Obama Wins, Clinton Loses
Bill Clinton, that is. CNN is reporting that Bill Clinton's negative campaigning and harsh - completely Clintonian - attacks on Obama backfired rather badly.
(CNN) — Bill Clinton's aggressive campaigning in South Carolina in the days leading up to the state's primary may have had a net negative effect among South Carolina’s Democratic primary voters, CNN exit polls indicate.
Roughly 6 in 10 South Carolina Democratic primary voters said Bill Clinton's campaigning was important in how they ultimately decided to vote, and of those voters, 48 percent went for Barack Obama while only 37 percent went for Hillary Clinton. Fourteen percent of those voters voted for John Edwards
Meanwhile, the exit polls also indicate Obama easily beat Clinton among those voters who decided in the last three days — when news reports heavily covered the former president's heightened criticisms of Obama. Twenty percent of South Carolina Democrats made their decision in the last three days and 51 percent of them chose Obama, while only 21 percent picked Clinton.
That is a really, really bad backfire, folks. CNN is also predicting what could best be described as a landslide win for Obama:
With 67 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had 54 percent of the vote. Clinton was second with 27 percent, followed by Edwards, with 19 percent.
Obama beat Clinton and Edwards combined, for heaven's sake. Clinton was smashed in South Carolina. This was a decisive loss.
By Anthony (Los Angeles), January 26, 2008 @ 8:53 pm
I wonder. I think you read Dick Morris’ article from a couple of days ago, in which he said the Clintons were planning on a large Obama win in South Carolina, so they could (through surrogates) stereotype him as “the candidate of Blacks,” hoping for a White backlash in later races that would go their way. It’s sleazy as can be, but, then again, Morris knows both “sleazy” and the Clintons.
In essence, she (and he) may be using racism gain a strategic victory out of a tactical defeat.
Yuck.