There are some pretty big changes happening out there with the voters. Barack Obama recently declared himself the frontrunner in the race, although there are 10 contests remaining and MI and FL have not yet been decided. But a look at the polls shows that Sen. Obama’s lead nationally with Democrats has been evaporating. The Gallup daily tracking poll shows Hillary leading Sen. Obama among Democrats by 7 points, and the latest Zogby/Reuters poll has Sen. Obama’s lead down from 14 points last month to just 3 points now. This suggests a strong swing in momentum in the race to Hillary since the Texas and Ohio primaries earlier this month.

The more that the voters learn about Barack Obama, the more his ability to beat John McCain is declining compared to Hillary. For a long time we have explained that poll numbers for a candidate who has not yet been vetted or tested are not firm numbers, and we are beginning to see that clearly. Just a month ago, the Obama campaign claimed that the polls showed Barack Obama doing better than Hillary against Sen. McCain. Now such numbers are a lot harder to find.

In the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, Hillary leads John McCain by 5 points (Hillary 51 / McCain 46) while Sen. Obama is only 2 points ahead of Sen. McCain (Obama 49 / McCain 47). This is a reversal from February, when Sen. McCain led Hillary by 4 points. The latest CNN poll also shows that Hillary leads Sen. McCain by a bigger margin than Barack Obama.

In several key states, Hillary is a stronger general election candidate than Barack Obama against John McCain. For example, the latest Survey USA poll has Hillary leading Sen. McCain by 6 points in Ohio while Sen. Obama trails Sen. McCain by 7 points. In Kentucky, Hillary’s margin against Sen. McCain is 26 points better than Barack Obama’s. In Missouri, Sen. Obama lags John McCain by 14 points while Hillary comes within 2 points of Sen. McCain. In Florida, the latest PPP poll shows Barack Obama losing to John McCain by 11 points while Hillary comes within 4 points of Sen. McCain. Last week's University of Central Arkansas poll showed Hillary leading Sen. Sen. McCain by 15 points in that state while Sen. Obama trails Sen. McCain by 16 points. And the latest Rasmussen poll showed Hillary leading Sen. McCain by 11 points in New Jersey while Sen. Obama trails Sen. McCain by 2 points.

Moreover, 24 percent of Florida Democrats say that if Florida's delegates are not counted at the Democratic convention in August, they are less likely to vote for a Democrat in November, according to the latest St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald poll. Since Florida is the single largest and most important swing state in the country and nearly 1.8 million Florida Democrats voted in the January primary, Democrats must find a solution to allow Florida's delegates to count if we are to have any hope of winning in November.

And in the crucial state of Pennsylvania – the next Democratic primary battleground and the biggest state which has not yet voted – the latest Quinnipiac poll shows Hillary doubling her Democratic primary lead over Barack Obama from 6 points to 12 points. In Pennsylvania, Hillary improved among men, maintained her 24 point advantage among women, and improved among younger, older, more educated and less educated voters. She leads in every region across the state (NE, SE, NW, SW, Central, Alleghany) with the exception of Philadelphia.

Ultimately, this Democratic nominating process is meant to select the candidate who will: a) be the best president – the best commander-in-chief, steward of the economy, and exercise leadership; b) defeat John McCain; and c) promote and defend core Democratic principles such as universal health care. On all three fronts, Hillary is the best choice for the Democratic Party.

Hillary is the runaway leader on most qualified to be commander-in-chief. In the Ohio exit poll, 60 percent of Democratic primary voters said Hillary was most qualified to be commander-in-chief, compared with 37 percent for Barack Obama. In Texas, she led by 16 points, and in most other states, she led by 10 points or more. She also won among those who said the economy was the most important issue – by 12 points in Ohio, for example. And in the latest CNN poll, more voters say Hillary would do a good job on the economy than Barack Obama or John McCain. Finally, in the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, Hillary leads Barack Obama on strong and decisive leadership, managing the government effectively and having a clear plan for solving the country’s problems

Nonsense.

Obama survived that the absurd sliming campaign trying to wrap the words of a preacher around his neck. He came out smelling like a rose given the ferocity of the attack. Witness the Bill Richardson endorsement.

Hillary lost. If she wants to save herself any future in politics she should step aside pronto and help Obama whup Grandpa McCain.

you just cant STAND another point of view can you?

typical idiot hope head campaign of hope shit

what bull

Because I disagree with it means I "cannot stand it"?

Anyway, when you gonna 'fess up to being a Pug?

Don't be bashful...

dems rock:

you just cant STAND another point of view can you?

typical idiot hope head campaign of hope shit

what bull

While I like your outcome personally, I just can't see it as being possible. First, she can not catch him on delegates. This means she can only beat him in the popular vote and that is a huge feat as he has 700,000 votes more than her at the moment.

Let's just say for the sake of argument she does catch him in the popular vote, this will set the stage for a Dem. civil war as Obama fans will feel cheated and will leave the party. This isn't just dangerous for this election but for the longevity of the party. Obama may not beat McCain, but I don't think the supers will risk splitting the party to put the better candidate in there.

Commander Guy:

Nonsense.

Obama survived that the absurd sliming campaign trying to wrap the words of a preacher around his neck. He came out smelling like a rose given the ferocity of the attack. Witness the Bill Richardson endorsement.

Hillary lost. If she wants to save herself any future in politics she should step aside pronto and help Obama whup Grandpa McCain.

cmon

you have a freakin COW everytime someone says ANYTHING in favor of hillary

what bull

It's over for Hillary. And if the superdelegates thought Hillary was actually "the better candidate" they would put her in there, But they don't, and they won't.

I'd be very surprised if she doesn't bail out soon. She's running out of money, and running out of cred.

Commander Guy:

Because I disagree with it means I "cannot stand it"?

Anyway, when you gonna 'fess up to being a Pug?

Don't be bashful...

dems rock:

you just cant STAND another point of view can you?

typical idiot hope head campaign of hope shit

what bull

ps the con shit aint working anymore

did ya notice???? FOOL

your a FOOL commander

.

dems rock:

Commander Guy:

Nonsense.

Obama survived that the absurd sliming campaign trying to wrap the words of a preacher around his neck. He came out smelling like a rose given the ferocity of the attack. Witness the Bill Richardson endorsement.

Hillary lost. If she wants to save herself any future in politics she should step aside pronto and help Obama whup Grandpa McCain.

cmon

you have a freakin COW everytime someone says ANYTHING in favor of hillary

what bull

Funny, but I don't recall mooing.

she is in it till june i think because she will go after the popular vote and continue to figure out how to seat the delegates of flordia. I see no reason for her to drop out as neither can reach the stated number of delegates to capture the nomination. She has waited for this moment her entire life and she is a fighter...I think she goes on.

I think I've already read it someplace else.

They will be mad for a moment and I think in part this is why Richardson endorsed Obama. He is setting up the scene to innoculate himself and hispanics from suffering any of the Obama supporters backlash. Because the super delegates know he is unelectable now due to the reverend problem.

He just is.

Hillary will win in enough key states and be close enough to keep her super delagte lead. With the polls shifting in her favor and his falling.

She will get the nomination.

The Obama backlash will occur. But by Convention time they will be more prepared to accept it.

She might well continue but I think she has nothing to gain at this point and everything to lose. If she continues touting McCain and slashing away at Obama the Dems will never forgive her. She'll be lucky to hold her Senate seat.

Jeff:

she is in it till june i think because she will go after the popular vote and continue to figure out how to seat the delegates of flordia. I see no reason for her to drop out as neither can reach the stated number of delegates to capture the nomination. She has waited for this moment her entire life and she is a fighter...I think she goes on.

I don't see that seen coming from the leadership with people like Pelosi and I don't see how Richardson going with Obama somehow shows Clinton is going to win. Most analysis says it was done to save the presumptive nominee from a free fall in the polls.