Tweaking Lanny

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: May 6, 2008

GOP strategist Alex Castellanos said that tonight’s results indicate “the beginning of the end of the Clinton era” and that he can’t see the rationale the Clinton campaign will have to go on. If that wasn’t enough to send Lanny Davis into a rabid, grumbling babble, Castellanos added that to bring the nomination contest to a close, Democrats may have to—“irony of ironies”—bring in Al Gore to negotiate a truce.

Davis responded after the commercial break that Democrats should be asking why Obama couldn’t “close the deal” in Indiana. Also, he said, all the folks of both political stripes that he talks to in green rooms at all the cable networks agree privately that Clinton is the stronger candidate against John McCain, nationally and in expected battleground states.

David Gergen made the point that had Michigan and Florida had been allowed to vote “correctly,“ Clinton would have done well and might well be leading in the popular vote.

Donna Brazile challenged Davis to accept that it’s time to bring the party together and that 93 percent of pledged delegates have been allocated; Davis responded with his characteristic rejection of reality, stating, “Those poll numbers are why I believe Hillary Clinton is gong to be the nominee.“ Apparently, Davis still believes that superdelegates should hand the nomination to Clinton, primary results notwithstanding. He noted the “demographic statistics” in the states Obama lost and said they are the same reason he will not win Indiana tonight: “He has not connected with our base,“ he said.

Then the set took on the look of CNN’s old show, Crossfire:

“Who is the base?“ Brazile asked, emphasizing that Obama is winning in huge margins among African-Americans; are they not the base of the party?
Jamal Simmons asked whether anyone believed that Clinton is going to win white middle class men in the general election. “Primary results are tenuously connected to general election results,“ he said.
Davis shot back, “Does anyone believe that Obama is going to win in Idaho, in Utah or in Kansas?“ arguing that Obama isn’t going to win in traditionally red states.
Simmons responded that Obama’s huge advantage among African-American voters means that he can make traditionally red states, especially in the South, competitive in a way that Clinton simply can’t.

Roland Martin chimed in that because of his broad-based appeal, Obama’s nomination will mean that other states will be in play. “If your basis is polls that say she can beat John McCain, then why even have a primary?

“You have to win on the field,“ he said.