After Hillary Clinton's started airing a commercial in Wisconsin questioning why Barack Obama declined to appear in another debate, Obama came back with his own ad. The voiceover says:
After eighteen debates, with two more coming, Hillary says Barack Obama is ducking debates? It's the same old politics, the phony charges, and false attacks. On health care, even Bill Clinton's own labor secretary [Robert Reich] even says Obama covers "more people" than Hillary and does more to cut costs, saving $2500 for the typical family. Obama's housing plan it stems foreclosures and cracks down on crooked lenders. That's change we can believe in.
Provisional votes in New Mexico, which had its caucus on Super Tuesday, were finally counted and Clinton officially won the caucus, 48.8% to Obama's 47.6%. Clinton received one more delegate, earning a total of 14 to Obama's 12. The delegate counts vary depending on the media outlet (as MSNBC explains, the differences are due to "how they account for states that have held caucuses but have not yet chosen their delegates, and how they project the apportionment of delegates within congressional districts where the vote was close."): The AP says Obama has 1,276 and Clinton has 1,220, while NBC says Obama has 1,116 and Clinton has 985.
The fight for delegates and superdelegates continues. The NY Times reports that Representative John Lewis of Georgia, "one of Hillary Clinton's most prominent black supporters" will cast his superdelegate vote for Obama. The influential Congressman said, "In recent days, there is a sense of movement and a sense of spirit. Something is happening in America and people are prepared and ready to make that great leap.”
Clinton made a campaign stop at a GM plant in Ohio, attacking Obama's record. Clinton's advisers are reportedly prepared to demand Florida's and Michigan's delegates be seated. The Democratic National Committee stripped them of their delegates when they held their contests early and none of the candidates campaigned there; Clinton won both states.
The NAACP's Julian Bond also believes the delegates should be awarded, but the Reverend Al Sharpton sent a letter to the DNC, threatening to organize a march in Washington D.C. if this happened. Sharpton's letter read, "I firmly believe that changing the rules now...at this point would not only violate the Democratic Party's rules of fairness, but also would be a grave injustice."
Good news for Obama/bad news for Clinton, the big labor union Service Employees International Union is set to support Obama. Oh, and in the Republican race, Mitt Romney has endorsed John McCain; Romney said, "Even when the contest was close and our disagreements were debated, the caliber of the man was apparent."
