CNN=Politics Daily
(CNN)— Following Hillary Clinton’s victory in Pennsylvania’s primary, both Democrats spent Wednesday in the next critical battleground state: Indiana.
In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on Barack Obama’s efforts to blunt the impact of Clinton’s victory, and how both candidates are working to reach Indiana voters ahead of the state’s May 6 primary.
Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider provides his analysis of the exit polls out of Pennsylvania, while Senior National Correspondent John King breaks down how the state’s demographics helped Clinton pull off a big win.
Meanwhile, John McCain is urging the North Carolina Republican Party not to air its new attack ad, which takes aim at Obama’s relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. CNN’s Dana Bash travels with the presumptive Republican nominee as he travels to court some traditionally Democratic voters.
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Obama camp announces another superdelegate
Audra Ostergard, Associate Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and member of the Democratic National Committee, announced Tuesday she is backing Barack Obama.
Ostergard is a Democratic superdelegate - one of the more than 700 party officials who will determine the Democratic nominee.
Earlier: Oklahoma governor backs Obama
Clinton camp launches Obama 'Debate Watch'
(CNN) - Hillary Clinton’s campaign has increased its efforts to pressure Barack Obama to agree to more debates.
On Wednesday, they sent reporters a press release titled “Debate Watch: Day 1,” as part of their continuing effort to focus attention on Obama’s reluctance to schedule more primary season showdowns.
During a rally in Hillsborough, North Carolina Wednesday afternoon, former President Bill Clinton, standing on the back of a pick-up truck, told voters: “I think I know the answer to why one candidate wants to debate, ‘cuz I saw the debate in Pennsylvania. And afterwards, 41 percent of the voters saw it. And by 55 to 22, they said Hillary won.”
Earlier this week, a proposed North Carolina debate was cancelled after Obama’s team said the Illinois senator would not be able to find time in his schedule.
“It's not clear that another debate is going to be the best use of our time,” Obama told CNN’s Roland Martin Wednesday.
Clinton 'on track' to raise $10 million in 24 hours
(CNN) - Hillary Clinton's campaign says it is on track to raise $10 million online in the 24 hours since the Pennsylvania primary results were announced.
"Senator Clinton's game-changing victory last night has turned the tide and resulted in an historic outpouring of grassroots support," Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe said in a statement. "Just like Hillary, our supporters have met every challenge and come through each time. Thanks to them, we will have the resources needed to compete and win as we move ahead to the next contests."
The campaign also said over 60,000 donors - 50,000 of them new - have given money to Clinton from Tuesday night through noon Wednesday.
Obama: Nobody's complained more than the Clintons
NEW ALBANY, Indiana (CNN) - Facing reporters for the first time since his loss in the Pennsylvania primary, Democrat Barack Obama said he "doesn't really understand" Hillary Clinton's attack line that he "can't stand the heat."
"This is sort of the kitchen sink strategy, and the argument about not being able to stand the heat - that I don't really understand," Obama said, responding to a question on recent attacks aimed at him.
He went on to turn the argument on them.
"Nobody has complained more about the press, about questions at debates, about being mistreated than Sen. Clinton has, or President Clinton," he said.
"We have been pretty tame in terms of taking our shots and just rolling with them."
Oklahoma governor backs Obama
(CNN) - Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid Wednesday.
"Senator Obama is uniquely positioned to unite our nation and move beyond the divisiveness and partisan skirmishes that too often characterize politics as usual in Washington,” Henry told The Oklahoman.
Henry, currently serving his second term, had said he did not plan to endorse until the party's convention in late August.
Hillary Clinton won Oklahoma on February 5 with 55 percent of the vote.
Henry is one of the party's 720 superdelegates who will ultimately decide the party's nominee. About 300 remain undecided. (Related: Clinton picks up superdelegate)
Check out CNN's latest delegate estimates here
Clinton works to energize supporters
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (CNN) – Looking to capitalize on the momentum out of her Pennsylvania primary victory, Hillary Clinton made a quick trip here to energize supporters and plant the flag as her campaign looks to what could be a tight primary contest on May 6.
"The voters of Pennsylvania decided by an overwhelming majority they could count on me to deliver for them. They could count on me to make the tough decisions that will be presented to the next president," Clinton told an outdoor rally in downtown Indianapolis. "We can do it, we can do it."
Clinton told assembled supporters and onlookers that after her Pennsylvania win she now leads in the popular vote tally, something the Obama campaign disputes because Clinton's assertion assumes the vote tallies from Florida and Michigan are included. The Democratic National Committee continues to grapple with the dilemma of whether or not the delegates from those two states will be seated at the party's summer convention.
"It's a very close race but if you count as i count the 2.3 million people who voted in Michigan and Florida then we are going to build on that," she said.
Blitzer: Inside the spin wars
(CNN) - You can get dizzy from all the political spinning that's going on.
If you listen to the Barack Obama team, the Pennsylvania results actually showed that he was improving when it comes to winning support from white working class voters. They say he did better with this group in Pennsylvania than he did six weeks ago in Ohio, where Clinton also won by about ten points.
If you listen to the Hillary Clinton team, the results show that Obama simply can't win in major battleground states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Michigan. Those are states, they insist, a Democratic presidential candidate desperately would need to win in the general election.
All the spinning is designed to sway those still-undecided super delegates who will be critical in eventually determining the party's nominee. Remember – the party created those superdelegates so they would be able to ensure that the eventual nominee would be more competitive against the Republican nominee. That's why those superdelegates are so important and powerful. The rules make clear that they can choose a candidate who did not win the greatest number of pledged delegates, or the popular vote.
Right now, Clinton advisers also pursuing some of the superdelegates who earlier announced their support for Obama. They suspect the results from Ohio, and now Pennsylvania, are giving some of those Obama supporters buyer's remorse. They are hoping to change their minds. The party rules state that superdelegates can change their minds at any time until the real roll call on the convention floor.
Cafferty: Why can't Barack Obama close the deal?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Barack Obama missed another chance last night to knock Hillary Clinton out of the race. He beat her in Iowa, she came back and won New Hampshire. He reeled off eleven wins in a row, she came back and won Ohio and Texas. He had another clear shot at her last night and missed. It raises a question that gets more serious with each passing primary.
Why can't he put her away? Despite outspending Clinton more than 2-to-1 in Pennsylvania and waging a more aggressive campaign in the final days, Obama came up short again with many of the voters who form the traditional base of the Democratic Party. Clinton crushed him among white, blue-collar voters by 69 to 30 percent. She also won older voters, women and whites.
The last 6 weeks have tested Obama in a way he hadn't been before.
To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here
Clinton picks up superdelegate
(CNN) - Tennessee Rep. John Tanner announced Wednesday he is backing Hillary Clinton's White House bid.
Tanner, a Democrat representing Tennessee's 8th District, is one of the more than 700 party superdelegates who will ultimately decide which candidate wins the Democratic presidential nomination.
"In my opinion, the best person to lead this critical effort is Hillary Clinton," Tanner said in a statement released by the Clinton campaign. "Hillary is a smart, pragmatic leader who understands the grave situation our country faces, with a $9 trillion debt, much of which is borrowed from foreign countries. Now, more than ever, our nation needs a leader like Sen. Clinton who can work with others to return to fiscal sanity."
Clinton won the state of Tennessee with 54 percent of the vote on February 5.
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