Hillary Clinton lengthens Pennsylvania lead over Barack Obama

A fresh poll from Quinnipiac (doesn't that sound like a character in a Herman Melville novel?) University finds Hillary Clinton adding to her lead over Barack Obama in the April 22 Pennsylvania primary. And you can't help but think some of this stems from the debate over race and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Race does matter, judging by the poll numbers. Overall, Clinton led Obama 53% to 41% among all likely primary voters, a widened gap over the 49% to 43% lead she had Feb. 27. The poll, conducted over six days ending Sunday, has an unusually tight margin of error of 2.7%, which means Obama's slide is within the margin but Clinton's gain exceeds it.

The most interesting stuff, as usual, is in the details. The poll found that the racial gap has widened. White voters preferred Clinton by 61% to 33%, a change from the 56% to 37% lead last month. Similarly, black voters backed Obama 76% to 18% percent, compared with a 69% to 23% earlier finding.

There's a lot of time -- and a lot of campaigning -- to go, but at the moment, the numbers are tracking better for Clinton than for Obama, at least in Quinnipiac's poll. You can browse the rest of the polls here, but pay particular attention to the trend lines on the Real Clear Politics aggregate graph. It shows Obama flat in Pennsylvania, while Clinton climbed. And she was ahead there to begin with.

-- Scott Martelle

Comments

[Jessica]

I'll vote for either Hillary OR Barack, whichever one is the nominee. Both of them are far better for our nation than McCain.

[Martin]

I was so proud of my country for making a candidate's gender and race an irrelevant issue. I thought I was in a happy reality. But instead it's a fantasy.

The mere fact that a dramatically greater percentage of Pennsylvania blacks than whites support Obama says it all. Race does matter.

Maybe our grandchildrens' grandchildren will see a better day. In the meantime, will someone qualified get behind the White House wheel and steer us into a better future?

Yeah ... a happy fantasy.

[DemNowRepublican]

The truth is democrats are now divided. Whoever wins as the contender for president will not win because they both hate each other.

If Obama wins the nomination we are all screwed when we find out some of these things that we are learning now. Truth is the kitchen sink has been thrown to Hillary from the start. The media GROOMED Obama. It was biased.Now that some dirt for Obama is coming out they dont know what to do.

Obama is saying he doesn't agree with Rev. Wright BUT he cannot stay away from him? Come on, 20 YEARS in that church? and considers Rev. Wright as HIS UNCLE? and this rev supports FARRAKHAN, right? So what happens when Obama wins? These people will be free in putting hatred to more people? Gangs will proliferate. This issue just divided the democrats based on race.

If Hillary vows out of this race now Obama will not win the presidency becoz Republicans will me more ruthless.

On the other hand, if Hillary wins the nomination the black voters will not vote for her.

No one wins.

Might as well vote for a fake Republican...

[Maria]

I'm Hispanic and I hate when Obama supporters call me and Clinton supporters racists or prejudists. If they are voting for Obama because he's black, then who are the racists? Do we have to vote for him just give blacks their first African-American president? I'm sorry, but find an experienced black candidate and I will be more than happy to vote for him. This is not Affirmative Action people! Critics hate the Clintons over sex scandals. For how long does Bill has to pay for his sins?And who are them to judge them? Obama supporters accuse Hillary for everything that goes wrong with Obama. Do you really think Obama is the victim here? Well, then I feel sorry for Obama, but we need a strong leader and not a cry baby running for president. There are a lot of presidents in this world that will eat him alive. I vote for Hillary not because she's white but because I know she's the best candidate for the job. Those Clinton' haters, a little advice: i read somewhere that hate is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.

[Fausto]

As far ahead as people claim that Obama is in delegates, all it really translates to is an overall popular vote lead of about 55,000 votes. I did the math. Hillary can very possibly overtake that in Pennsylvania if she continues to go as she has. Hillary Clinton is still very much alive in the Democratic Nomination. And this is considering the fact that many of those Obama wins were in caucus states...and Texas proved to us how inaccurate a caucus vote is in determining the will of a state (Hillary won 51% to 47% but lost the caucus 56% to 44%; keeping in mind that only a fraction of primary voters actually went to the caucus). For all the attention being bought to Hillary that she will never reach the 2,025 delegates needed before the convention, neither will Obama - so that will bring other indicators into play. How well each candidate performed in popular vote, in key democratic states etc. This race is very much alive.

[hiddengun]

I am not a racist. I think the speech (fabricated or???) is great and Obama simply listed out the facts and added an ending story. And I agree with most issue Obama had said or raised.

But what matters more? Creditability or ability for great speech.

As one reader pointed out, the poll was probably done over a few but released today. This indicates a trend and not the end. I can't wait to see the new poll.

Here are what I don't understand:
1. Had Obama done in anything in stopping Wright from poisioning the crowd? Or did he simply just disagreed. Doesn't the God say love all others? What love did Obama showed in letting Wright's continuing hatred agenda in 20 years.
2. Why Obama still invite Wright into his team?
3. The speech was about trying to unit the American after listed out all facts. But should I believe Obama will make a difference after sitting in his church for 20 years and made no difference.
4. What else is coming up?

Time is really Clinton's friend. Too bad we can't undo or redo "Super Tuesday".

[eb]

if Clinton gets the nomination simply because of a remark Obama himself did not make but showed intelligence by adressing it theyway he did: with integrity , then America is just not ready for change...they have no one else to blame but themselves. After all, every nation has the government it deserves. I would like to see Clinton doing the same, but that is not her style. And McCain keeps on blundering and is still taken seriously....no wonder the rest of the world looks down on us and doesn't trust us.

[Obamabot]

Obama

1. has linked himself to a man who thinks 911 was America's fault
2. is bold enough to say that in America and on camera.
3. and was selling his hate speech on dvds
4. for 20 years.
5. This is the guy they prayed with in private before he annouced his campaign.
6. Guess who they will be praying with in private on the first day in white house.

Do u want to see the man who believed in god damning America to be in the white house ?

Can a first generation Kenyan immigrant with an Arabic name represent all of America ?

[Linda Lutes]

Okay, you bigots: have you never heard a sermon in your own church that you didn't agree with? If not, we are truly a nation of sheep. Being a Baptist in my early youth, I heard that God loves Christians but Muslims are all going to hell! Also, homosexuals including several in my family, are lousy sinners! That, I suppose, is better than what Reverend Wright said? Let's face it, we are formed by our cultural up bringing and our thoughts are slanted by our experiences and real life happenings. If your race were persecuted for hundreds of years, maybe you would also have some anger about how you were treated in America! Jerry Falwell, the conservative's friend, says New Orleans was punished by God for the sins of this nation. Outrageous, but no one branded him unpatriotic.Fox news and Hillary know he is the one to beat so they crucify him for something he didn't say or agree with? Does everyone want to lose the best candidate we have because of a few statements from someone else? He is the only one who can beat McCain because the supposed skeletons in his closet are bare-boned compared to the dirt they will dig up on Hillary!

If you want to do the will of the Neo-cons, crucify Barack or get on the bandwagon for the real issues that do matter! Do we want another 4 years of George Jr.? After all, he has been studying his philosophy and agreeing with it for the past 8 years. Get over Wright and do what's right for America!! Don't play right into the Republican's hands, we've tried that long enough.

[truth machine]

Let he who has never used the phrase "welfare queen" or nodded in approval when hearing or reading that racist phrase (explicitly crafted as such for Ronald Reagan's campaign by Lee Atwater) lob the first stone at Jeremiah Wright. Obama was extraordinarily generous in his speech in legitimizing the resentments of racist whites, but that's a measure of the caliber of his character and his optimism that our society can move beyond that. And if we can't then god damn America indeed -- and Wright's comments were also conditional, but you wouldn't know that listening to the decontextualized snippets, cut off mid-sentence, and played over and over and over ... in the corporate-owned and controlled media, to play on the primitive emotions of those who are already prone to be scared by the angry black man who's pissed about how America has treated and continues to treat his people.

[truth machine]

"Okay, you bigots: have you never heard a sermon in your own church that you didn't agree with? If not, we are truly a nation of sheep. Being a Baptist in my early youth, I heard that God loves Christians but Muslims are all going to hell! Also, homosexuals including several in my family, are lousy sinners!"

Indeed, never before in the history of this country has it been demanded of a public figure that they leave their church or denounce /as a human being/ their religious leader, yet we have been getting a steady stream of that demand, not just from "pundits" and Clinton drones but from people who pretend to be journalists like Lou Dobbs and the rest of that crew. And Wright is retiring, and Obama didn't hear those statements (contrary to the lies about what he said in his speech). And there are many other people in that church, including prominent public figures, and no one is demanding that they leave the church. Because in fact it's not a demand that Obama leave his church, it's a dishonest fabricated attack on Obama built around the fact that he didn't do something that he had no obligation to do. At bottom, it has nothing to do with Wright and what he said or what Obama did or didn't do, it's a calculated effort to destroy his candidacy, very much in the spirit of the attacks on Al Gore for "lying" about things he never lied about (he *was*, as Erich Segal's roommate, the model for Love Story, he *did* grow up on a farm 6 months out of the year, he *did* take the initiative in Congress of creating the internet, as a commercial network out of the government-funded NSFnet), the swift boat attacks on John Kerry, and the attacks on doubters about WMDs and the legitimacy of invading Iraq. It's the worst, most vile sort of politics, and it's time for Americans to wake up to these sorts of tactics and reject them.

[Barbara]

Obama is ahead by 700,000 in the popular vote. And if you were a voter and all you saw was a constant loop every 20 minutes of Rev. Wright, you might vote for someone else, too. Voters are easily manipulated. He will close the gap in Penn. but she will probably still win which is fine because he is doing allright.

He should have talked more about patriotism in his speech a bit. I think that would have helped.

[tp]

The Clintons started the low down dirty campaign,and Obama was caught off guard because he is basically a good and fine person. This country can do better than elect the tyranny of the Clintons. We do have a Republic in this country, not a King and Queen who will do anything to reign again

[Tom Hynes]

In her speech to support the war in Iraq, Hillary used her experience to make the case. It is getting clear she want to win at all cost, playing politics, fighting the change America is seeking in the White house, not only a change of political parties but a change of the system run by lobbyists.
How do you know when a person has enough experience on an issue, it's when s/he shows a better judgment. If this election was all about experience on the system, Bill Richardson would be the nominee and McCain would beat Hillary, she wont compare her experience to McCain's. But this election being about change, Obama is in the better position to win the White House, he inspire people from all over the world, he will make the entire country look like one family of Americans and not a collection of racist, black, white, asian, Latino
All my support to Obama 08' for a change in our foreign policy, better US economy and bring the country together to solve our common problems.
Obama 08'

[mali]

OBAMA STANDS BEHIND SPIRITAL ADVISOR WRIGHT!
“Wright is like an uncle you love and respect”
IT’S WAY TOO LATE OBAMA, NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR YOUR LIES AND EXCUSES OR A SPEECH SOMEONE WROTE OR STOLE FOR YOU! YOU HAVE CLAIMED TO BE A MEMBER FOR 20 YEARS, YOU KNOW FULL WELL WHAT THIS RACIST ANTI-AMERICAN PREACHES EACH WEEK, YOU CAN BUY THE DVDS ON THE WEBSITE, and THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU’RE RASING YOUR YOUNG DAUGHTERS? YOU ARE MOST CERTINALLY NOT THE LEADER FOR THIS GREAT COUNTRY! No one says Obama can’t attend any church he wants, or practice Muslim religion, he can be as racist as his “not proud of America" wife Michelle, or even the anti- American as Wright and his churches “man of the year award" Farrakhan! The problems he is running to be President for ALL people of the U.S. not just white American haters! He is not fit to be in public service! He should have disowned Wright & Farrakhan before this week or left that church years ago if he didn’t agree with his anti-American, anti white preaching. He is teaching his daughters the same type of anti American racism by attending that church and continuing to support and follow his spiritual advisor Rev Wright! Obama can’t persuade his way out of this one with that extremely lame speech!
IT’S TIME OBAMA GET OUT OF THE RACE!!! DROP OUT! WE DO NOT NEED OR WANT YOUR CHANGE BACK THE RACIAL DIVIDE OF THE 60'S...SHAME ON YOU OBAMA!

[Jay]

Say what you want about Obama but I agree with John Bard - the rest of the world - by majority - does think he should be the next President and that an attempt should be made to move beyond business as usual. We wish you would take pause to consider that in amongst your in quibbling and falling for the same old swiftboating tricks that lumped you and the rest of the world with Bush for 8 years.

[Brainerd]

What has Obama to do with Right's sermon? Come on!
Unfortunately the Clintons are playing "experience" to justify their struggle for power.
Hillary, for instance, has shown how angry, sarcastic and divisive she is. Now they're taking advantage over Mr. Wright's sermon - something Barack has no control on. It was Dr Wrigth's speech, not Obama's
If my judgement is correct, I think Hillary will bring more division, gender struglle and America will be reaping a very bitter harvest.
Think, American people, think wise!
But not Clinton!

[Billy Olive]

I think it's unfair the way people are firing on Obama. How can one be responsible for what other people say?
Is the media, plus the Clintons campaign trying to steal Barack's nomination?

Would the democrats survive such a blunder? I don't think people have lost their sense of right judgement.
In my estimation, Hilary has, from the very beginning, tried to strip Obama off this election process, by using all sorts of tactics on her opponent. Go for Obama, otherwise McCain. But Hillary, pleasse.. never!

[Lawrence]

People need to just drop the whole racism and gender issue all together. It's sad that Americans are so sensitive that even the slightest mention of race and gender gets blown out of proportion.

It's to the point where people are quite frankly too scared to bring up any issue related to race or gender because they are afraid to be labeled as a racist. I think Obama is an honest guy and his character is certainly much more likable and appealing than Clinton. I don't think any less of his character in light of the whole NAFTA, Samantha Powers, and Rev. Wright issues. But these issues highlight his biggest flaw; lack of experience.

The fact that he can't deal with these issues head on (only now does he finally address them and talk about them openly) is a serious concern. If he can't handle these issues how, is he going to handle a national crisis when he's president?

I do understand why many people think Clinton will do anything to secure the nomination. Therefore, perhaps labeling her a "bitch" may be appropriate. But just remember, "bitches get the job done."

[Joan]

It's not that long ago that a black person had to step in the gutter to let a white person walk past. And that's just a small part of it. Remember all the signs 'Whites Only'. I'd be ticked too. I'm a 73 year old white woman. Did you really think there would be no bitterness about that, especially in the older people, those who lived it! Get real. But I believe it's possible to rise above it, for all of us.

Barack Obama is the hope for the U.S. and the world and if hate swallows up the hope he offers, then we're all doomed to carry on in the same old, same old...

[anna]

Doesn't matter Obama has more delegates now...He can not win the popular vote. He is an embarrassment and would continue to encourage divisiveness among the races in the country and perhaps abroad, if he were elected. Clinton has the experience, and the resiliency, and the strength to deal with anything that may come our way. I put my faith in her. One other point, Obama can not win against McCain, Clinton most certainly can. God help us if another republican gets in - this country needs a boost, and Clinton is the best person for the job. In my lifetime, the Clinton administration was the best - the only time this country had a balanced budget, and we were well liked across the world. We need to get back there, and Obama isn't going to take us there, not now.

[Jeff]

If Hillary is not on the ticket, I will vote for McCain.

[karl]

a clinton/obama ticket will get more democrats to vote in the general election against that dinosaur,John Mccain.But an Obama/Clinton ticket will not cut the mustard . Trust me. Let's place objectivity over subjectivity when pulling the lever in November. Competence and experience plus youth and passion, in that order, will get the democrats in the White House again. Finally!

[hector]

To Obama supporters. You'r calling the Clintons racist. your accussing Hillary of murder, and claim she did nothing as first lady. You sound just like Rush L. Until this Obama fad started black leaders have always held the Clintons in high esteem and overwhelmingly supported them. Those Intellectual liberals for Obama are rapidly deteriorating into petty name calling fanatics. Then THEY accuse Hillary of undermining the Democratic party. Its understandable, The tide is shifting in Hillary's favor. The outragious lies and exaggerations being printed nowadays by Obama'a staff is clear evidence that they are getting real neverous. Shame. Hillary deserves better. Even her Republican Peers say openly that she has done many good things on behalf of the american people and she will do even greater things as President.

[hector]

to Obama supporters. You'r calling the clintons racist. your accussing Hillary of murder, and claim she did nothing as first lady. You sound just like Rush L. Until this Obama fad started black leaders have always held the Clintons in high esteem and overwhelmingly supported them. Those Intellectual liberals for obama are rapidly deteriorating into petty name calling fanatics. Then THEY accuse Hillary of undermining the Democratic party. Its understandable, The tide is shifting in Hillary's favor. The outragious lies and exaggerations being printed nowadays by Obama'a staff is clear evidence that they are getting real neverous. Shame. Hillary deserves better. Even her Republican Peers say openly that she has done many good things on behalf of the american people and she will do even greater things as President.