Changing the standard: Team Clinton keeps setting their target lower
From Politico today, in a rearranged order, to make it chronological, these are the targets Team Clinton has set from Feb 11 through today:
2/11/08: Howard Wolfson: “I Think We Will Be Ahead In The Delegate Race After Texas And Ohio.” [Clinton campaign conference call]
2/13/08: Clinton Chief Strategist Mark Penn: “After March 4th, over 3000 delegates will be committed, and we project that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be virtually tied with 611 delegates still to be chosen in Pennsylvania and other remaining states. Again and again, this race has shown that it is voters and delegates who matter, not the pundits or perceived ‘momentum.’” [Mark Penn memo]
2/13/08: Clinton aide Guy Cecil: “We think that at the end of the day on March 4 we will be within 25 delegates.” [to Politico]
2/22/08: “Clinton advisers have said Mrs. Clinton must win the Texas and Ohio primaries by at least 10 percentage points if she has any hope of catching up with Mr. Obama in the delegate count, particularly because he has shown momentum recently at picking up support from elected officials who count as superdelegates.” [NYTimes]
And today, they signaled she’d stay in the race if she wins TX and OH, even if she gains no ground in delegates at all.
They did not mention what the plans are for winning OH and RI but losing TX and VT, which is how the polls are tilting slightly to now.
Marc Ambinder covered what kind of delegate math it would take, with Clinton behind till the final primary, even if she could meet Ambinder’s projections.
Meanwhile, enjoy this parody from Ben Smith of Politico:
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More spoofs than you can take can be found here.
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March 4th, 2008 at 5:53 am
By now you’ve read Clinton’s outrageous formulation of the coming general election:
“I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002,” Clinton says.
Rachel Maddow nails it: “That’s what you say when you want to be John McCain’s Vice Presidential choice. That’s not what you say when you are trying to become the democratic nominee for president.”
So there you have it: if Obama wins the nomination, McCain will runs Hillary’s quote in his ads — and/or nominates her as his VP pick.
And if Clinton wins the nomination, she’ll spend the rest of the campaign trying to out-McCain McCain. Bottom line? Why vote for Clinton when you can get the real thing: McCain.
Thanks, Mark Penn.