The last few days I’ve been watching the Gallup Daily Tracking Poll as Obama has narrowed the gap. Today we see what I had feared would happen with Clinton showing receiving a bump from Edwards leaving the race in the first three day tracking poll completed after Edwards left. Obama remains well ahead of where he was a week ago, but it is disappointing that this is the first day in over a week that he has not moved up at all.
These polls only offer a rough predictor of how things will go on Super Tuesday. All the caveats I discussed yesterday continue to apply. With only a short time until Super Tuesday it remains unclear whether Obama can pass Clinton by then, but he is certainly in striking range. He continues to show signs of receiving new support. The endorsement from La Opinion might help overcome Clinton’s advantage among Latino voters. For the first time since 1972 The Los Angeles Times has endorsed a presidential candidate, supporting Obama:
The U.S. senator from Illinois distinguishes himself as an inspiring leader who cuts through typical internecine campaign bickering and appeals to Americans long weary of divisive and destructive politics. He electrifies young voters, not because he is young but because he embodies the desire to move to the next chapter of the American story. He brings with him deep knowledge of foreign relations and of this nation’s particular struggles with identity and opportunity. His flair for expression, both in print and on the stump, too easily leads observers to forget that Obama is a man not just of style but of substance. He’s a thoughtful student of the Constitution and an experienced lawmaker in his home state and, for the last three years, in the Senate.
The editorial looks at Clinton’s experience but notes that, “experience has value only if it is accompanied by courage and leads to judgment.” Her support for the Iraq war represents an example of Clinton’s lack of judgment:
Nowhere was that judgment more needed than in 2003, when Congress was called upon to accept or reject the disastrous Iraq invasion. Clinton faced a test and failed, joining the stampede as Congress voted to authorize war. At last week’s debate and in previous such sessions, Clinton blamed Bush for abusing the authority she helped to give him, and she has made much of the fact that Obama was not yet in the Senate and didn’t face the same test. But Obama was in public life, saw the danger of the invasion and the consequences of occupation, and he said so. He was right.
There remains a few more days for arguments such as this to bring more voters over to Obama’s side. It does not look like either candidate will be able to win by enough to settle the nomination on Super Tuesday, and the calendar does favor Obama for the remainder of February if he can remain close to Clinton on Tuesday.
