FIRST THOUGHTS: OBAMA GOES 10-0 - Analysis

[groovedaddy]

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Obama goes 10-0: The best way to end two days of tough press coverage? You go out and win a contested state -- and a general election battleground, to boot -- by 17 points. That’s exactly what Obama did in Wisconsin yesterday, and when you add his victory late last night in Hawaii, he’s now an eye-popping 10-0 since February 5. What’s more, every single win after Super Tuesday has been in the double digits, the narrowest margin being last night’s 17-point win. Yes, Obama outspent Clinton in Wisconsin. Yes, he campaigned in the state longer than she did. And, yes, Madison is full of potential Obama base supporters: college students and highly educated adults. But demographically, Wisconsin was a perfect place for Clinton to stop Obama’s momentum. And she tried with negative TV ads (hitting Obama on health care, Social Security, and not participating in debates), mailings (slamming him on health care and his “present” votes), and a well-timed oppo hit (on Obama lifting lines from Deval Patrick’s speeches). And still, per the exit polls, Obama won among those who decided on Election Day (though it was closer), as well as in the last three days. There's an argument that some in the Clinton campaign can make that the negative stuff was just starting to work. Then again, it was a 17-point win...
>
*** Buckeye Bill? Bill Clinton campaigns today and tomorrow in Texas. But just asking: Will we see him stump for his wife in Ohio? Because of NAFTA? According to the exit polls in Wisconsin, a whopping 72% said that trade with other countries takes more jobs from the state -- rather than creates them -- and Obama won those folks by a 57%-41% margin.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/20/684156.aspx?GT1=10856