This may be one of the more important stories that we hear today. A loyal, prestigious Hillary superdelegate and surrogate has veered radically off message in terms of setting Pennsylvania expectations.
As you may have seen elsewhere, the narrowing Pennsylvania polls have led the Clinton campaign to once again move the goalposts on Obama, and to now argue that if Obama fails to win Pennsylvania, even by a small amount, he will have "failed."
However, New Jersey Governor John Corzine, a Hillary superdelegate and surrogate, has just gone out of his way to contradict the Hillary campaign, stating unequivocably that Hillary must win Pennsylvania big in order to credibly stay in the race:
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, a backer of Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, said the race for the Democratic nomination may be over if she fails to win big in Pennsylvania's April 22 primary.
``I think she needs a good, big win,'' Corzine said in an interview on CNBC today, describing himself as an ``aggressive supporter'' of the New York senator. ``You have to see a real cut into this popular vote, and I think she's going to get it.''
Ignore the boilerplate closing comment in support of Hillary. The real news is that one of Hillary's strongest supporters is subtly telling her that it's now or never in Pennsylvania, and she won't get another chance.
Incidentally, in my view, Corzine is a sleeper VP candidate for Obama. This year's election will be about the economy. Corzine is a former titan of Wall Street who is now a populist Governor. That's like being an anti-war general. And the fact that he's a Hillary supporter is a plus. Obama can pick him as part of his efforts to bring the party back together after Hillary drops out. And he's someone whom any voter could see in the Big Chair. Corzine for VP, I say.