Obama gains support, now leads among elected superdelegates

For those of you keeping score, Barack Obama has now moved past Hillary Clinton in terms of announced support from elected superdelegates (governors, senators and representatives).

He picked up three more on Wednesday.

Obama still trails Clinton slightly in overall superdelegates, 257-234.

But in overall delegates he leads by 141, 1,650-1,509. This according to the authoritative NBC count.

Still, not enough for anyone's victory. Next stop: Pennsylvania come Tuesday.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[stone]

If he wins Obama will be one of the least accomplished presidents of my lifetime. Even GW, on paper, looks way more impressive.

[shir]

It is incredibly depressing to see how ABC's debate was so controlled by pro-Clinton and her Republican conservative friends. Both groups want Senator Obama out of the race. Hillary only knows how to slice and dice. She is the meat cleaver of US politics and she is cannabalizing both the Democratic Party and the American people. Her entire personailty is monstrous. No wonder Bill looked for satisfaction from loose bimbos. None of the questions in the debate took on Hillary's outright lies, the hidden off-shore shady businesses and lobbyists who give the Clinton dynastyy megebucks, her strategist Penn's and husband's Colombia free trade support, etc, Obama will change business as usual in Congress and the WH. He will change our government to take it away from the lobbyists and oligarchs. He will work openly for national security, peace and the American people. Hillary, Wolfson, and the Clinton machine seize every opportunity to smear Obama, to throw the whole dirty kitchen sink at him (flag pins, guilt by assocation, etc, etc). Where is the debate on issues crucial to our nation, economy, education, security, future? The ABC cheap take on gotcha politics proves how mainstream media is still owned and run by Clinton power brokers. Our beloved republic is well on its way to becoming a Roman dynastic empire, with the Bush-Clinton dynasties, enabled by their henchmen and women, leaching off we ordinary citizens.

[vicky jones]

The barely qualified wife of the former impeached president will lose because voters are burned out on the clintons. We reject the politics of personal destruction that they wallow in. Mrs. Clinton's problem isn't that voters don't know her, it's that we know her too well. Apperantly, the delegates and the superdelegates feel the same way. Kudos to the superdelegates for listening to what voters are saying. Any debt the clintons think the delegates and others 'owe' them was PAID IN FULL when they rescued him from being removed from office following his impeachment/Lewinsky scandal. We would do well to remember those days and how hillary clinton handled herself then. In spite of how she was humiliated by her husband, she still managed to blame the vast right wing conspiracy. She didn't show judgement and leadership then and there were no signs of it during the Petreaus hearings. She's simply not qualified. Last night's debate was a good reminder of how negative the clintons are. We need to ask her why the clinton administration pardoned 2 FALN terrorists. Why isn't anyone asking this?

[sam the sham]

Bush more accomplished than the Junior Senator from Illinois? You sir, are on CRACK. Crack, I say.

I hope they send you to Iraq. I'm sure you'd be proud to go.
Actually, I take that back. Wishing someone to die as cannon fodder for an unjust war covering for energy industry boondoggles is un-Christian. Then again I'm just a dumb liberal, so I'm way off base.

[Michael Matthews]

Watching the first 50 minutes of the debate last night, it became clear to me that the only thing the moderators wanted to due was attack Barack's character through association. And they may have succeeded. The pundits couldn't possibly allow this freshman senator, the only African-American in the senate, waltz through the nomination process, filling campaign venue after venue with rock star status, and get to the Whitehouse without being dragged through the mud. No DUI, No drug convictions, only self-admitted personal usage in this youth, no extra marital affairs, no criminal record, only record of personal and profound achievement. Those attributes had to be brought down to earth, because there is no way on earth that a black man of intellect, charisma, integrity, and honesty, could be the president of this country. Every minority has had to endure the decisions made by past presidents and have been lied to just to protect their own legacies. If Obama does not win the nomination, and then the Whitehouse, we can expect the dollar to continue to fall, and world trade will be trading with every other country except the US. And at 12B a month in Iraq, we'll be broke in four more years and it'll take 100 years before American can again call itself a super power. Erosion starts from within, i.e. Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire!

[Greg]

Hey "stone," do you realize that you completely contradicted yourself there?

[Greg]

George Stephanopoulos worked for the Clinton Admin. for gosh sake. Who did you think they were going to favor?

During the "debate" last night it got so rediculus that I was making fun of Charlie Gibson's tone of questioning in a room full of folks and the folks were dieing laughing.

That wasn't a debate, it was a Saturday Night Live skit with those dumb ass questions. It was essentially a night of, "when did you stop beating your wife" type questions.

To partially quote Clinton's favorite phrase this election season: "Shame on You" ABC.

All Stephanopoulos needed was little dunce cap to go with his little corner table. He could have used a booster chair too.

Is Chelsea running for President? I saw a lot more of her then I did of the other two. And why was the room filled with purple Umpa Lumpas? Did anyone else notice that?

Are they bitter Umpa Lumpas clinging to guns and religion now that the Candy Factory is closing?

[Josh]

Re: If he wins Obama will be one of the least accomplished presidents of my lifetime. Even GW, on paper, looks way more impressive.

Posted by: stone

That alone should tell you how much weight their accomplishments should hold. Obviously, looking good on paper doesn't make a good president.

[Eugene R]

"If he wins Obama will be one of the least accomplished presidents of my lifetime. Even GW, on paper, looks way more impressive."

Yeah - all that coke smoking, National Guard draft dodging, failed baseball team management, and failed governorship experience really paid off for us. And it continues - was there no learning curve for him?

Less maybe be more - no accomplishments are better than failed and harmful ones.

[clyde]

REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS? Of HILLARY?
What have you been smoking?

[Ruth Greer]

Apparently, Hillary has experienced every adventure known to man. How long before she claims she's also been shot out of a cannon?

[clyde]

REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS? Of HILLARY?
What have you been smoking?

[Greg Neubeck]

In the Philadelphia debate, both Hillary and Obama regurgitated their familiar mantra that they would veto the falsely maligned Bush taxcuts which resuscitated the U.S. economy from the inherited Clinton recession; but, which Hillary and Obama say favor only the rich. That tired old populist ploy of "soak the rich". However , a brief review of IRS statistics related to post-Bush tax cut revenues reveals exactly the opposite. Specifically, the share of individual income taxes paid by the bottom 40% of American taxpayers, as a result of expanded child tax credits and earner income tax credits, was reduced from 0% to a -4%; and, took another ten million low income Americans completely off of the tax roles. That is, a very significant four(4) % decrease. On the other end of the scale, the tax burden on the top 20% of income earners, the so-called rich, increased to a full 85% of the total tax burden. For examples on the lower end of the scale, a Single Individual making 30K paid $8400 in taxes under Clinton; under Bush $4500. A married couple making 60K: under Clinton $16,800, under Bush $9000. So Hillary/Obamaspeak, an economic strategy that left our Nation in a RECESSION on the Clinton's departure from the White House, would damage the poor more then any other group. One can summarize this quite simply by noting that IF Hillary and Obama's Marxist philosophies of soaking the rich were valid, Communist societies throughout the world would be exorbitantly wealthy, in lieu of economic basket cases a' la Castro's Cuba. The same can be said of their forced plan for Socialized Medicine. A program which is failing miserably in such Nations as Canada and the United Kingdom. Canada, as just one example, is now experiencing a dramatic shortfall in physicians. Greg Neubeck

[Doug Wine]

Hilliary can't even run a campaign without screwing it up. Imagine how she'll run the country for four years if she becomes President!

[Frank]

If you're a Dem,it's important not to be mislead by the MSM's financial interest in portraying this election as closer than it is. It's easy to regard McCain as sitting high on the hog while these two go at each other down below. But if you think back, before the Republican primaries were settled, the stark difference in turnout numbers between the parties hasn't gone away. Republicans want to forget that fact but most Dems are likely to feel that, having had to slog through the kind of primary they're experiencing, they're sure as heck going all out for a victory in November. I don't buy the crossover vote theory either - after sitting through a Republican convention and realizing the numbers are in their favor, most Dems are going to fall into line and vote with their party. I still don't think November is going to be even close.

[Bruce Johnson]

Funny that some people post tomes when people will hardly read more than 3 lines

[cindy]

ABC prime time slot would have been better served unless they too were participants in beating up on Obama for 45 minutes. We are not interested in bashing obama we are interest in our future, which include jobs, good economy, bring our troops home and get rid of the bush administration.

[Joe]

It's ABC, did anyone expect anything else? Fox is trying to spin it, too. I honestly don't know why they agreed to a debate on ABC to begin with, rather than some other network, but what do I know?

Lest anyone believe that this is just "liberal whining" (I'm a registered Republican and always have been...), go compare the news reports via Google news and see how out of touch with reality they are.

[joeyusa]

sam the sham I hope they send you and your family to ground zero NYC and than send u to the next city the terrorist will blow up so as you and your family are vaporized -you just keep talking about unjust wars - and if you elect one of your liberal jerks you just might get to know how lucky you been since 911 that you had a President with BALLS in the White House-

[howard lohmuller]

A lot of Democrats are mad at ABC and the two moderators of last night's debates, Gibson and Stephonoupolus. because they showed the two candidates for the Democrat Party's nomination to be among the worst candidates in the last 100 years.

[Deanna Foster Katy, Texas]

Perhaps someone needs to check out the number of great Presidents we have had that had less experience than Senator Obama who has been in elected office for 7 years and in public service...let's see..how does Hillary count experience?.....for 28 years..

[Jim White]

It will be so refreshing to have a thoughtful, gracious, classy, intelligent, respectful, honest and articulate president in the White House. Hillary is good but routine and John McCain seems a little too unprdictable in temperment. Barack Obama is solid, steady, confident, knowledgable and strong with a clear set of moral values which guide him. We would be blessed to have this man as president.
Jim White

[faye dolan]

I am happy from the comments above, that the people of this republic are finally realizing how they have been taken by the Hill and Bill road show lo these many years. These are the worst of my generation and to think they rose to great power by sleaze, heavy handedness, bullying and lying just sickens me. My beautiful country is crumbling and these two are the poster children to the post-decency era that was always America. Their "Up the establishment" values, the values of the radical Sixties Left, still courses through their veins, although they lie about being middle of the road.. Nonsense! Why isn't the press talking about Mrs. Clinton's treatment of the military aides that worked for her in the White House? That in itself would sink her...but no one talks about this issue. At any rate, Mr. Obama will be a great President and his wife, while firey and outspoken, is an honest and forthright woman who will make a terric First Lady. He is the man for these times. He will inspire youth to follow him into politics as it was under JFK and RFK..a lofty ambion one can attain to through hard work, honesty and high ideals. We need him very badly. I long for the day when the Clintons will be just a distant reminder of how we, even as good peole, can be led astray by smiling, fast-talking snakeoil salesmen who feed off the public trough. I have a feeling that this may be their swan song, that good will triumpth over these two. Superdelegates: Back Obama! And Al Gore, where is your endorsement to finally push Obama over the finish line?

[Jake]

And the newspapers and the networks wonder why their reader and viewership is tumbling. It is because of the crap that constitues reporting and opinion in our media. Not only do we have a George W. Bush presidency but we have a George W. Bush national media - in terms of intelligence, curiosity and integrity.

[Harry Crown]

ABC moderator: "Senator Clinton, 6 out of 10 voters believe you are DISHONEST AND UNTRUSTWORTHY, how do you respond?"

OUCH!!

[Sally]

I think it was embarrassing to see Hillary take talking points straight from Sean Hannity.

[michael schroeder]

On Paper: Would that be Obama's rags to riches story versus Bush's failed baseball team and failed businesses (and now failed goverment). Hmm, yeah you really hit the mark (rollseyes).

[golfer219]

COMMENTS MADE EARLIER IN THE CAMPAIGN, CALLING HILLARY CLINTON A MONSTER COULDN'T BE MORE TRUE, HOWEVER LET'S NOT FORGET THAT FINGER POINTING, LYING FORMER PRESIDENT.
BY THE WAY CHARLIE, AND GEORGE WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK SENATOR CLINTON IF SHE MISSPEAKS WHEN TIRED AT 11:00 PM, HOW ALERT WILL SHE BE FOR THAT 3:00 AM CALL.

[gregf]

I didn't think it was pro-clinton, just that Obama had more explaining to do. Except he thought these things were just "distractions". A lot of people want to know why he hangs with racists, anti-semites and terrorists (while not agreeing with them on every point).

[oteddyo]

OBAMA LIES

1.) Selma Got Me Born - LIAR, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. Source: hotair.com
2.) 2.) Father Was a Goat Herder - LIAR, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government. Source:
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message504435/pg13
3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - LIAR, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had Source:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/01/obamas-oginga-o.html4
4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - LIAR, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya. It is the first widespread violence in decades. Source:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/01/obamas-oginga-o.html5
5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - LIAR, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man. Source: According to NYTimes story of April of last year, Sarah Hussein Obama told the New York Times she is a devout Muslim.
6.) My Name is African Swahili - LIAR, your name is Arabic and ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.
7.) I Never Practiced Islam - LIAR, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until your wife made you change, so you could run for office.
8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - LIAR, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book).
9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - LIAR, not one teacher says you could speak the language.
10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience - LIAR, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language. What did you learn, how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.
11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - LIAR, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise); you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies.
12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - LIAR, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine.
13.) An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - LIAR, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - LIAR, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist.
15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - LIAR, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first.
16.) Present Votes Are Common In Illinois - LIAR, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.17.
17.) Oops, I misvoted - LIAR, only when caught by church groups and democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.
18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - LIAR; you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - LIAR, you didn’t write it, introduce it, change it, or create it.
21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - LIAR, it took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - LIAR, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear Donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.
23.) I Have Released My State Records - LIAR, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.
24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - LIAR, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.

[Bob]

Think about four years of having any criticism of the Presidency labeled as discrimination?
Obama will be a disaster. A vote for him will be a vote to end America.

[Bob]

Think about four years of having any criticism of the Presidency labeled as discrimination?
Obama will be a disaster. A vote for him will be a vote to end America.

[rogo2008]

After all of the profound and disturbing events surrounding the Clinton Whitehouse ( I am ashamed to admit) I voted for Bush Jr. and for that I apologize. However, the Clinton Presidency combined with the current Oval Office protecting the military complex and the oil business, I am now voting for Obama. I will not support any party from here on out, but rather individuals who will make a difference by inspiring us to change this country ourselves.

[rachel ortega]

George Stephanopolis is a slimy clinton surrogate who worked for and managed bill clinton's campaign. How in the world was he allowed to 'fairly' moderate this debate. He learned well at the alter of the immoral clintons.
The joke is going to be on the clintons when this is all said and done, because their boy george is going to write the mother of all 'tell all' books about bill and hillary clinton. he wants hillary to win because it will boost his book in ways nobody could ever imagine. he knows the real story of the clintons and the truth about all those mysterious deaths of people who went against the clintons. he knows the truth about bill's bimbos. he has heard hillary's foul mouth and lies up close and personal. the clintons need to be good to this boy because he's the one who going to rip their masks off and finally reveal what we already know about them. I would say 'shame on them' but they don't know the meaning of the word. Snap out of it America! Shame on us for empowering the clintons. They need us, we don't need them. Snap out of it! Meanwhile Georgie boy, along with all the other surrogates, is laughing all the way to the bank!

[Sam]

Nice guys finish last. Obama is very nice attack Hillery. She has no credibilty, so she wants to damage Obama by rehashing things that nothing more than political gimks and personal attacks. The Clintons r a pair of opportunists, and corrupt politicians who would lie, cheat, and deny everything. Here we have the Clintons, both graduated from Yale, accumelated $109 millions since 2000, and they have the khutspa to call Obama elitist and out of touch. Their 90s policies were more harmful to the average taxpayer than the Republicans. Clinton was the force behind Free Trade disasterous policies, that shiped the employment to China, and India. Thepolitical Contributions to the Clintons by the Chinese, and Indian lobbyists are well documented and the Republicans r ready to bring it if Hillery is the winner. Clinton pardon of the criminals, and drug dealers in the last hour is well known. His impeachment, the lewinsky scandale, and her management of Bimbo erruption are still in the minds of the voters. She and her husband are for the rich and powerful, and their past is clear evidence. In fact she was Golberger republican, and her father is a stuanch Goldberger supporter. They hip hop with the rich andfameous, and pretend they care about the poor American, it is all lies to get elected and help the rich get richer. In fact , the domination of big media , is the result of Bill Clinton , who allowed the concentration of the media in few hands,like Murdach Foxews. He was an early supporterof Hillery, because he knows that they more republicans than the real Republicans.

[paul]

I thought the questions were great. I especially liked how both of them could not give direct answers to the Capitol Gains tax and revenue loss when the rate was raised, they squirmed under the gun control question, and under the question "are you saying you know better than General Petruis."

When there is no policy differences between the two canidates, all you have are lepel pin questions and gaffes to really talk about. This is the chickens coming home to roost for the Democrats!

These two are so out of step with the American people. The Democrats just lost an unloosable election with either of these two canidates.

[al finney]

For Sam the Sham. The use of the word "dumb" in front of liberal is redundant.

[Sean]

Glad to see Obama gaining overall with the superdelegates. I think last night's hit-job on Oba....oops - I mean debate - will help him even more. Hillary was forced to admit that she believes Obama can beat McCain in the general election, which runs counter to the argument she'd been using to get superdelegates on her side up until now.

[Dave]

You have to love America. We brought Africans here as slaves, denied them a fair shot and when it looks like one might be elected President, we decide they are elitist and inexperienced. And if that doesn't work, we'll take a man with an incredible body of work in politics and the community and say he lacks experience. Racism in America, alive and thriving! Please, take on Obama for his policies and for any judgments he made, but don't expect me to believe that anyone who is questioning experience or charging him with elitism is anything but a flat out racist. If Obama is so inexperienced, how did he end up running such a great campaign, lining up super-delegates and taking on and defeating one of the most powerful political machine this country has seen over the past 50 years? Sounds like a heck of a CEO and leader to me.

[Ryan]

that was no debate last night , Poor barack got trick into a Hillary campaign headquaters last night. that was really pathetic by ABC.

[bink1]

This was a sham from the beginning..Stephie was a shill for the clintons and Charlie is a pompous twit. It is the issues that people want to know about--not the clintons petty slurs to bring down the opponent. No wonder the ratings game is going to cable--though not without bias , they present more of both sides.
Many are starting a boycott of ABC and have begun to tape the Sunday Morning show --so I can fast forward to the roundtable---the rest is so much crap.

[kyle]

Sam, you are, indeed, a sham.

[Shocked]

Obama is a Republican landslide in the making. He is an absolute left wing loony and a disgrace to the Party that he was never vetted properly.

Thanks you left wing loonies for this loser.

[J. Dowd]

"If he wins Obama will be one of the least accomplished presidents of my lifetime. Even GW, on paper, looks way more impressive."

Oh, and how did those "accomplished on paper" folks do exactly?

If experience mattered, Dick Cheney wouldn't have 15% approval, and we wouldn't be bogged down in Iraq.

Conversely,, Lincoln had a thinner record than Obama! Lincoln, arguably the greatest president ever.

[Jeff]

Seriously, by now haven’t we seen enough of these two clowns to know that neither of them are fit to lead an expedition to the bathroom let alone the country?

[Emmanuel Winner]

Despite media attacks on Barack Obama, despite gutter politics from Clinton, despite the racism from the right, the people are going to have their voice this year, and Obama is our next President of the United States.

[Bill Murray]

Barack,

a not ready for prime time player. Ouch. You know you've lost it when you (and your supporters) whine about the questions. He doesn't have the smarts or the fortitude to win this.

[Joe D]

I find it humerous that some dem’s are whining about the debate by calling the questioning unfair. Where were these people when the questioners at the republican debates were grilling the candidates. The democrat candidates have been getting nothing but puff questions at previous debates. There were no unfair questions at the debate, and most were mild compared to the nasty treatment the republicans got from the mainstream media..

People are complaining about the debate because the questioning revealed just how weak and flawed both candidates are. Obama does great when he is giving his canned “hope” speeches, but he fails miserably when he is asked questions about his position on issues, or questions that reveal his true charecter.

ABC owes no-one an apology for last nights debate. They should be applauded for being the first network to ask the tough questions. If Obama was as sharp as his followers want us to believe he is - he should have been able to deflect the questions and turn them to his own benefit. He couldn’t do that because he is not very sharp, and the positions he really believes in would not wash well with the american public. It must really be depressing to finally find out that your messiah is actually a flawed, empty socialist with very little if anything to offer this country.

I feel sorry for the supedelegates that have endorsed Obama. They will now be in a position to defend their decision and that may prove to be difficult.

[meka]

ABC has shown that it is merely a junk-yard tablod "news' outlet and as viewers begin to withdraw their patronage, it would hasten its trip to the dustbin of history. What a shame!

[simplerep]

Obama's projected stong showing in Pennsylvania, in addition to his projected victories in Indiana and North Carolina would prove one thing.

Expect Hillary to bow out of the race come Wednesday. Should she continue, then she would only be hurting herself, her tarnished reputation and decrease her chances of running for the 2012 election.

Her "dishonesty", which the polls conducted in Pennsylvania saw her negative attribute illuminated, will prove to be her "Waterloo". If Pennsylania could see this, you "don't" think that the rest of the country does not see this either? Politics is a dirty game, where dishonesty is required. But Hillary, somehow, elevated this particular notion as state of the art.

It doesn't seem to matter anymore if she's the more "experienced" of the two. Her 36 years in politics proves that. Wait a minute...8 years as First Lady of Arkansas and 8 years as the First Lady of the U.S...she won those two offices by how much of a margin?