By Big Tent Democrat

Tomorrow is a day for winning. Not for tales about "running out of time" or "the celebrity endorsements" or for any excuse period.

No excuses for the Clinton campaign. No excuses for the Obama campaign. Everybody has had their shot.

Winning means winning.

They might be Giants. They might be inspirational. But now they have to win. And no, it is not just about delegates. Indeed, it is more about winning than delegates. Especially in California.

By Big Tent Democrat

This is what we do NOT need

Imagine if Bill Clinton had said that? Michelle Obama needs to straighten this out immediately. Really bad stuff from the Obama campaign.

Update (TL): More than 300 comments, this thread is closing. Thanks for your thoughts.

USA Today/Gallup, CBS/New York Times and McClatchey/MSNBC have new polling results. The full CBS Democratic poll is here (pdf).

Nationally, Hillary and Obama are close to being tied. CBS says Hillary is substantially ahead in the Super Tuesday states:

Among voters in those states, she leads Obama, 49 percent to 31 percent, with 16 percent still undecided.

Clinton also holds a big edge on the issue of most concern to Democratic voters: the economy. Nearly 60 percent say she would do a better job of managing the economy than Obama. However, more than two-thirds of Democratic voters see the policy differences between the two candidates as minor.

McClatchy-MSNBC polled 9 states, and found Hillary ahead in all but Georgia. (Remember the maps showing the Florida counties won by Obama? All 9 were in the most northern part of the state, 7 bordered on Georgia and 1 on Alabama.)

More...

What I really like about this Super Tuesday in the Democratic race is that the time for spinning and the time for excuses is over. We have two solid, talented, well funded and well known candidates. The voters know them. They have had time to consider their choices. Throw out New York and Illinois if you like, but no one has any excuses in any other state. If your opponent wins, he won. If you win, you won. I do not want to even hear about moral victories now. Winning means winning.

This also holds for tonight's Super Bowl. I do not want to hear about distractions, injuries or spying. When the Giants shock the world tonight, I do not want to hear New England whine about the pressure, the Media or Tom Brady's ankle or hangnail. Winning means winning.

This is an Open Thread.

By Big Tent Democrat

My take is more like Paul's, I do not question that Obama is a progressive and will WANT progressive policies. My leap of faith is based on believing Obama will adjust his political style and tactics and become much more of a contrast candidate and a Fighting Dem. I think his last debate performance was evidence of that change in style. Unfortunately, too many of his supporters, like Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano right now on CNN, still play the kumbaya game in stumping for him. They need to stop.

By Big Tent Democrat

My title is deliberately provocative. Why? Because you are reading a lot about this Zogby poll result that shows Obama ahead by 4 in California. Not much about the Romney result. I do not believe a Zogby poll NO MATTER the result. In my opinion, Zogby is NOT a honest pollster, he is a disingenuous pundit. An anti-Clinton pundit in particular. There are other polls that show a close race in Cali. The Rass poll and the gold standard Field Poll show it within 2 points. Others, such as Survey USA and the Mason Dixon poll, show a much wider lead for Clinton.

But what about Romney? We have proclaimed that he is done in this race. But he won Maine last night and most polls show him close if not leading in California. Maybe reports of his political death are greatly exaggerated.

By Big Tent Democrat

The Super Bowl is today and I do believe today and tomorrow will have less focus on politics than any 2 days this year. What effect that will have I do not know but politics will become the top story again when the votes are being cast and counted.

The state of the race for Super Tuesday is well matched among the Democrats. Barack Obama is well funded, well covered and well endorsed. He has no excuses. Results are just results now.

Playing expectations games, something the Obama campaign has never been particularly good at, no longer matters. Winning states and delegates matter. This is a relief. Let's put the pundits on the sidelines for a while. The blogs too. NOTE: One last piece of punditry - On MTP, Russert asks "what happens if Clinton loses California? Carville says "it would be bad." Well, presumably winning California then would be good. For the spin of the night, it all comes down to California. Which means it will be way late that night before the spin of the night is decided.

It is time for the voters to decide.

The New York Times recently endorsed Hillary Clinton. Newsday and the New York Daily News do the same. From Newsday:

Obama presents an inspiring vision of how the nation can heal its polarizing partisanship. Clinton brings proven experience and knowledge to accomplish that goal. Democrats engaged in this election have distilled this argument down to a simple but essential question: Do you choose with your heart or your head?

It's a difficult decision, but in the end, we choose experience. Clinton has been an outstanding senator for this state and this Island. She's intelligent, hard-working, tough, passionate and has an enthusiasm for the important nuances of complex policy. Newsday endorses Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. ...While both are strong candidates, Clinton is better prepared to deal with the challenges the next president will confront.

When Hillary ran for Senate in 2000, the paper says it was "skeptical" and endorsed her Republican opponent. Now, it says,

The New York Times examines Barack Obama's record on nuclear leaks legislation in the Senate.

The background: Exelon Corp. did not disclose some nuclear leaks in Illinois. Residents in Ill. were upset. Obama introduced a bill to help them.

Mr. Obama scolded Exelon and federal regulators for inaction and introduced a bill to require all plant owners to notify state and local authorities immediately of even small leaks. He has boasted of it on the campaign trail, telling a crowd in Iowa in December that it was “the only nuclear legislation that I’ve passed.”

The Times reports, that's not quite true. [More...]

During the October 30, 2007 presidential debate, Barack Obama raised his hand to say said he opposed decriminalizing marijuna.

In 2004, he supported it. Video here.

"I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws," Mr. Obama said during a debate at Northwestern University. "But I'm not somebody who believes in legalization of marijuana.

So, which is it?

When confronted with the statements on the video, Obama's campaign offered two explanations to The Times in less than 24 hours. At first, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the candidate had "always" supported decriminalizing marijuana, suggesting that his 2004 statement was correct. Then after The Times posted copies of the video on its Web site yesterday, his campaign reversed course and declared he does not support eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana possession and use.

He flip-flopped the wrong way.

On ABC News tonight, Barack Obama reaffirmed his support for drivers' licenses for the undocumented, saying it's an issue of public safety.

He also earned the support of the Spanish newspaper, La Opinion, over Hillary:

"We were disappointed with her calculated opposition to driver's licenses for the undocumented, which contrasts markedly from the forceful argument in support made by Obama," wrote La Opinion's editorial board. "We understand that this is an extremely controversial issue but we believe there is only one right position and it is that of the senator from Illinois."

I strongly support drivers' licenses for the undocumented. But it's states that issue drivers' licenses. I wonder if Obama will take it a step further and work to get Congress to pass a law withholding federal funds from states that don't allow drivers' licenses for the undocumented. That's what the feds did when they wanted states to lower the speed limit to 55. Why can't we do it with drivers' licenses?

By Big Tent Democrat

It is always hard to know about these things, but the latest Rassmussen and Gallup polls provide evidence that the minority view expressed by me and Markos that the debate benefitted Hillary Clinton (not that she won the debate, but that she benefitted from it) was right.

The Rassmussen poll has Clinton moving up 2 in the Friday tracking and the Gallup poll has Clinton moving up 4. Her leads in these national polls are 8 and 7 respectively. Who knows if this is right, but it is the only evidence we have seen post debate.