As endgame nears, Dem rivals escalate PR war

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/9/8 | Carla Marinucci

[SmithL]

The long race for the Democratic presidential nomination has been about votes, money and political power, but in the final days it's coming down to one thing more: the public relations war.

And as they head for the finish line, both Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are scrapping for the advantage.

Perception: Obama, as superdelegates march to his side, has already "won" the Democratic nomination, a view underscored by the latest cover of Time magazine, which shows a smiling Obama with the headline "And The Winner Is ..." Even longtime Clinton loyalist Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel said Friday that he perceived Obama to be "the presumptive nominee."

Reality: Clinton is still in the fight and jabbing away. And she's hanging on to one last crumbling handhold: the chance that she can overshadow Obama in the popular vote in the remaining primaries to better make her case with superdelegates.

That's why her chief surrogate and husband, former President Bill Clinton - a master of political public relations - is doggedly pounding the theme that no matter what the pundits suggest, his wife can - and will - make it to the finish line in every last state.

"She can win the popular vote. She is clearly the most electable in all the polls ... with positions that people are finally focusing on," Bill Clinton said on the campaign trail Friday. "All those people on television that were telling you she can't win - they weren't for her in the beginning, I'll tell you that."

Verbal jabs

Hillary Clinton, signaling that she isn't ready to give up, is still battling Obama verbally, telling USA Today this week that his support among "hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again."

[SmithL]

Endgame?

I haven't heard the Hillary sing, yet.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

[Ann Archy]

Bill is saying...”The Black Guy can’t win....because he’s BLACK”.