The Election 2008 Updater

Barack Obama

With Sen. Barack Obama's (Ill.) loss of the Pennsylvania primary to Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) on April 22, some political pundits are questioning whether or not he is suffering from the "Bradley effect." The "Bradley effect," later called the "Wilder effect," comes from the political history of Tom Bradley and Douglas Wilder, two African-Americans who campaigned for political office. In both of their races, polls showed that they had more support than was actually demonstrated on election day.

Pennsylvania polls weeks before the primary showed Obama enjoying more support than Clinton. Yet, the results proved otherwise. Political strategist Peter Fenn explained, "When people get into the voting booth, they may have said to folks, 'I'll vote for an African-American,' just like they would have said 'I'd vote for a woman' or 'I'd vote for a Hispanic.' And then they don't do it."

There are alternative explanations for Obama's loss. Some strategists believe that it was Obama's performance in the last debate before the primary that hurt his support. Others feel that there is no Bradley effect going on, but instead that Obama has increased his support among the white voters, especially in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Virginia.

Hillary Clinton

Sen. Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, April 22, with 55 percent of the vote. The win was significant as it reenergized her campaign and proved to financial backers that she still has what it takes to compete with Obama, who has outpaced her in fundraising. Further, it added to her momentum at this crucial time when the Democratic candidates are seemingly in an endurance competition-financially, physically, and mentally.

With the Indiana and North Carolina primaries coming up on May 6, the candidates are still closely tied. Obama has won 1,724 delegates and Clinton trails with 1,589.

The amount of money spent by the Democrats for advertising is staggering and unprecedented. Still in the midst of a long campaign, Barack Obama has already spent nearly $70 million, and Clinton has spent over $40 million. Comparatively, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) spent only $20 million to secure his presidential nomination. Since there is still no decisive Democratic winner, the total will only grow as the candidates enter the summer months.

While Clinton has not spent as much money as Obama, she has nevertheless been controlling the advertising war. By strategically airing her notorious "3:00 a.m." ad, an ad that nostalgically quotes Democrat Harry Truman, and an ad that features images of Osama bin Laden, Obama has been put in the defensive position where he must respond. Evan Tracey of the TNS Media Intelligence/ Campaign Media Analysis Group told CNN, "What she's been able to do with some of these ads that attack Sen. Obama is basically make him into a political candidate. That's the problem Obama's trying to avoid. Obama right now, he's got to decide: Does he take the fight to Clinton? In other words, does he strike first?"

John McCain

Last week Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, undertook a week-long expedition of the nation's most poverty-stricken areas. Speaking to a crowd at the Edmund Pettud Bridge in Selma, Ala., the historic site where John Lewis and civil rights marchers were beaten, McCain proclaimed, "There must be no forgotten places in America, whether they have been ignored for long years by the sins of indifference and injustice, or have been left behind as the world grew smaller and more economically independent."

McCain also visited the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, La., as well as Inez, Ky.

While his tour seems direct enough-visit desperate areas and deliver a message of hope-pundits are questioning his real motives. Some have argued that McCain's message has not been directed to the people of the areas he has visited because they are Democratic strongholds that Republicans have no chance of winning. Instead, they argue that his target audience is white, independent voters and that he is attracting them with his tour by promoting himself as not an "average Republican."

McCain's desire to distance himself from President Bush and the GOP is clear to everyone involved in politics. President Bush even made a joke of it at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner on Saturday, April 26, saying, "Senator McCain's not here. He probably wanted to distance himself from me a little bit. You know, he's not alone. Jenna's moving out too." President Bush also poked fun at the Democratic candidates and their absence, alluding to controversial topics surrounding them in recent months: "Hillary Clinton couldn't get in because of sniper fire and Senator Obama's at church."

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If the Fed goes this far to protect the economy, who knows what they will do next to stop the country from falling into a recession?