Hillary Clinton’s Texas and Ohio firewalls held Tuesday, and she regained some crucial momentum — but was it really enough to put her back in contention?
As Democratic strategist Jim Jordan pointed out, “Her durability is impressive if not astonishing, but she is still looking at some pretty cold, hard numbers in the race.†Clinton would need to win by landslide margins — more than 60 percent — in remaining states to overtake Barack Obama in pledged delegate counts. He called the prospects of her nomination, even with wins in Texas and Ohio, “impossible, really.â€
Still, Clinton can now argue that she’s proved she can win most of the big blue states and some important swing states such as Ohio, and that neither candidate can win outright on earned delegates. So it all comes down to superdelegate arm-twisting.
It’s still a long shot for her, but impossible? I’m not so sure.
Obama’s campaign has to be rattled and disappointed by this missed opportunity to put her away. Once again, it raises the question: Can Obama close the deal with voters? He’s still not there.
