More...

The AP reports on the national primary/caucus numbers, only the numbers don't include an unspecified number of absentee ballots or early voters. Nonetheless, it's a handy partial guide:

State Dem Total Obama Clinton GOP Total
N.H. 284,104 104,772 112,251 233,381
Mich. 593,837 X 328,151 867,271
S.C. 530,322 295,091 141,128 442,918
Fla. 1,684,390 569,041 857,208 1,920,350
Ala. 539,743 302,684 226,454 563,822
Ariz. 422,460 181,416 218,064 500,341
Ark. 307,318 80,774 217,313 224,581
Calif. 4,228,134 1,827,485 2,226,622 2,370,142

More...

By Big Tent Democrat

For once I agree with Move On. Via TPM, which fails to note that Move On has endorsed Obama (poor journalism again from TPM by ME. My apologies to Greg Sargent) :

"The superdelegates are under lots of pressure right now to come out for one candidate or the other," reads the petition from MoveOn, which has endorsed Obama. "We urgently need to encourage them to let the voters decide between Clinton and Obama -- and then to support the will of the people."

Of course the problem with this is Move On, an Obama endorser, does not REALLY mean the will of the people, which is reflected in the popular vote, but in the pledged delegates, which are selected in a very imperfect and undemocratic process.

The rules allow Super Delegates to vote their conscience. That is their design. But I believe they should reflect the will of the people, as reflected in the VOTES of the people. That means following the popular vote. Move On seems not to believe in the will of the people, despite its protestations to the contrary.

Barack Obama unveiled an economic plan this week. From the Chicago Sun Times:

Obama's plan today is the most shameless piece of potential plagiarism that I have ever seen," McCain economic advisor Kevin Hassett said.

"He basically took Clinton's words and Clinton's policies and called them his own," Hassett said. "If I were a professor I'd give him an F and try to get him kicked out of school for something this terrible ... I remember Mrs. Clinton saying shared prosperity and I remember the bill that she introduced in August for infrastructure. The fact is these are things Obama has taken as his own without crediting the source of the ideas which was Mrs. Clinton."

Hillary's campaign responds: [More...]

By Big Tent Democrat

I expect Barack Obama to win Wisconsin easily, by at least 10 points. but the Rassmussen poll (which imo has consistently underpolled Clinton) says it is close:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows Obama with a narrow four-point advantage over Clinton, 47% to 43%. . . . Clinton leads by ten points among women but trails by twenty-three points among men. Clinton leads among voters over 65 while Obama has the edge among younger voters.

Now here is the good news for all Dems:

Obama is viewed favorably by 80% of Likely Democratic Voters in Wisconsin, Clinton by 79%.

By Big Tent Democrat

Via Mark Halperin, the latest Quinnipiac polls for Ohio and Pennsylvania:

Ohio: Clinton 55, Obama 34

Pennsylvania: Clinton 52, Obama 36.

Dates conducted: Feb. 6-12. Error margin: 4.1 points.

I've seen nothing new on Texas.

By Big Tent Democrat

This article, featured at TPM, discusses the Clinton position that she will accept the nomination even if she loses the popular vote. I think it is rather academic myself in that if Clinton loses the popular vote, the majority of the Super Delegates are not likely to support her.

However, I do wonder if the Media and TPM are willing to ask Barack Obama the same question - to wit, is he willing to accept the nomination if he loses the popular vote? Not the pledged delegate count, the popular vote.

Anyone concerned about Obama thwarting the will of the people? Media? TPM? Hello?

NOTE: Comments are now closed.

Newsday has a five-step plan for Hillary Clinton to rebound from the post-Super Tuesday wins of Barack Obama. It was created by "experts and Clinton backers."

1. Recapture "Hillary voters," starting in Wisconsin.

The Feb. 19 Wisconsin primary, which the Clinton campaign has downplayed, will provide her with a chance to regain her footing with blue-collar whites and women in Milwaukee and its suburbs. A Strategic Vision poll taken before this week's losses shows Obama leading by just 4 points and one Clinton aide said the "game would change if we can sneak a win there" by focusing obsessively on the economy.

Her campaign has convinced her to spend three days there this week, rather than spending all week in Texas or Ohio.

2. She has to win Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Win Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. If Obama wins even one, Clinton's primary-night speech could be her farewell address. Citing internal polling, Clinton's people believe she has a very strong advantage in Texas, where she will bank on Hispanic voters who propelled her to wins in California, Nevada and Arizona. She's also strong in Pennsylvania, leading by 20 or more points, although recent poll data is scarce.

Ohio, say the experts, is a little different.

Obama is expected to perform very strongly in Cleveland's big African-American community and in Columbus, a mini-Seattle with a high concentration of college students and professionals. Clinton is expected to do well in rust-belt cities like Youngstown and Toledo and conservative parts of the state, including Cincinnati and its suburbs.

More...