Sure, many of us are down right right now. There is no doubt we lost the media spin battle on this one. Folks put her over/under around 8-9 points, she nearly got 10 and she has bragging rights, some new cash, and day of good headlines.
There's just one problem with this analysis. Despite Wright, despite Bittergate, despite the ABC Debate, despite triple teaming by Hillary, McCain, and the media, exits polls show that Obama improved his performance among voters earning <50K/year, white voters, rural voters, and seniors compared to OH. These improvements in voter groups considered weaker for him were what allowed him to keep this race at the same 10 point deficit he had in Ohio, despite the fact that PA is older, whiter, and more rural than Ohio. </p>
If you are a superdelegate looking at the PA results in terms of electability, you should be somewhat pleasantly surprised that Obama managed to improve his standing among these groups despite all the crap thrown at him in the last six weeks.
The exit poll data for Ohio and PA tell it all:
Voters earning less than $50,000 per year:
OH: 56% C 42% O
PA: 54% C 46% O
White voters:
OH: 64% C 34% O
PA: 63% C 38% O
White Democrats
OH: 70% C 27% O
PA: 64%c 36% O
Rural Voters:
OH: 70% C 26%O
PA: 62% C 38% O
Age 65+
OH: 72% C 26% O
PA: 67% C 37% C
So, to recap:
Despite Wright, Obama went up with whites.
Despite Bittergate, Obama went up with rural voters.
Despite his bowling score, he went up with voters making less than 50K/year
Limited by a closed primary, Obama kept his OH deficit constant by improving his performance among white democrats.
Having to face the second oldest electorate in the nation, Obama improved his appeal to seniors.
So while we, the media, superdelegates, and others can focus on the burning question of whether a 10 point win is really all that different from a 5 point win in terms of our expectations, there are some cold hard facts to consider here.
Obama did better in his weaker demographic groups in PA than OH despite all the crap that was thrown at him.
So, let's not hang our heads in shame like the media and the Clinton people want us too.
PA may not have knocked Hillary out, but it showed that Obama may be made of teflon and that is why he is going to win in November even with all the crap the Republicans will throw at him.