Clinton Back in the Game, but Obama Still Leads

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Well folks, it’s not over yet, and it looks like we’re in for the long haul, like it or not, in the nomination race for the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

This week’s primaries in Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island were nearly split between the two candidates, with Clinton coming out the narrow victor.

Vermont and Rhode Island decided strongly in favor of Obama and Clinton, respectively, and Ohio voters supported Hillary Clinton by about 53 to 44 percentage points.

Texas ended in a virtual tie, with Clinton winning the primary by a 50-48 percentage margin, and Obama the likely winner of the caucus. As of press time, the Texas caucus, which is responsible for a full third of Texas’s delegates, is still being counted, but with about 50% of precincts reporting, Obama has a 55-45 percentage point lead. This means Obama will likely come out ahead overall in Texas.

And while Obama supporters are crying out for Clinton to call it a day before the damage continues to the party, one can see why it would be difficult for her to do so. She still carries a slight lead in superdelegates who have decided, and while it will be virtually impossible for her to overtake Obama in delegates (she would need to win all remaining primaries by a margin of at least 60-40 percentage points, which seems unlikely), she has said she is counting on the superdelegates to swing the decision her way.

However, this too would be an uphill battle for "Hill." If the remaining primaries show results similar to contests already fought – and who knows, nothing is for sure – superdelegates will not overwhelmingly run to the side of either candidate. They may decide to band together for some political power, but that might prove difficult in this very close race.

If superdelegates divide up the way many states’ voters have, then Obama would come out ahead. Indeed, if the remaining primary votes skew even slightly in his favor, he will have enough states’ delegates to secure the nomination. But political pundits say that superdelegates, who are high-ranking folks in the Democratic Party, might tend to favor the candidate who knows how to play the political game – Hillary. She knows how to bandy favors, and is said to have been courting the superdelegates heavily.

If…if…if. For Democrats sitting on the edge of their seats, this week offered no solace to the anxious. The nail-biting (or head-banging, depending on your personal level of frustration) will continue for at least another six weeks, when the Pennsylvania primary occurs on April 22nd.

Can anyone see Hillary Clinton bowing out even if she loses in Pennsylvania? She has said repeatedly that she is "in it to win it" until the bloody end.

Some fear this means a build-up of damage to the ultimate Democratic Party nominee. Clinton campaign insiders credit her recent win to upping the ante of critical attacks on Obama, including the accusation one of his advisors had told Canada "not to worry" about the NAFTA trade agreement. The Obama camp denied the accusation, but some feel that damage had been done.

This does not bode well for those who dislike negative campaigning, for it is all but assured that things will get nastier in the weeks to come. Ugh.

This could be a dream come true for Republicans, whose solid nominee John McCain sealed the deal this week by securing enough votes for the nomination. His only remaining real opponent, Mike Huckabee, has officially dropped out. McCain can spend the next weeks and months filing his nails – instead of biting them – and enjoying a relatively peaceful season while his two possible opponents beat each other up.

They’ll be doing his work for him.