Cold Doesn’t Stop Bill Clinton from Celebrating W.Va.
EmailABC News’ Sarah Amos Reports: Even a cold and rainy night in Kalispell, MT could not ruin Bill Clinton’s good mood as he spoke of his wife’s overwhelming victory in Tuesday’s West Virginia primary.
"I can’t believe you are here in this rain, but I thank you," the former president said to the crowd of 2000 who had gathered on the back lawn of the local community college.
"With 54 percent of the vote in in West Virginia, Hillary has 125000 votes, her opponent has 53000. We are winning West Virginia by somewhere between 33 and 35 points. It is a great night," Clinton said.
Standing the the back of a red pick-up truck, Clinton proceeded to read the crowd part of the victory speech that his wife had delivered at her rally in Charleston, WV tonight.
"That is what Hillary said in West Virginia tonight, and I want to say to you that I came here to campaign for her not knowing how many people will be here, to say that I think Montana should vote for her," continued Clinton after he had finished reading a section of the speech.
Despite mounting pressure for Hillary to drop out, Clinton has been steadfast all week about the fact that she can still win this nomination. And yet he also started reassuring crowds that his family and her campaign will support whomever the nominee is.
"And she asked me to say at every turn, that if she doesn’t win this nomination, we are still going to be united in November and we are going to take the White House back," said Clinton.
Tonight’s landslide victory, in a state that has voted Republican in the last two Presidential elections, did allow Clinton to continue to argue that Hillary has the best shot to beat Senator John McCain in November.
"If you look at the surveys, in Florida, in Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in Arkansas, in West Virginia, in Kentucky. She is now running 10 points ahead of Senator McCain in the general election in Kentucky. I never carried Kentucky by more than a couple of points. If we win those states it is an electoral rout and America is going back in the right direction again," said Clinton.
The former President spoke for under and hour, cutting his usual speech a bit shorter due to the rather uncomfortable weather conditions.
"I can tell you a 1000 stories. I won’t ’cause its raining," Clinton joked with the crowd.
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Republican operatives have been salivating for Hillary to be the nominee. Her vainglorious claim to have been fully “vetted” is ludicrous. She and her husband left a mountain of manure in Little Rock and Washington that hasn’t even begun to be thrown. The mainstream media, despite its tilt toward Obama, has been amazingly protective of the Clintons during this campaign. Where were the chronologies of the voluminous Clinton scandals that voters (especially young ones) needed to evaluate Hillary’s professional judgment and character? That the conservative Washington Times has now begun to make document drops about Hillary’s stonewalling and duplicity (such as over the Rose Law Firm billing records) suggests that Republicans have concluded her candidacy is kaput.
Posted by: Dr. Reid | May 14, 2008, 7:26 am 7:26 am
Great speech by Hillery last night. I really loved the part where she asked the good folks of WV, who live in the 48th poorest state in the nation, to go on line and help pay off her and Bill’s debt. PURE CLASS!!!!!!
Posted by: jim | May 14, 2008, 7:29 am 7:29 am
Bill, you better listen to your mentor James Carville:
“Everybody is going to be with Obama. I have an undated check written out for Obama. I’ll send it when this is over.”
Posted by: greg | May 14, 2008, 7:36 am 7:36 am
James Carville never said that.. but thanks for the post anyway. You must be really upset the day after Hillary’s big win in WV! People have spoken: we don’t want to hand the nomination to someone just because he’s AA.
Posted by: greg is a liar | May 14, 2008, 7:39 am 7:39 am
My friends, a long national nightmare is almost over.
The Clintons will not be missed.
Posted by: Seuss | May 14, 2008, 7:40 am 7:40 am
Jim,
Understand how the political rules work. The rules were crafted in part with the (AHEM) help of John McEarmark.
The rules state that if a canddate drops from the race before the last primary is held, they must cease begging for $$$$ by June 3.
But, if they still are campaigning, as of the last primary / caucaus, the may beg forever with no limit.
Sounds like it’s all about the money, folks. Not your interests that she cares about!
Posted by: DAVID NH | May 14, 2008, 7:41 am 7:41 am
Asking for donations is part of the game after all they put up their own money millions in fact. You folks Obama will not beat McCain so now we can have another Mc Bush in the white house. You all forget how good we had it the Clintons years!! No loyality what so ever! I’m from WV and not everyone there is poor my folks!! And they are hard workers.
Posted by: Penny | May 14, 2008, 7:42 am 7:42 am
The GOP’s secret weapon will be Michelle “the cow” Obama. She will bring her husband down. BHO will never win the general election. I have will have my popcorn ready this fall because it will be great theatre watching what the GOPs do to BHO & the cow!
Hillary 08!
Posted by: rockthebleachers | May 14, 2008, 7:46 am 7:46 am
The desperation of the McCain backers is obvious by the tone of some of the comments above. Keep reaching, boys!
This old white guy is voting for Obama.
Posted by: ericmiami | May 14, 2008, 8:03 am 8:03 am
Bill Clinton on the back of a pick-up truck!
Haha… anyone buy that?
He’ll be back in Columbia and Saudi Arabia soon, earning millions as America’s most powerful lobbyist and advocate of shipping American jobs overseas.
What a horrible and tasteless lie the Clintons are.
Posted by: hamster | May 14, 2008, 8:03 am 8:03 am
This whole scenario really makes me laugh. Clinton was projecte to win here months agao maybe years agao. This state is VERY prejudgeous and has always been. They would vote for Charles Manson over a black, man or women. The big celebration is a joke, because it meant nothing in the delegate count. Obama will still get the nomination. Hoepfully after June Hillary and Bill will re-join the party and suppport Obama but this is still be seen.
Posted by: tellthetruth | May 14, 2008, 8:12 am 8:12 am
Hillary is hanging in there to let America have its say, she will hang with the losing states too, she knows she isnt’ going to win Montana, Oregon etc., but that’s okay. When the primary is over, she can say she did everything she could, and that is important. If she pulled out now, she would not be able to say she did her best. For the record, even though I support Obama, I have many family and friends who support Hillary and believe me, we do not speak to each other the way these “comments” do. We all say – hey, at least we’re voting Democrat, right? Let’s stay focused on the important stuff, and give kudos where they belong.
Posted by: Shannon, Michigan | May 14, 2008, 8:18 am 8:18 am
Shannon…I wish everyone had your attitude. We as Americans , have to stop being divided, whether Dems, Reps or Indep, and understand this is a crucial time and we REALLY need a leader. Please Obama and Hillary supporters, don’t go to McCain if you candidate looses the “nod”. We need to change things PLEASE…think before you vote…
Posted by: cindyct | May 14, 2008, 8:22 am 8:22 am
CONGRATULATIONS HILLARY,
A RESOUNDING WIN IN WV!!!
Going to really prove that HRC is the only candidate to beat McCain in a GE! Obama is a loose cannon! HILLARY HAS THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE!
Keep up the fight Hillary, all the way to the WHITE HOUSE!
Posted by: Di | May 14, 2008, 8:23 am 8:23 am
Also – I wonder why I haven’t heard of the financial numbers for both campaigns for last month. Any idea why?
It would be interesting to know how much the campaigns are bringing in.
They said on politico.com that only 500 people attended Clinton’s speech last night. That’s not a good sign.
Posted by: Angela S | May 14, 2008, 8:48 am 8:48 am
Save it! You think BHO has all this stuff on Hillary and she has nothing on him? Lets be realistic. She has stuff on him alright but will not slam him with it because they are both in the same party. Neither one will do permanent damage to the other. The GOPs will take care of BHO in the fall. He doesn’t stand a chance.
BHO will never win the white-blue collar workers. He is an elitist maybe not by birth but he is because he thinks he is entitled. Why do you think that Gore & Kerry never won WVA & Kentucky? They can smell an elitist coming. They may not be highly educated but they are not dumb and they know when they are being looked and talked down on!
Posted by: rockthebleachers | May 14, 2008, 8:49 am 8:49 am
REALITY CHECK:
===============
RACE IS THE FACTOR.
WHITES WON’T VOTE FOR A BLACK MAN.
VERY SERIOUS ELECTABILITY ISSUE.
NEW POLL:75% OF HILLARY’S SUPPORTERS
WILL NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA IF HE GETS THE
NOMINATION.
OBAMA IS UN-ELECTABLE.
SUPERDELEGATES WAKE-UP!!!!!!!!
CONCLUSION:
===========
HILLARY OR McCAIN FOR ’08.
Posted by: Nicholas | May 14, 2008, 8:52 am 8:52 am
No need for bitterness on any side. Congrats to Sen. Clinton for yesterday. If we keep the posts factual instead of imaginary, it saves a lot of time and emo.
Posted by: Eugene | May 14, 2008, 8:57 am 8:57 am
I am proud to support Obama, and actually admire Clinton’s hard fought race. But at this point she can’t win the nomination, so what is the point?
Obama only made one brief stop in WV and still got 30% of the vote! And what about John Edwards? He got 7%!!
I think it shows how big the divide is in this election between Obama supporters and Clinton supporters.
The worst part of that is that I don’t think ANY of us want Bush’s policies for another 4 years.
Whoever wins the nomination, I’ll be voting Democrat.
Posted by: Angela S | May 14, 2008, 9:05 am 9:05 am
Yes, he did get 30% of the vote. He did make 3 stops but he never had any intentions of campaigning there because he knew he didn’t have a chance. He even lost his white educated people in this one.
After the general election the caucuses will have been proven to be out of date and should be done away with. Winning a caucus that only had about 3500 voters doesn’t prove that you can win the entire state. BHO will not be able to win the general election.
Posted by: rockthebleachers | May 14, 2008, 9:14 am 9:14 am
cindyct; I am an American first and I have been given one vote, I will use that one vote to vote for John McCain, because if Hillary is not the nominee, I want an experienced patriot in the Oval Office.
Posted by: justme2see | May 14, 2008, 9:25 am 9:25 am
Why does the media keep pointing out that the majority of the WV voters were white? They didn’t make a huge deal out of North Carolina black voters going 92% for Obama.
Posted by: Chantel | May 14, 2008, 9:27 am 9:27 am
We will vote for Hillary if Obama gets the nomination…..! You all think you are so bad and a HUGE group of people. You all come across as nothing but immature, spoil children with anger issues. Speak for your damn selves.
I’m a strong Hillary supporter. I’ve sent her money. But no way in HELL will I ever vote for a Republican just b/c I don’t get the person I wanted. As adults you all should realize, sometimes you don’t always get what you want.
Posted by: Jullian Marie P.; Miami, Fl. | May 14, 2008, 9:35 am 9:35 am
Scoreboard:
Magic number needed to win 2025
Obama ‘s state wins 32 plus (*) lost 17, Delegate count 1887 +/-. needed for nomination 138
Clinton’s state wins 17 lost 32,
Delegate count 1712 +/-.
Campaign War Chest:
Obama $55m or more
Clinton ($25m) in debt and looking for a exit Strategy.
(*) Territories
Posted by: Lookup | May 14, 2008, 9:38 am 9:38 am
Posted by: rockthebleachers
He was right not to stop there or waste any time there. The way she won last night, is the same manner he won and toppled her in earlier contest but LARGE margins. In other words, she wrote off MANY states early on. She didn’t think she could win them, she didn’t want to waste time, the delegate count was to damn low an she didn’t bother. He did the same thing and rightly so. I might add, the only reason she went to WV is because of last Tuesdays results. She had no intentions of going there. Just as she had no intentions of campaigning in other states beyond Super Tues.; you know all those states he racked up 12 STRAIGHT wins in? Well, now she has to stop in these states. Now she has to mix with the locals and the yocals, throw back shots of whisky, etc. etc. Trust me, no self respecting rich white/black/orange or green woman wants to mix with small town hee-haws. Sorry folks but it is the reality….Anyway, it was good strategy of his not to waste time there. Some guy even said on tv last night, ‘Obama didn’t spend enough time in our state’. Well, surprise – surprise….DAMN good strategy…..Besides, how many EC votes do they have? Hillary would have done the exact same thing. Anyone mildly intelligent person would have done the same thing.
Democrat 08!
Posted by: Chris | May 14, 2008, 9:45 am 9:45 am
Posted by: Angela S,
Well she/he makes sense to me. Perhaps you are one of the people he/she is speaking to? Maybe it is much ado about nothing but I find it odd that more Clinton supporters would cross over than his supporters. I think her supporters are growing on his supporters because now the number of his people talking about crossing over is catching up to hers. In the past the number of his people crossing over was low, but that number is increasing everday. You stupid Democrats keep it up and my man John will win by a landslide and all thanks to idiots like you all.
Kyle
Posted by: laughingallthewayBACKtothewhitehouse | May 14, 2008, 9:53 am 9:53 am
Chris I will assume you are a big town hee haw!.
Hillary spent many days & nights in my state which consists of many more small towns than big towns or cities. They loved her and that is why she won my state. I live in the biggest city and the state capital of my state but would not brush off those small town people as hee haws. Maybe that is where your BHO got into so much trouble with these people that they will not vote for him.
Posted by: rockthebleachers | May 14, 2008, 9:55 am 9:55 am
Chantel,
They are speaking in terms of population size….the population of Blacks in WV is FAR LESS than in NC. Doesn’t matter because the race is over. OVER, done, DONE!
Posted by: Chris | May 14, 2008, 9:56 am 9:56 am
Ok gang, I woul have to guess that most of you are young voters who did not live through the Clinton’s mountain of litigation, scandals, court hearings and grand jury testamonies.
After all that they did, and all that they dragged us all through – making an embarrassment of the office of President, I will never vote for them.
They have a record, well documented, of let’s say not being open, honest and trustworthy.
We already have that in Bush. McCain’s Keating 5 scandal and Burma ties will sink him.
I’m for Obama – and I think maybe you younger voters need a refresher on Clinton politics.
Posted by: Angela S | May 14, 2008, 10:03 am 10:03 am
Angela S. you need to research Obama’s chicago politics and how he was elected. Obama is just another politician and that is ok, but he doesn’t need to pretend that he is something he is not.
Posted by: justme2see | May 14, 2008, 10:06 am 10:06 am
rockthebleachers,
Listen mate, I was having a little fun. Don’t go getting yourself all in a ruffle. My point is, she would have done the same thing. Hell, she did the same thing. Are you not aware that he racked up his delegate totals because she skipped the small states and he didn’t, so he was able to get ahead?
Again, if the situation were reversed, she would have skipped WV just like she skipped previous smaller states. As it’s been noted, she only decided to go there late last Tues. night.
I don’t blame her for skipping those earlier smaller states and concentrating on the larger states with the big prizes. Sometimes our strategies pay off and sometime they do not. Clearly this is one time and one strategy that won’t pay off for her. Now is to little to late – for a whole host of reasons.
Jullian Marie P.; Miami, Fl,
I completely agree with you and couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Now if you all will excuse me, I have to get some work done. In case you all haven’t noticed now is not a good time to be out of work, especially with THIS administration in office.
Good day folks,
Chris
Posted by: Chris | May 14, 2008, 10:07 am 10:07 am
Obama is a master at getting opponents thrown off the ballot, unsealing divorce records and disenfranchising voters. He is a gutless coward afraid to take on someone one-on-one. He is afraid to debate, afraid to campaign in white areas unless they are elites or college students.
Posted by: geevill | May 14, 2008, 11:37 am 11:37 am
I am fed up wi th the Obama crowd Hillary is an honorable person and senator that has done some hard work in the senate since 2001 what has Obama done period… Mrs CLinton however many times the Obamabotrs bring up Bosnia visted more countries than any other first lady and was a powerful voice for human rights in the world…the CLinton years were good compared to what we have now… the electorate voting for Obama wasnt een old enough to know what was going on back then… and lastly, Hillary is not racist! Her supporters are not racist! If anything the surrogates such as axelrod have been thowing firebombs into themis to stir things up… the rev wright/ayers etc was simply retaliation for massive character assasination by the obama camp on Hillary and it was jsutified… we do not need extremists like that in power in this country… the mainstream democratic party is dead… the Obama people need to form there own party and Sen Clinton will keep the part of the party whos legacy is FDR,Truman,JFK,RFK,and yes WJC(the only two term democratic president since FDR… people get on the ball and stop this nonsense that says we are going to nominate an unqualified, arrogant,loser of crucial states taht will not go for him in the GE no Dem has ever not carried the states Hillary has and won since 1912!Honestly Im sick of you Obamabots doing this stuff it doesnt work it makes us madder and fuels Clintons campaign more we will fight you till august!
Posted by: NCDem | May 14, 2008, 11:46 am 11:46 am
I think Obama not even going to West Virginia last night says a lot about his character……he’s playing the racist again….since, in his mind, West Virginia is mostly white, why bother, right? He’ll do the same for Kentucky. Problem is, IF he is the Dem nominee, he will need these states in order to win the General Election. I think, last night, his actions lost him the GE, IF he is the Dem nominee.
Posted by: david from texas | May 14, 2008, 11:58 am 11:58 am
david from texas,
And what does her not going to small towns say about her? Your post makes no sense whatsoever, regardless of your race or gender. You must be one of those low educated voters that vote with the republicans against your own interest.
NCDem,
There just as many of his supporters that feel the same about her, so check mate dummy. She will lose this time around and she will lose AGAIN in 2012, THAT IS A GUARANTEE. In the words of another, others can be just as foolish and childish as you nuts. In the words of another, speak for your damn self. YOU ARE IN THE MINORITY!
It’s over with, get over it.
Posted by: Juan | May 14, 2008, 12:08 pm 12:08 pm
WV sent a clear message to Obamaland- The “hope ‘n change” ruse is ovah. Now, it’s just a matter of time. If the supers wake up and smell the unelectable Obama latte, Hillary will win. If they don’t, her supporters will vote McCain. Either way, It’s ovah.
What’s incredibly inane is the Obama camp is claiming that the entire state of WV is racist, to explain his thumping last night.
Obama, his surrogates, and his supporters continue to demonstrate the most obvious racism. It’s classic projection to transfer their hateful attitudes onto everyone else, and a convenient mechanism used to justify their loss, coerce undecided supers, and intimidate everyone who won’t support Obama.
Posted by: Emily | May 14, 2008, 1:13 pm 1:13 pm
Good post, Emily!
Posted by: david from texas | May 14, 2008, 1:16 pm 1:16 pm
It seems to me that the Obama supporters, when asked, can’t give any credence to the platform that Obama is defending. He has good rhetoric, but no substance, no ideology of how to accomplish the tasks. I DO hear him repeating programs and plans that Clinton has when she is in the White House. With this, I feel that many of the Obama supporters basically support him because of their severe dislike of Clinton. It’s not the issues they are concerned with, but yet, they just don’t like Hillary. I’m afraid, them supporting this “empty suit” Obama is going to come back and haunt them. When it comes to issues, assertiveness, aggressiveness, perserverance, and pride, Hillary Clinton beats Obama hands down! Hillary 08!
Posted by: david from texas | May 14, 2008, 1:22 pm 1:22 pm
Allow me to interject here with you LIBERALS. You said his supporters will regret not supporting her, it seems clear to me her supporters will regret not supporting him.
Now, it doesn’t matter to me. As far as I am concerned, Rep. can take a lease out on the WH. because the way you fools are talking and acting, it will be a cold day in hell before either group gets the candidate of choice. Her people won’t support him this time around, and his people won’t support her – her next time around. Damn Democrats are smart. NOT! Republican Rule, Rules.
Posted by: Mark | May 14, 2008, 1:31 pm 1:31 pm
Exactly, david from texas!
Obama can read a script and take direction, but beyond that, he’s out of his depth. What’s even more amazing to me is that his supporters seem unaffected by his ties to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, and the anti-American Weatherman terrorists like Ayers and Dohrn. Compound those relationships with Wright and Farrakhan, and you’ve got impending international disaster.
Posted by: Emily | May 14, 2008, 1:35 pm 1:35 pm
Mark, I do agree with you to a point….I feel the Dems are playing right into the GOP’s hands with this race.
Posted by: david from texas | May 14, 2008, 1:53 pm 1:53 pm
dogs still barking even though Hillary had a big win last night. I love all Hillary supporters. They are true fighters! Please stick with your guns, DO NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA NOW THEN AND EVER AFTER…
Posted by: Jane, Texas | May 14, 2008, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm