Dave O Donnell's blog

Last week on a campaign swing through Pittsburgh, Senator John McCain discussed his fondness of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Under interrogation following his capture during the Vietnam War, Senator McCain claims that he gave the names of members of the 1967 Pittsburgh Steelers' Defensive Line. This claim seems innocent enough, but as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out:

...the Steelers of the late 1960s -- before the Steel Curtain and after the
retirement of Hall-of-Fame lineman Ernie Stautner -- were so unsuccessful, few
people outside their immediate families would claim knowing them.

When asked to recall the players names, unsurprisingly, Senator McCain couldn't remember Chuck Hinton, Ken Kortas, Ben McGee or Lloyd Voss.

In fact, the story seemed eerily familiar to those who read page 194 of Senator McCain's 1999 book, Faith of My Fathers. Except that the team, conference and even the side of the football had changed. In his book, Senator McCain's tail is that he gave the names of the Green Bay Packers' Offensive line.

So on his next trip to Jacksonville, FL, it can be expected that Senator McCain will keep with tradition and recall a story that involves the special teams of the 1967 Jacksonville Jaguars.

McCain, who said that the first thing he associates with the city of Pittsburgh is the Steelers, said, "I was a mediocre high school athlete and I loved and adored sports but the Steelers really made a huge impression on me, particularly in the early years." This claim could also be contested because the Steelers franchise had little success in their early days, not to mention the fact that the Steelers were not founded until 1933. Okay, so that might have been a stretch, but at least Senator McCain should've been able to recall future Supreme Court Justice Byron "Whizzer" White in the Steelers back field.

This morning, newspapers all across the globe are responding to this moment, and thanks to the Newseum, you can check out the front pages of 636 morning newspapers all around the world. My hometown of DuBois, PA, offers an evening daily, The Courier Express, so this is what my brother in Lancaster, PA, woke up to this morning:

One song has been stuck in my head since yesterday afternoon when news broke that Senator Obama would capture the Democratic Nomination in Minneapolis. So I offer you the 1991 hit by British Alt Rocker Jesus Jones, Right Here, Right Now.

I hope you will share with us the front page of your home town newspaper celebrating this historic day. If you have trouble adding your front page, please e-mail Travis Valentine.

Today, voters in sports-rich U.S. Territory Puerto Rico head to the polls to allocate its 55 delegates to the Democratic Convention in Denver. Voters from Rio Piedras, home of Golf Hall of Fame member Juan Antonio "Chi-Chi" Rodriguez, to Carolina, home to baseball legend and Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, will dodge scattered thundershowers as they head to the polls between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. AST (one hour ahead of ET).

With 55 Delegates up for grabs Puerto Rico is the biggest remaining prize this election season, and the candidates have spent significant time and resources trying to earn votes. Senator Obama launched what we believe to be the first ad in presidential politics where the likely nominee of either party spoke entirely in Spanish; and Senator Clinton is campaigning across the island on the back of a flat bed truck, going town to town and street to street to win over voters.

Polling has been very scarce and unreliable in Puerto Rico. Univision's poll from May 20th that showed Senator Clinton with a 19 point lead was the most recent public polling done on the race. The poll did not reflect likely voters and took place over a 12 day period in early May.

Presidential Primaries are not common in Puerto Rico - the last three have been cancelled because the nominee was already decided. Former President Bill Clinton was the last winner of the Puerto Rican Democratic presidential primary in 1992; Jesse Jackson won the island in 1988.

In 2004, 81.4% of registered voters turned out to vote for Puerto Rico's Governor, further proving that, historically, Puerto Rican voters rank among the worlds most active balloters. However, voters are frustrated and many plan to stay home rather than participate in what they deem an essentially unnecessary and nonbinding $2.5 million dollar election because Puerto Rico does not get to vote for the president in the general election.

Hoy los votantes en el territorio estadounidense de Puerto Rico, famoso por el gran número de deportistas exitosos de origen boricua, acuden a las urnas para consignar los 55 delegados del territorio a la Convención Demócrata en Denver.  Votantes de Rió Piedras, lugar de origen del golfista reconocido en el Salón de Fama Juan Antonio Chi-Chi Rodríguez, a Carolina, hogar de la leyenda de béisbol Roberto Clemente, van a ir a las urnas esquivando tormentas entre las horas de 8 a.m. y 3 p.m. AST.  

Con 55 Delegados en juego, Puerto Rico es el premio mayor en lo que resta de esta temporada electoral, y los candidatos han empleado bastante tiempo y recursos tratando de ganar votos.  El Senador Obama lanzó el primer comercial en la historia de política presidencial donde el probable nominado de un partido habla exclusivamente en español; y la Senadora Clinton esta haciendo campaña a lo largo de la isla subida en un remolque tocando música salsa, yendo de municipio a municipio y de calle a calle tratando de ganarse a los votantes.

Las encuestas han sido escasas y poco fiables en Puerto Rico.  Un sondeo de Univisión del 20 de Mayo demostrando que la Senadora Clinton llevaba una ventaja de 19 puntos sirvió como el sondeo público más reciente para la elección.  El sondeo no reflejó la opinión de votantes probables y se llevó acabo a lo largo de 12 días en Mayo.

Elecciones primarias no son comunes en Puerto Rico – las últimas tres fueron canceladas debido a que ya se había decidido el candidato nombrado por los partidos.  El ex-presidente Bill Clinton fue el último ganador de la elección primaria presidencial en Puerto Rico en 1992; Jesse Jackson ganó la elección primaria en la isla en 1988.

En el 2004, 81.4% de los votantes registrados salieron a votar para el gobernador de Puerto Rico, demostrando que, históricamente, los votantes Boricua se encuentran entre los participantes más activos del mundo.  Sin embargo, muchos votantes están frustrados con el proceso y piensan quedarse en casa en vez de participar en lo que ellos ven como una elección de $2.5 millones de dólares que es esencialmente inútil y no vinculante, ya que Puerto Rico no vota en la elección presidencial general en Noviembre. 

After the DNC rules committee decided that Florida and Michigan's delegates will be seated and count as half a vote each, the number needed to clinch the nomination has gone up to 2,117 and in turn each candidate's magic number has changed.

Based on the assumption that the remaining three states will break 55-45 for Senator Clinton, Senator Obama now needs 26 or 5% of the undeclared superdelegates to win the nomination.

With the decision by the rules committee today, Senator Clinton is still mathematically viable, but then again, mathematically the Kansas City Royals still have a chance to win the World Series. Senator Clinton needs 194 or 95% of the remaining superdelegates in order to sew up the nomination.

Go Pens!

Today, Senator Obama picked up 3 new endorsements, cutting the number of superdelgates needed down to 3. 

According to Daily Kos's delegate tracker, Senator Obama only needs 41 delegates to secure the nomination with 2,025 delegates.  NDN is projecting, based on past performances, that Senator Obama will recieve 45 percent of the vote in the remaining three primaries which will conclude on Tuesday, netting him 38 delegates.

As of this morning, West Virginia Rep. Alan Mollohan, Texas Democratic Chair Boyd Richie, and his wife and DNC Member Betty Richie all endorsed Senator Obama.  Senator Clinton was endorsed by Washington State Democratic Party vice-chair Eileen Macool.

Senator Joe Biden stopped just short of endorsing Senator Obama this morning, but did predict that the Junior Senator from Illinois will get the nomination and this morning in the Washington Times said that he will actively campaign for him in the general election.

This morning, Senator Obama picked up one superdelegate to cut his magic number down to seven based on NDN's postulation that Senator Obama will receive 45% of the vote in the three remaining primary states.

Oregon Education Association vice president Gail Rassmussen became the third superdelegate from the Beaver State to endorse in the past three days, citing Senator Obama's 18 point victory as their rational 

Daily Kos is keeping and up-to-date ticker of pledged delegates and superdelegates as the Democratic Primaries begin to wrap up this weekend with Sunday's Puerto Rican Primary, followed by contests in Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday, accounting for a combined 86 delegates.

With the news today that Meredith Wood Smith of Oregon and Pat Waak of Colorado, both Democratic Party Chairs and Superdelegates, have endorsed Senator Obama, the Kos chart suggests that Senator Obama's Magic Number is 46.

Although no polling is available for Puerto Rico, we can reasonably assert that Senator Obama will pick up no less than 45% of the vote in the final three elections of the primary season, which will net Senator Obama around 38 delegates. This cuts his magic number down to 8.

197 Superdelgates are still unpledged. If they play by Chairman Dean's rules and make their selection by June 3, we should see an average of 28 endorsements a day. Senator Obama needs to pick up 8 of these endorsements, or 4%.

Senator Obama may need more Superdelegates pending the results of this weekend's decision by the DNC Rules Committee. We will be tracking the magic number for Senator Obama and Senator Clinton every morning as more Superdelegates reveal themselves.

Last night, Hamilton Jordan, former White House Chief of Staff to President Carter passed away at his home in Atlanta following his 22 year battle with cancer. Jordan's strategies helped propel Jimmy Carter from the Georgia state house to the White House. To learn more about the life of Hamilton Jordan check out Drew Jubera and Tom Bennett's piece from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Today, voters in Oregon and Kentucky will have their say in the Democratic Primary. To the average observer these states have very little in common, but one thing they share is a love of racing. In Kentucky, it is horse racing - from legendary Churchill Downs in Louisville to Turfway Park in the Cinncinnati suburb of Florence. In Oregon, home to Nike, it is running - from venerable Hayward Field in Track Town, USA (Eugene, Oregon) to running along the waterfront in Coos Bay.

Voters in Kentucky will race, like recent Kentucky Derby champion Big Brown, to the polls from 6:00a.m. to 6:00p.m. tonight to decide how The Blue Grass State's 51 delegates are allocated. Full results won't be in until 7:00p.m. ET, because half of Kentucky's voters are in central time.

In Oregon, voters will have until 8:00p.m. PT to dash to the polls, like Oregon native and Track and Field Icon Steve Prefontaine, to cast their last minute ballots to decide how the Beaver State's 52 pledged delegates will be apportioned. It has been estimated that 75% of Oregon voters will cast their ballot by mail.

Polls in Kentucky are showing Senator Clinton with a 26 point lead; and in Oregon, Senator Obama has a 12 point advantage. The contests tonight will be as anti-climatic as Big Brown and Pre's wins. The real question is if Senator Obama can clinch a majority of pledged delegates with his victory in Oregon tonight. With the way things look, the small town of Oregon, Kentucky (25 miles west of Lexington) may be the only point of contention tonight.

Friday, Michelle Cottle of the The New Republic offered a really interesting piece featuring anonymous analysis from inside Senator Clinton's campaign about what went wrong.

Endings are rarely as joyous as beginnings--and in the case of a long, wearing, and ultimately disappointing campaign, they can be downright brutal. But they also have the potential to be educational, for participants and gawkers alike. So it is that we asked (begged, really) a range of Hillarylanders for their up-close and personal lists of "What Went Wrong?" Not everyone wanted to play. Many stubbornly pointed out that their candidate is not yet dead. But, on the condition of total anonymity, a fairly broad cross-section of her staff responded--more than a dozen members all told, from high-level advisors to grunt-level assistants, from money men to on-the-ground organizers. more