Election Analysis: Obama – Between Super Tuesday and The Ohio and Texas Primaries

The first test of the Clinton campaign’s upbeat public face came on Tuesday, February 19th, in the Wisconsin primary. Two days before the Wisconsin vote on February 17th, the Bloomerg News agency reported rather ominous news in regard to Hillary Clinton’s position in the large states of Wisconsin and Texas. That “Barack Obama picked up key newspaper endorsements in Wisconsin and Texas yesterday as he and Hillary Clinton compete for delegates in states that may help determine which candidate wins the Democratic presidential nomination.” The newspapers were the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the largest daily newspaper in Wisconsin, and the Houston Chronicle, the largest daily newspaper in Texas. The former explained its support for Obama in the Wisconsin primary because “change and experience are crucial to moving this country forward,” and it went on to identify Senator Obama as “best-equipped to deliver that change.” The latter also explained its support for Obama in the forthcoming Texas primary in March by characterizing Senator Obama as “the best-qualified by life experience, skill, and temperament to be the standard bearer for his party.”

Obama’s victory in the Potomac primary last week, the headlines over reports in major newspapers graphically announced Barack Obama’s Wisconsin victory. In the Wall Street Journal (February 20, 2008): “ Obama Holds Off Clinton In Wisconsin.” In the New York Times (February 20, 2008): “Wisconsin Voters Hand Obama A Victory—His Ninth In A Row.” And in the USA Today (February 20, 2008): “Obama Adds To Victory Streak.”