Barack Obama wants to make it a fight in Ohio
In what can only be a signal that the Barack Obama campaign is ceding nothing to Hillary Rodham Clinton, it has sent Paul Tewes -- he led Obama's successful Iowa fight -- to Ohio to try to play catch up. And why not? Obama's been on a winning streak that could continue tonight when the results are in from the Potomac Primaries (you know, if you type "Potomac" real fast, sometimes it comes out "ptomaine").
The thinking -- and the polls -- suggest that Obama will do well today, and next week in Hawaii, where he is something of a native son, and possibly in Wisconsin with its long tradition of populist politics. Then, on March 4, it will be Clinton's turn in Ohio, heavy on older and lunch-bucket Democrats, and in Texas, with a large Latino population, among whom she draws extremely well.
But if Obama steals a win in either or both of those big-delegate states, we could see a reordering of the nomination fight, with Obama moving beyond his base of young, upper-income and African American voters and into Clinton-land. If she wins them both, as expected, then the marathon continues unchanged.
But the chance to upset the apple cart is plenty of incentive for Obama to put some hitters on the ground in Ohio.
-- Scott Martelle
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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I am sure Hillary will use the race card here just like other areas in the country. We keep hearing whites won't vote for Obama and he still keeps winning. VA is a Blue State that when given the right canidate we will vote for a Black Man. Ask Doug Wilder, he is taking exception to Clinton and her advisors.
Posted by: HCallaway | February 12, 2008 at 06:29 PM
Go Blessing Obama!
Posted by: Trudy | February 12, 2008 at 06:53 PM
Who cares? Twenty years ago either of these candidates would have been called republican. Now the republicans have embraced fascism and the democrats have become republicans. The corporate media decided this election before it had even begun.
Posted by: xjlm | February 12, 2008 at 07:05 PM
Judging by the Maryland exit polls, it appears Obama's appeal is gaining momentum across all lines, even:
Female 59%
No college degree 64%
Income < $50K 65%
Wins Economy issues
Wins Health Care issues
Wins 68% Independent
Posted by: Doug Fults | February 12, 2008 at 07:06 PM
Another surprise is coming for Hillary. In a status conference in Los Angeles Superior Court on Feb. 21, a trial date will be set for Paul v Clinton. Hillary is finally going to be under oath this summer. The massive campaign finance fraud that she directed will finally be revealed for all to see. Five million people have seen this unedited 13-minute segment of HILLARY! UNCENSORED - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7007109937779036019&pr=goog-sl
Posted by: Douglas C | February 12, 2008 at 07:11 PM
6 in 10 Women for Obama in Virginia, he is already making inroads. Lets hope the voters in Ohio and Texas make the right choice and launch him into the white house.
Posted by: Amccoy | February 12, 2008 at 07:13 PM
Obama will not be able to do any "race painting" in Ohio or Texas. Sorry Barry! No room for your "romper room rhetoric" for the working class men and women of America.
"Vision without articulation is.... Simply a nice thought."
As defined by the Obama Campaign... "Obama supporters are well to do financially and better educated than Hillary supporters."
Translation: Obama believes working class people can't think for themselves rationally.
Almost "every African-American" voter will vote for Obama. Why are they voting nearly exclusively for Obama? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out, now does it....?
Ohio and Texas belong to "hard working" Americans not elitist snobs.
Members in Congress "always" vote for their self-interest... SO WHY SHOULDN'T YOU!
Ohio - Vote for your self-interest!
Texas - Vote for your self-interest!
Don't listen to the MEDIA (TV, Radio, etc.)
Question:
WHICH CANDIDATE BEST UNDERSTANDS "YOUR PROBLEMS" AND IS "BETTER ABLE" TO HELP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY BRING ABOUT ECONOMIC PROSPERITY?
If you believe the economy is the number one issue that's effecting your life ... vote for Hillary.
If you believe that a beautiful vision told by a politician is enough to earn your vote ... vote for Obama.
Did you know that many of the books of the bible are derived from the creative genius of "storytellers?"
I prefer to vote for substance before rhetoric.
The question I always ask myself before I make a purchase is ... "What do I get for my Money?"
What about you? ... Think About it.
Posted by: Randy | February 12, 2008 at 07:19 PM
i have a feeling oh is gonna got clinton but obama will take texas narrowly and still the delegate margins wont change much
Posted by: headline news | February 12, 2008 at 07:26 PM
The analysis takes place in a vacuum two weeks old. The whole "older voter/lunch bucket" analysis doesn't wash. Obama even took women in Virginia. This thing is over. Ohio and Texas will fall by the mere fact more people have gotten and are getting to know Obama while there is little that Hillary can say to sway new converts. It's astounding how hard it is for media-types to come around to the Obama phenomenon. He's one nine in a row and they're still talking about a tie. He is winning. Let's face it, the Clintons are so 90s.
Posted by: highwayscribery | February 12, 2008 at 08:54 PM
Ohio is like New Mexico with voting problems. Use any search engine to learn why.
New Mexico is still recounting their caucus tally from Feb. 5th! Other states have theirs done in a few hours!
New Mexico had voting problems in 2004!
Former Governor of Ohio, Bob Taft (R) guaranteed win for President Bush in a partisan way. Crazy election process happened, so Bush won by any means necessary.
The current Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland (D) is a Clinton family friend and big Hillary supporter.
Problems in Ohio that occurred during the 2004 Presidential general election!
"We dodged a bullet this time but the problems remain," said Heather K. Gerken, who teaches election law at Harvard. "We have problems with the machines, problems with the patchwork of regulations covering everything from recounts to provisional ballots, and problems with self-interested party officials deciding which votes count."
The state relies heavily on punch-card balloting machines of the hanging-chad variety. Voting machines in Ohio failed to register votes for president in 92,000 cases over all this year, a number that includes failure to cast a vote, disallowed double votes and possible counting errors. An electronic voting machine added 3,893 votes to President Bush's tally in a suburban Columbus precinct that has only 800 voters.
Based on the Ohio experience, election law scholars advocate two types of broad reform: more uniformity within states - in registration lists, voting technologies and the distribution of voting machines, replacing partisans with professionals in election administration.
They got a partisan Governor now. Did they upgrade their voting machines since 2004, doubtful. Partisan workers control the machines.
Hillary is guaranteeing to win Ohio. Anyway to get a delegate victory, now that she is almost desperate.
In Texas, it will be a split decision in delegates, no evidence exists Hillary will overwhelmingly win there.
Her Latino voter advantage is a statistic but can change overnight in different states. People do want to vote for the winning candidate!
Posted by: Marks | February 12, 2008 at 09:52 PM
It looks like USA is being invaded by the rhetorics of Obama..the piper from nowhere who is attracting millions and it looks like the Democratic primary and eventually, the forthcoming US election will be decided by rhetorics, energy and visions (so much for reality check.) ... I was watching an interview with one Obama supporter and when asked how can her candidate differ with the apparent Republican candidate Mccain when it comes to national security issue, I was so dumbfounded when she started saying that there was so much energy and hope in their campaign and so on and so forth....and did not answer what was asked...typical Obama slant.
Posted by: Henry | February 12, 2008 at 10:15 PM
A new poll shows Obama within 9 of Clinton in Ohio. He can do this. And he will.
Posted by: Barbara | February 12, 2008 at 10:49 PM
Wow, no matter how many times I hear an ignorant statement in relation to these candidates, I'm still shocked.
"Almost "every African-American" voter will vote for Obama. Why are they voting nearly exclusively for Obama? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out, now does it....?" - Randy
Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to pick up on your racist and/or ignorant statement. It's time to look n the mirror Randy: you are a bigot.
It is 2008 people!!! How on earth can situations like the Jena 6, and racial extremist still plague this nation? It saddens me to see the state that OUR country is in today. In the past 8 years we have watched our dollar plummet. Seen our elected officials blatantly lie to the people. Yet it is not a race of people responsible for this... it is individuals.
So to all who are not voting for Barak Obama because of his middle name, where he went to high school, or because of the color of his skin: I feel sorry for you. I would hate to live in your world; a world filled with ignorance and fear.
A name is just a word, and the color of your skin is just that: the color of your skin.
In the past I voted for who I thought was the least of the evils. This year I'm voting for who I think would be a great president. I pray that I will have the chance to proudly vote for Barak Obama. Not because I'm black and he's black, but because he can do the greatest good for OUR nation.
I'm not voting for Hillary because she's already lied too many times. Am I the only one who heard her say she didn't vote for the war, and then try to spin it? Am I the only one who saw the picture of her shaking Senator Kennedy's hand (http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-demcampaign30jan30,0,2658468.story), and then listened to her say it was a picture of Obama snubbing her? How many times is she going to lie??? Sounds like another Bush to me.
Wake up America!!! People aren't voting for Obama because of the color of their/his skin, they're voting for him because they think he is the best candidate.
In the words of Barak Obama,"It's not about black Vs. White. It's about the past Vs. the future."
Posted by: Roland | February 12, 2008 at 11:21 PM
The problems with the ballots in Ohio remains something of an enigma. I can't believe that in 2008, we can't get a decent voting system that is not subject to partisanship. Still, I think that Obama will take Ohio unless the apparatchiks running the primary have too much influence.
Posted by: Scott | February 13, 2008 at 09:24 AM
I wonder what captivates Latinos to be infactuated with "white-skin"?
Perhaps this is a reason why Spanish conquistador Cortez only needed 200 Spanish soldiers to wipe-out an ancient and great civilization called the Aztecs. Brown people can't think because they are blinded by the "white". Brown is closer to "dark-brown".
Latinos, Hillary is no different from Cortez. The difference is she has a vagina. One that Bill Clinton even finds repulsive. Why do you think he does what he does?
Posted by: robinia | February 13, 2008 at 10:23 AM