http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/05/politics/main3907555.shtml An excerpt:
(CBS) CBS News Political Consultant Monika L. McDermott analyzes Sen. Hillary Clinton's victories on Tuesday.
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Senator Hillary Clinton pulled out victories in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island tonight showing the same strengths she has throughout the electoral season among the Democratic Party's base voters. She stopped an 11-state winning streak by her opponent Senator Barack Obama by trumping his inspirational advantage with her message of policy.
Inspiration Versus Details
Clinton's recent emphasis on portraying Obama as an inspired speaker of little substance, compared to her depiction of herself as a serious policy wonk, appears to have paid off tonight. While voters saw Obama as the more inspiring of the two, he gained little, if any, electoral advantage from it.
Ohio voters chose Obama as the candidate more likely to inspire them about the future of the country - 32 percent said only Obama inspired them and 26 percent said only Clinton did. Another third of voters said both provided them with inspiration. In sum, 64 percent of voters rated Obama as inspirational and 58 percent rated Clinton as such.
Obama's inspirational advantage, however, did not translate into a proportionate vote advantage. While Obama won 64 percent of those voters rating him as inspirational, Clinton won 80 percent of those who thought she was inspirational.
Texas' Democratic primary voters showed the same attitudes and behavior - 64 percent rated Obama as inspirational and 59 percent rated Clinton so. Among the former group Clinton won 34 percent of the vote, and among the latter she received a disproportionate 76 percent.
In contrast, Clinton's successful promotion of herself as having a clear and detailed plan to solve the country's problems did translate into an electoral advantage. In Ohio, 28 percent said that Clinton was the only one of the two candidates offering such a plan, while 15 percent said Obama was the only one, and another 40 percent said both had offered clear problem-solving plans.
Overall in Ohio, 68 percent felt Clinton had offered clear plans and 55 percent felt Obama had. Similarly, in Texas 66 percent said Clinton offered a clear plan and 53 percent said Obama had. In both states, each candidate won roughly two-thirds of those rating them as having problem-solving plans, providing Clinton a mathematical edge overall.
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Looking Forward
Clinton's victories mean a continued battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. But while some argue that an extended the race only stands to harm the eventual candidate and tear the party apart, the exit polls say otherwise. Voters still see both candidates as acceptable party nominees, despite the long campaign to date.
On Super Tuesday, February 5th, 72 percent of Democratic voters across the country said they would be satisfied with Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee, and 70 percent said the same about Obama. In Ohio and Texas four weeks and a lot of campaigning later, the numbers are virtually unchanged. Seventy-one percent of Ohio voters and 70 percent of Texas voters said they would be satisfied with a Clinton nomination. Sixty-nine percent of Ohioans and 66 percent of Texans said the same of Obama.
Additionally, there has been little change in perceptions of the negativity of the campaigns. In the Super Tuesday states, 50 percent of voters felt that Clinton had attacked Obama unfairly, and 38 percent felt Obama had attacked Clinton unfairly. Four weeks later, the numbers are 54 percent and 37 percent respectively in Ohio, and 52 percent and 35 percent in Texas.
theres more at the link...
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