For Democrats, 'dead heat' primary dead ahead
Indiana, N.C. set for crucial votes Tuesday
INDIANAPOLIS - Sen. Barack Obama predicted a close outcome in the critical Indiana primary as he and Sen. Hillary Clinton on Monday made their final, frantic pitches in Indiana and North Carolina.
"This is going to be a tight race," Obama said while meeting union workers in Evansville. "Every poll shows a dead heat."
Tuesday's Democratic presidential primaries in Indiana and North Carolina will serve as something of a referendum on just how much Obama has been hurt by recent statements by his longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
The comments have received extensive coverage within the Chicago media market, which covers 20 percent of Indiana's expected Democratic vote, so extra attention will be paid to the outcome in northwest Indiana.
Clinton's campaign has suggested the Wright controversy makes a weaker general election candidate out of Obama, who has responded by downsizing his events in recent days and playing basketball across Indiana.
The two contests - which appear to be the closest since those held two months ago in Texas and Ohio - are vital in Clinton's efforts to keep her presidential bid, lagging in money and delegates, alive.
On the airwaves and at rallies, the candidates and their surrogates continued their fight over the merits of a proposal for a federal gas tax holiday this summer, the signature issue in the past week.
Obama has suggested the idea amounts to political pandering, while Clinton has countered that her support of the proposal shows she is more in touch with the needs of working-class voters.
"This is your time, Indiana," Clinton told several hundred people at a firehouse in Merrillville, a ladder truck serving as a stage backdrop.
Despite the perceived closeness of the Indiana race, both candidates spent significant portions of their day in North Carolina, even though Obama had appeared to have a solid lead there just a few weeks ago.
In Durham, N.C., Obama said the Democratic race has been tame compared to what a general election contest would likely be like with presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain.
"As many attempts to knock us off stride as we've had, the fact that we're still standing here and still moving forward toward the nomination, I think, indicates the degree to which the core message of this campaign is the right one," he said.
Clinton's campaign said it believes her increasingly populist message of recent days is paying dividends.
"We believe that we've got things moving in the right direction in both states," strategist Geoff Garin said.
Tribune, May 6, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS - Sen. Barack Obama predicted a close outcome in the critical Indiana primary as he and Sen. Hillary Clinton on Monday made their final, frantic pitches in Indiana and North Carolina.
"This is going to be a tight race," Obama said while meeting union workers in Evansville. "Every poll shows a dead heat."
Tuesday's Democratic presidential primaries in Indiana and North Carolina will serve as something of a referendum on just how much Obama has been hurt by recent statements by his longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
The comments have received extensive coverage within the Chicago media market, which covers 20 percent of Indiana's expected Democratic vote, so extra attention will be paid to the outcome in northwest Indiana.
Clinton's campaign has suggested the Wright controversy makes a weaker general election candidate out of Obama, who has responded by downsizing his events in recent days and playing basketball across Indiana.
The two contests - which appear to be the closest since those held two months ago in Texas and Ohio - are vital in Clinton's efforts to keep her presidential bid, lagging in money and delegates, alive.
On the airwaves and at rallies, the candidates and their surrogates continued their fight over the merits of a proposal for a federal gas tax holiday this summer, the signature issue in the past week.
Obama has suggested the idea amounts to political pandering, while Clinton has countered that her support of the proposal shows she is more in touch with the needs of working-class voters.
"This is your time, Indiana," Clinton told several hundred people at a firehouse in Merrillville, a ladder truck serving as a stage backdrop.
Despite the perceived closeness of the Indiana race, both candidates spent significant portions of their day in North Carolina, even though Obama had appeared to have a solid lead there just a few weeks ago.
In Durham, N.C., Obama said the Democratic race has been tame compared to what a general election contest would likely be like with presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain.
"As many attempts to knock us off stride as we've had, the fact that we're still standing here and still moving forward toward the nomination, I think, indicates the degree to which the core message of this campaign is the right one," he said.
Clinton's campaign said it believes her increasingly populist message of recent days is paying dividends.
"We believe that we've got things moving in the right direction in both states," strategist Geoff Garin said.
Tribune, May 6, 2008
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