Into The Night, And The Democrats Are Still Searching For A Nominee
Senators Obama and Clinton don’t give victory speeches, but they don’t concede either.
The Democratic presidential nomination was still in doubt, following yesterday’s slew of cross-country primaries, putting to rest any idea that the historic run-off would see one candidate emerge the clear favorite.
Super Tuesday’s results trickled in across the country last night, with Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama facing wins and losses in a back-and-forth contest that seemed more like a chess match than a battle for their party’s nomination.
Each candidate was able to claim scores of delegates, as a record number of states held primaries. Still, it seemed that the candidates would have to endure critical contests in states that have not yet had their say. Even the possibility that the nomination would come down to the party’s convention in August remained strong. State-by-state, the candidates celebrated wins and conceded losses, but both Clinton and Obama spoke confidently about the way the night unfolded.
“You voted not just to make history but to remake America,” Clinton said from New York City, adding later, “This is the work of my life.”
Speaking from the Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios, Clinton said she was encouraged by her wins in states like New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Massachusetts – a state thought to be well within Obama’s grasp. Clinton addressed the cheering crowd hours before the votes had been tallied in California, – the state with the most delegates in play. At around midnight, she seemed headed for victory there.Just before midnight, Obama appeared at a rally in Chicago and made his own claim that the night had gone his way. It was an unusual evening in that sense – with no clear winners and no concession speeches. Obama won in several states, including Idaho, Delaware, Georgia, and his home state, Illinois.
He said that, “what began as a whisper in Springfield,” had swelled into a mandate for change. “This time we have to turn the page. This time we have to write a new chapter in American history.”
Regardless of who wins the party’s nomination, the Democrats will inevitably make a historical choice. Their nominee will either be the first woman and the wife of a former President, or the first African-American to lead a major party’s ticket.
The significance of the nomination has been accentuated by the record-breaking turnout at the polls, far exceededing turnout for the Republicans. South Carolina saw nearly twice the Democratic turnout of 2004. Three times as many Iowans shifted their party affiliation to the Democrats as the number of Iowans who shifted to the Republicans.
Over the last several months, supporters openedtheir wallets in record numbers. Just last month, Obama tapped 170,000 new contributors and raked in $32 million, doubling the highest previous one-month total for any candidate in this election season.
Obama has pronounced himself the candidate of change, a man who may not have Clinton’s experience but who will tackle the country’s tough domestic issues and restore America’s standing in the world. Clinton has positioned herself as the seasoned veteran, a woman whose experience in the Senate and as First Lady makes her an ideal candidate to lead the country out of economic downturn and a low point on the world stage.
The candidates’ policy positions are essentially pages from the same book, and the campaigns have worked hard to distinguish one from the other and establish their candidate’s electability. In some ways, that, more than any of the issues, has set the tone of the nomination contest.
In their debates, especially after the field was pared to two, they seemed to behave as a tandem and were less adversarial in their arguments. It became clearer that they differed less in their goals than in their proposals for how to achieve those goals.
Both candidates say they would roll back Bush’s tax cuts on the most affluent and redirect the cuts to midde- and lower-class Americans. Both have proposed billion-dollar plans to expand health coverage and move the country towards universal coverage, though Clinton’s plan would require all Americans to acquire coverage while Obama’s would require insurance only for children.
Even the Iraq war has proven to be a less divisive issue, though Obama – who has been consistently against the war – is keen to point out that while Clinton now opposes the war, she voted in support of Bush’s 2002 resolution in the Senate.
But the past nine months have not simply been about change, experience, and how to achieve policy objectives. The run-up to the historic Super Tuesday has been punctuated by a number of emotionally charged moments, allowing voters to familiarize themselves with the candidates outside the façades of the campaign machinery.
Just a day before the New Hampshire primary, Clinton spoke haltingly of her personal connection to the election and the country, saying that her bid for the nomination had nothing to do with winning a political game.
In Obama, his supporters have been drawn to what they see as his unwavering gracefulness and charisma. Though on stage he strikes a composed demeanor, his speeches and rallies often have the air of a rock concert.
Still, he and Clinton have had their moments. During a Jan. 5 debate, Obama dismissed Clinton as “likeable enough” and was accused of snubbing her at the State of the Union address. In any case, the dynamics of the race certainly changed after the other candidates dropped out one by one. It was not that long ago that the field included Senator Christopher Dodd, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, and Dennis Kucinich, a congressman from Ohio. Though Senator John Edwards exited the contest after a series of third-place finishes in Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Nevada, and Michigan, he influenced the tone of the campaigns by introducing a number of policy initiatives.
After last night, there still seemed to be a long stretch ahead to the nomination. Nearly two dozen states remain on the primary slate, and a clear sense of who would be nominated remained elusive.