Sen. Barack Obama and wife Michelle talk with journalists onboard his campaign plane from Houston to San Antonio, Texas, on March 4, 2008. (Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
by John McCormick
SAN ANTONIO – Sen. Barack Obama said today that he is prepared to campaign “as long as it takes” to win his party’s nomination, as he flew here to await tonight’s key election results in Texas, Ohio and other states.
An Obama campaign source, meanwhile, said internal tracking at voting locations in Texas through midday shows strong turnout, especially in African-American precincts.
The source said turnout is lower than projected in heavily Latino precincts and slightly higher than expected in areas heavy with students. Austin and Dallas are reportedly seeing some of the state’s strongest turnout.
Speaking from the aisle of his campaign plane, Obama tried to lower expectations and looked toward nominating contests that come within the next week.
“I think it is very, very tight,” he said. “We started 20 points behind in Texas and Ohio. We’ve closed the gap. But, you know, whether it’s going to be enough to actually win is going to depend on what the turnout looks like in both states. We know that there’s not going to be a huge shift in delegates, one way or the other, just given the math, which means that, you know, either way we’ll go on to Mississippi and Wyoming next week.”
Obama said he believes the pledged delegate lead that he now has will be difficult for Sen. Hillary Clinton to overcome.
“When we were winning those 11 races in a row, the theory was they had to blow us out in Texas and Ohio and I don’t think that is going to happen,” he said. “But look, she is a tenacious and determined candidate and so, you know, we’re just going to make sure that we work as hard as we can as long as it takes.”
He made no mention of Pennsylvania, which holds its primary on April 22 and where Clinton is believed to have a lead.
Obama also blamed the media for some of his troubles in recent days, something he likes to do when he stumbles.
“I am a little surprised that all the complaining about the refs has actually worked as well as it has for them,” he said. “This whole spin of …how the press has just been so tough on them and not tough on us…I didn’t expect that you guys would bite on that. But, you know, it is what it is.”
Obama said he does not think his party has been hurt by an extended nominating contest.
“The Democratic Party is pretty unified right now, in terms of issues,” he said. “There’s going to be such a sharp contrast with John McCain that I think that Democrats will be solidified….My theory is that withstanding some of the attacks that have been coming our way the last couple week will just make us stronger. It’s good preparation…It’s like training camp, if I end up being the nominee.”
Obama said he believes the campaign has been “pretty negative” over the last couple weeks.
“There’s no doubt that we’re being attacked every day,” he said, adding that he believes it creates a “sense of turbulence in the minds of people.”
Calling it his campaign’s “most important contest,” Obama repeated his past statements that he learned a “good lesson” from his loss in New Hampshire and that “hype” can be a dangerous thing because it breeds complacency. “We are going to have to earn this victory,” he said.
Obama said he believes most superdelegates are willing to wait and see what happens in the upcoming states.
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“I think right now, many of them are watching and seeing what the voters decide…You heard Bill Richardson on Sunday talk about how, for him, and I think others, we need to bring this to a close, is going to be important. But, obviously, we don’t want to jump the gun. We’re still competing hard in Ohio and Texas. Their votes matter. Rhode Island, Vermont, their votes matter. Mississippi, Wyoming, all those states that are coming up are going to make a difference. And what we want to do is just make sure that we’re competing in every single state…We believe in campaigning in states.”
Spending the day with her husband, Michelle Obama said she has no concerns about her husband not being able to take a political punch.
“This is a tough game, you know. I mean, this is how it goes,” she said. “This hasn’t been anything other than what we expected. So, you know, you gotta be ready for tough questions and I think he’s handled himself well…He’s been pretty cool, calm and collected through this whole year, most of which he’s been down in the polls. He wasn’t supposed to be here…He’s shown his toughness.”