After her rally at Salish Kootenai College on Tuesday, the New York senator said she is moving her campaign forward with optimism, guided by the belief that when the final primary elections are held and all state delegates weigh in, Democrats also will realize she is the best candidate to beat John McCain in the November election.
Despite the grueling campaign trail and its exhaustive schedule, on Tuesday, Clinton appeared as focused and vibrant as she did in April when she spoke at a Missoula rally. One-on-one, she talked enthusiastically about where her campaign goes next.
“Where do we go from here? We go forward to Puerto Rico on Sunday, we go forward to Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday.” The Montana and South Dakota primaries are the last in the nation.
“We hope there will be a fair and just resolution in Michigan and Florida, perhaps on Saturday. And then, what we have, I believe, is my winning the popular vote. Senator Obama having a slight lead among delegates, and everyone having to determine who they think is the stronger candidate against John McCain - and consistently, every poll that has been done, every analysis proves that I am.”
On Wednesday, lawyers for the national Democratic Party recommended that only half the delegates from Michigan and Florida be seated at the party's national convention in August in Denver. Those two states were under threat of losing their delegates to the convention because they moved up their primaries against party rules. Obama pulled his name from the Michigan ballot after the move. The party's Rules Committee meets Saturday to decide whether to seat the delegates.
Clinton said in Tuesday's interview that “Democrats just have to make a decision as to who they believe can actually take back the White House. If you look at the electoral votes that I am likely to win, I can hit the 270 majority needed because of the states I have won and the swing states that I have won. And I can beat John McCain. The analysis from (an election firm led by former President Bush adviser) Karl Rove to Gallup to Quinnipiac - all these other polls show that I can. And consistently in the states that Democrats have to win, Senator Obama loses to Senator McCain.
“That's why this election in Montana is so important.”
A May 14 Quinnipiac University poll showed that either Obama or Clinton would defeat McCain, with Obama besting McCain 47 percent to 40 percent and Clinton polling 46 percent to 41 percent over McCain. A Gallup Poll released Wednesday showed that Clinton outperformed Obama against McCain in the 20 states where she won primaries or caucuses; while in the 28 states and the District of Columbia where Obama bested Clinton, both Democrats would be virtually tied with McCain if the election were held today.
Meanwhile, a Lee Newspapers poll last week showed that McCain would defeat either Obama or Clinton if the Montana election were held now.
McCain would defeat Clinton by 51 percent to 40 percent, with 9 percent undecided, if the election were held today, the poll showed. And, it showed McCain ahead of Obama by 47 percent to 39 percent, with 14 percent undecided.
The Lee poll, taken May 19-21, also showed that Obama leads Clinton by 52 percent to 35 percent among likely Democratic voters.
“I know that (Obama) has a big base of support here in western Montana. I am well aware of that,” Clinton said Tuesday. “He does very well in university communities and other places. But I want Democrats to think hard about who is the stronger candidate against John McCain. We have not gone through this unprecedented, historic close election not to win in November.”
Clinton, who has lobbied fiercely to have the Michigan and Florida delegates counted, added that “right now, I defeat John McCain in both Florida and Michigan by comfortable margins and he defeats Barack by comfortable margins. I win Kentucky and West Virginia, which may seem like they are a long way from Montana, but Democrats don't win if we don't carry those states.”
Clinton said she came to Pablo because she respects how SKC President Joe McDonald has grown the tribal college and the legacy of service it represents.
The visit was yet another opportunity to speak about Indian Country concerns with tribal members, which are issues, she said, “that I have been involved with and worked on for a number of years and are not new to me in this campaign.”
Clinton also explained the visit was an opportunity for her to let western Montana know what she would do as president.
“There is so much misinformation and confusion that sometimes gets stirred up in the election,” she said, “and I just wanted people to have a chance to hear from me directly.”
Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com.
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