Scripps Blogs

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama drew a mix of applause and boos from her supporters here Saturday, hinting it will take more than one day and one speech to bring Democratic Party unity after the hard-fought presidential primaries.

Clinton was flanked by giant, stone pillars inside the atrium of the National Building Museum as she pledged to continue battling for issues like universal health care and an end to the war in Iraq.

"The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand, we should take our energy, our passion, our strength, and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States," Clinton said.

The anticipated endorsement drew mostly applause.

But a consistent chorus of boos also echoed from the balconies and the back of the room, as some of Clinton's most passionate supporters are still bitter about the primaries, threatening to vote for Republican Sen. John McCain or stay home.

"I can't do a flip just like that," 85-year-old Jim Brooks of Washington, D.C., said shortly after the speech. "This woman is tremendous. She is a great woman. But Obama? How many mentors did he need before he became a man? I don't think he has reached that point yet."

In an overflow area in the back of the atrium, each time Clinton sounded a note of defiance, supporter Carol Reich, 59, pumped her fist in the air and cheered. But when Clinton repeatedly offered kind words for her former rival, Obama, Reich loudly booed her disapproval.

"Hillary really was the one who had the direction," Reich said after the speech, mocking Obama's "Change" mantra. "It's a five-letter word, but what's the direction?" she said.

Reich said she'd sooner vote for McCain than back Obama.

"In (McCain's) past record, he has been rather liberal. He has liberal qualities," Reich said. "Do I think he'd be another George Bush? Absolutely not."

After declining to concede the contest after the final primaries in South Dakota and Montana on Tuesday, Clinton's goal on Saturday was to bring a belated sense of party unity.

The crowd, including her supporters and a smattering of people in Obama t-shirts, had been subdued - hardly jubilant - during several hours waiting for Clinton's arrival. The standard campaign trail sound track, including a mix of pop songs, disco and rock tunes, blared over the sound system. But there was no dancing, not even much swaying, as one Bon Jovi song blared the chorus: "Who says you can't go home?"

When Clinton finally arrived the traditional one-hour behind schedule, she took the stage with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and daughter Chelsea Clinton.

She started her speech with a shrug: "Well, this isn't exactly the party I planned, but I sure like the company."

At first she offered the crowd defiance, saying "my commitment to you and the progress we seek is unyielding."

She got some of her biggest cheers mentioning the 18 million people who voted for her - an allusion to her long-standing claim, disputed by Obama's counting methods, that she had gotten the most popular votes in the primaries.

Soon, however, she gave a standing-room-only crowd of journalists the news angle they had been expecting: an endorsement for Obama that means he can now stroll, rather than sprint, the 2 ½ months left before the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

She said he had run an "extraordinary" campaign, praised his rise from community organizer to presidential front-runner, and urged her supporters to get behind him.

"I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me," she said, drawing the same mix of cheers and jeers.

Clinton seemed to be speaking directly to Obama skeptics in her fan base when she talked about how in the past forty years, Democrats had held the White House only three terms, including her husband's eight years in the 1990s.

"Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we had a Democratic president," Clinton said. "Think about the lost opportunities of these past seven years - on the environment and the economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court."

Democratic Party leaders know they still have work to do to bring the party together after the long, sometimes bruising campaign. But Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., one of Clinton's earliest supporters, told reporters it was "a good day" for party unity.

"There was no hesitation, there was no bitterness. There was no anger," Schumer said. "There was sadness, but then there was just, 'Let's move forward for the good of the country.' So I felt very good about it."

He downplayed the boos from the back of the crowd.

"Well, you know, look. Hillary is telling her supporters, 'Gather behind the Obama banner.' Ninety-nine percent will," Schumer said. "There may be a few that are bitter. But what I have found in most of these campaigns, one good thing is Democrats do come together, because the difference between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is not close to as great as the difference between either of them and John McCain. And we cannot afford another four years of Bush-like policies."

As she ended her historic campaign, Clinton set a new standard for women seeking the highest office in the land. She sounded another defiant note when referring to "barriers and biases," and the sexism that many of her supporters feel was rampant in media coverage of the contest.

Referring to the latest milestone for female astronauts, she said, "If we can blast 50 women into space, we will some day launch a woman into the White House."

But not this year. And some of her supporters said they were ready to follow Clinton's lead and work for the Democratic Party's man, Obama, in November.

"I know what we have to do," said Effie Laman of Texas. "Regardless of who the leader is, we've got to get in there for our common ideals."

All photos by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

* * *

It was a critical -- perhaps historic -- game of inside baseball Saturday at the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting in Washington, D.C.

Click HERE for the full-story from www.RockyMountainNews.com.

The results -- restoring Florida and Michigan's delegations to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, but with 50 percent voting rights -- was billed as a compromise. It gave Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton a net gain of 24 delegate votes over Sen. Barack Obama, still leaving him on the verge of clinching the presidential nomination.

But the emotional festivities ended with a lot of anger for many Clinton supporters who wanted the full delegations restored -- with a much bigger net gain for their candidate. As the event drew to a close, they jeered, heckled and hollered "Denver! Denver! Denver!" and threatened to take their protests all the way to the Pepsi Center in August.

Will that happen? If Obama reaches the (new) magic number of 2,118 delegates shortly after this week's final primaries in South Dakota and Montana, how far will Clinton push the fight?

We raise the questions, but can't yet answer all of them, HERE.

In the meantime, check out some of the sights from the cheap seats at an event that's likely to be mentioned in political science text books years from now.

Debra Foster, 63, a school teacher from Long Island, N.Y., said she was bruised by the grip of a security guard who yanked her out of the hotel ballroom as she was jeering the committee's decision by shouting "Denver! Denver! Denver!"

"I was chanting, 'Denver!' because that is the next place" for a massive protest in August, she said. "We'll be chanting: 'Madam President, or else!'"

"I've been voting Democratic for 40 years, and I end up with a bruise and a really sad heart, that I don't recognize my party anymore," Foster said, crying.

Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chairs Jim Roosevelt and Alexis Herman face the press and defend the decisions on Michigan and Florida, saying it gives both states a chance to participate in the historic election and gives the Clinton and Obama campaigns clarity, putting Democrats back on track for party unity.

And yet, the last protesters standing in the darkness outside the hotel, are not yet convinced.

All photos by M.E. Sprengelmeyer.

(BELOW IS HOW WE LIVE-BLOGGED THE EVENTS IN REAL TIME, STARTING AT 9 A.M. SATUDAY, MAY 31. The full, late-edition story, with the outcome, is HERE.)

Protesters greeted members of the Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee this morning as they took up the touchy question of whether -- and how -- to seat Michigan and Florida delegations at this summer's Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Resolving the question is one of the last remaining speed bumps on the long, long road to the Democratic presidential nomination.

The two states were stripped of their delegates after they moved up their primaries in violation of party rules. But in a marathon meeting today, the "RBC" is hoping to resolve outstanding challenges from both states, seating at least a portion of voting members from both states.

Backers of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who won the uncontested primaries in both states, are asking that full delegations from both states be seated in Denver. Sen. Barack Obama did not actively campaign in Florida and was not on the ballot in Michigan, so his backers are hoping for a result that seats a portion of the delegates, and roughly equally between the two remaining campaigns.

Watch this site for developments through the day.

* * *

Co-chairs of the Rules and Bylaws Committee, Alexis Herman and Jim Roosevelt began by joking about the unprecedented attention the arcane committee was getting -- including live, gavel-to-gavel coverage on some cable television networks.

"We definitely have a quorum," Roosevelt said to a packed ballroom at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel in Washington, D.C.

The audience included party insiders from coast-to-coast, including various Florida and Michigan lawmakers, and party leaders from Iowa -- which was forced to move up the date of its traditional kick-off caucuses to preserve its first-in-the-nation status.

In an opening speech, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called for party unity and a cordial event, saying the party has shown with unprecedented turnout in this year's primaries that it is strong enough to survive the dispute.

He also lashed out at the national media several times, calling for an end to "blatant sexist comments" and racial overtones that have marked the ongoing primaries, which will result in the party nominating the first female or African-American candidate.

"That will stop," Dean said. "We need to come together and unite this party."

* * *

Before the committee took up the Florida challenge, Herman reminded the audience why the committee stripped the two states of all their convention delegates for the calendar move.

Tradionally, Iowa has held the nation's first caucus and New Hampshire has held the first primary election. In 2006, the committee decided to add geographic, ethnic and economic diversity to the calendar by allowing two more states - Nevada and South Carolina - to the early line-up.

But Florida and Michigan were among a number of states that threatened to leap ahead of the date when they were allowed to hold contests - Feb. 5 or later.

The party's rules automatically called for the states to lose half of their delegates, Herman said, but late last year the rules committee decided to impose a 100 percent sanction.

"We needed to send a very strong signal in order to prevent additional states from moving forward," Herman said.

* * *

DNC committee member Jon Ausman filed the challenge asking to restore all of Florida's super-delegates and half of the pledged delegates.

He said the state already had been punished enough, by having the candidates shun the state during the most closely-watched presidential contest in recent history.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a Clinton supporter representing for the Florida Democratic Party, was more blunt, arguing that Florida's voters would be disenfranchised if the committee did not restore all of the state's delegates to the Denver convention.

"We must uphold a sacred principle, and that is the principle of one person, one vote," Nelson said, echoing the sentiment of sign-waving picketers on the streets outside the hotel.

Nelson blamed Florida's Republican-controlled legislature and Republican governor for moving the primary date, and said average Democratic voters should not be punished as a result.

"These voters violated no rule. They committed no crime," Nelson said.

* * *

State Sen. Arthenia Joyner argued Clinton's side of the case, comparing it to past fights for Civil Rights or against the Apartheid system in South Africa.

"Today I am fighting for the right of Florida Democrats to have their voices heard," Joyner said.

She said Florida's Democratic lawmakers had no choice but to approve the change in voting dates because it was attached to election reform legislation that included a mandate for a verifiable paper trail from voting machines.

Joyner said she doesn't take the party's rules lightly. But she said democracy is supposed to be "of the people, by the people and for the people."

"Right now, as it applies to Florida, we are missing the people," Joyner said, drawing applause from Clinton backers scattered in the crowd.

* * *

Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., argued Obama's position - that Florida's delegates should be restored with half voting rights, and Clinton be given a 19-vote net gain in the delegates allocated. (He said that would equal the combined total of what Clinton gained by winning both Ohio and Pennsylvania.)

"The Obama campaign supports a resolution today that will allow the DNC to preserve its nominating process and at the same time enable Democrats in Florida to participate in choosing our party's nominee," Wexler said.

He got a mix of applause and a few hisses from the divided audience when he called that a "concession" or "compromise."

The result would leave Obama with a larger lead in total delegates, putting him on track to clinch the nomination as early as Tuesday, when the final primaries are held.

Wexler said Florida Democrats were asking for the right to help unify the party.

"Let us unify," Wexler said.

Wexler was asked if the Obama campaign would support the proposal to restore 100 percent of Florida's delegates. He declined to state a position, drawing some jeers from the audience.

* * *

The Michigan Democratic Party petitioned to restore 100 percent of its delegates, giving Clinton a net gain of 10 delegates over Obama. Since Obama was not on the ballot, the party based its delegate projections based on a combination of actual results, exit polls and an estimate about the 30,000 write-in votes that were cast.

Committee member Donald Fowler ridiculed that methodology: "If we could do that, John Kerry would be president of the United States."

The Clinton and Obama campaigns disagree on how to allocate 128 delegates from Michigan. Clinton wants 73 delegates, with another 55 assigned as "uncommitted." And Obama seeks an equal split. (NOTE: An earlier version misstated the Clinton proposal.)

But either way, both campaigns agree that Michigan's full delegation should be seated, said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.

"The Democratic Party needs unity in the middle of this contentious battle between two strong candidates," Levin said. "The Mighigan Democratic Party has achieved unity. We're asking you to preserve it."

Levin took repeated swipes at the "perpetual privilege" status of Iowa and New Hampshire to begin the presidential nominating season, year after year.

He said the proposed solution split the difference between what the Clinton and Obama campaigns wanted, giving Clinton a 69-59 advantage

"It's the best we can do, folks," Levin said, calling it "a fair reflection of a flawed primary."

* * *

By the end of the later deliberations, it became clear that neither the Obama nor Clinton campaigns was happy with the delegate allocations in the Michigan Democratic Party proposal.

Former Rep. David Bonior, who once led former Sen. John Edwards' campaign, said Obama deserved an equal share of Michigan's delegates. Former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard, a Clinton backer, said Clinton deserved 73 delegates, with another 55 assigned as "uncommitted".

Blanchard said the problem was not the election itself, but the decisions by Obama and other candidates to take their names off the ballot.

"It doesn't make the election flawed," Blanchard said. "They had, in my opinion, a flawed strategy."

* * *

Blanchard raised eyebrows with one late aside about the delegate counting process.

"By August, some may be switching back and forth. You never know," Blanchard said.

Many audience members went "oooh," because it hinted at a possible floor fight at the convention in Denver.

"I was referring to super-delegates on that one," Blanchard quickly added.

* * *

As Democrats prepare to decide the fate of the Michigan and Florida delegations on Saturday in Washington, D.C., it's important to remember a little of the behind-the-scenes drama that unfolded as candidates decided whether to take their names off the Michigan ballot.

On Oct. 11, 2007, Iowa blogger Lynda Waddington of the "Essential Estrogen" site had a nice scoop on part of the soap opera -- claims that Sen. Barack Obama's campaign was urging other candidates to pull out of the Michigan contest to diminish any benefit Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hoped to win.

You can find the links HERE.

As Waddington wrote at the time:

"Five individuals connected to five different campaigns have confirmed -- but only under condition of anonymity -- that the situation that developed in connection with the Michigan ballot is not at all as it appears on the surface. The campaign for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, arguably fearing a poor showing in Michigan, reached out to the others with a desire of leaving New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the the only candidate on the ballot. The hope was that such a move would provide one more political obstacle for the Clinton campaign to overcome in Iowa."

"Despite speaking in confidence, sources were quick to point out that the discussions were not the final deciding factor when candidates' names were removed from the ballot."

"'Yes, such discussion did take place,' said one national staffer, 'but that doesn't mean we were influenced by it. The decision to pull from the Michigan ballot -- or other renegade states' ballots for that matter -- was made the day we signed the pledge with the four early states.'"

All these months later, as the fate of Michigan is decided, it would be nice to hear from some of the insiders involved in this tale.

There's a sign of the times at a political souvenir shop in Annapolis, Md.

Most of the merchandise for (and against) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been marked down to half price.

A store clerk informs us that the markdowns were ordered by some soothsayer in the corporate office.

Sen. Barack Obama apparently has decided not to be "bitter" about the way some of his recent comments about rural America have been perceived.

Instead, he's retreating to "Little Pink Houses" and trying to win fans back.

Tonight, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will be in Philadelphia, celebrating what she hopes will be a big win in the Pennsylvania primary, Obama will be in Evansville, Ind., jammin' with middle American icon John Mellencamp.

You remember Mellencamp, the erstwhile "Cougar" and champion of rural America. On the night before the Iowa caucuses, he braved sub-freezing temperatures to perform an 11th hour concert for former Sen. John Edwards.

After Edwards suspended his campaign earlier this year, some folks thought he would immediately endorse Obama. He most definitely did not.

And in recent weeks, Edwards' backers like rural strategist Dave "Mudcat" Saunders heaped on the criticism of Obama after he was caught on tape (at a San Francisco fundraiser, no less) saying that folks in rural Pennsylvania are "bitter" and cling to their guns, religion and distrust of people who aren't like them because the government hasn't lived up to promises and fixed their economic woes.

"It could mean he's rendered himself unelectable," Saunders told the New York Times. "This is a perfect example of why Democrats lose elections."

And so, what's an alleged "elitist" (and son of a single mother from Kansas) to do?

Obama asks Mellencamp, a beloved figure in small-town America and his home state of Indiana, to help him build a fire wall in the Hoosier State.

Ain't that America...

Must-see video HERE.

Pat Waak says she has never been so popular in her life.

Day after day, total strangers want to say howdy and offer a little advice.

It's no wonder. As one of the remaining undecided super-delegates, they figure she could hold the key to deciding the Democratic presidential contest.

Check out the story HERE from today's Rocky Mountain News.

And DON'T MISS the entertaining video version by Judy DeHaas and Joe Mahoney.

Now here's a bumper sticker we never thought we'd see... on sale now at www.cafepress.com

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

WASHINGTON -- Add another reluctant supporter to the list backing Republican presidential contender Sen. John McCain: Colorado's Rep. Tom Tancredo.

Tancredo, who once told a national television audience he was "sick and tired" of having to choose between the lesser of two evils, said Thursday he'll go ahead and back his longtime immigration-reform foe, McCain, because he thinks either of the Democratic alternatives would be worse.

"Sometimes I say to myself, 'Can I really do this?'" Tancredo said of supporting McCain. "And then you listen to Obama or Hillary and say, 'Yeah, I have to.'"

Tancredo, a hard-line opponent of illegal immigration, launched his long-shot presidential bid, in part, because he said he wanted to stop the Republican nomination from going to McCain, chief backer of a proposed guest-worker plan that Tancredo equated to "amnesty" for people who entered the country illegally.

They had a few verbal skirmishes on the campaign trail. And at a televised debate from Michigan in October, when McCain was still trying to get his comeback off the ground, Tancredo was asked if he would pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee no matter who it was.

"You know, I've said I don't know how many times, that I am absolutely tired and sick and tired of being forced to go to the polls and say I'm going to make this choice between the lesser of two evils. I really don't intend to do that again," he said, according to a Wall Street Journal transcript. "I am hoping, of course, that whoever we nominate will be the principled flag carrier for the Republican Party. But if that is not the case, no, then I will not support them."

Given that statement, the Rocky Mountain News this week asked Tancredo if he might back a possible Libertarian Party entrant, former Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, whose voting record on immigration issues is similar to Tancredo's.

Despite Barr's immigration stands, Tancredo said he could not support him because of his foreign policy stands, including "a blind spot on radical Islam." He added that he believes Barr's candidacy is a serious threat to Republican chances in November, because it could siphon off conservative voters who are skeptical of McCain.

Tancredo said he's not endorsing McCain, just "supporting" his general election candidacy.

And what's the difference? "The distinction is that one implies a little more enthusiasm," Tancredo said.

If nothing else, he said McCain has acknowledged getting the message from voters that they want the U.S. borders secured and existing laws enforced before anyone considers more comprehensive immigration reform.

McCain still has an uphill climb to get another Republican presidential rival on his side. At that October debate, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas also said he would not necessarily work for the party's nominee, "not unless they're willing to end the war and bring our troops home…"

That brought an unequivocal retort from McCain: "You don't want me then, pal."

Photo by Dennis Schroeder, The Rocky

Who would have imagined that Dick Cheney's old stomping grounds would become a Democratic battlefield?

As "back roads" wanderer Dave Montero points out in THIS NEW STORY from the Rocky, Wyoming hasn't given its Electoral College votes to any Democrat since 1964.

But there's former President Bill Clinton stumping for his wife in Laramie tonight.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton heads to Casper and Cheyenne on Friday. And Sen. Barack Obama heads to Laramie and Casper the same day.

Wyoming, with just 12 delegates at stake and no polls we could find, is getting its Andy Warhol treatment: 2008 style!

For the rest of the year, everybody will get to be Ground Zero in the presidential contest for 15 minutes.

Today we debut a new feature here at "Back Roads to the White House."

The Denver Chaos Clock.

It hasn't struck midnight -- not quite yet.

But that could happen this summer if the city ends up with a bloody fight on the floor of the Pepsi Center at the Democratic National Convention.

Over the past few weeks, Sen. Barack Obama's long winning streak seemed to hush those fans of chaos who had been buzzing about a possible brokered convention.

But on Tuesday night, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's popular vote wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island left her pledging to fight on and on and on.

So spring forward, people. And we're at least a bit closer to the chaos scenario.

As we write in this morning's old-fashioned analog version of the Rocky Mountain News, Tuesday's wins by Clinton represented a "dream scenario" of sorts -- not just for the former first lady, but for those Republicans who hope the Clinton and Obama will keep battering each other, softening them up for Sen. John McCain. (SEE THE FULL STORY HERE.)

Check back to see if Democrats can turn back -- or even unplug -- the Denver Chaos Clock before the whole world is watching in August.

CLICK HERE for a new story on the Ohio battleground.

Clinton in Youngstown... Obama in Cleveland
Photos by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Are we there yet?

No, not yet.

Out on the stump, it feels like we're running out of road on the way to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Folks in Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's crowds even say that. But they're not ready to concede anything to Sen. Barack Obama.

It all comes down to Texas and Ohio, where Clinton has staked her candidacy and Obama is trying to run her bandwagon off the road.

In Ohio, we found Clinton cranking up the volume, declaring herself a "fighter" for working folks and discarding that old play book -- first deployed in Iowa -- that said she needed to soften her image to overcome high negative ratings.

These days, in the words of one of her supporters, she embraces her inner "pit bull."

Check out a NEW STORY HERE from today's Rocky Mountain News.

Meanwhile, in Texas, the Rocky's Mike Littwin found Clinton pinning her hopes on the Hispanic vote (CLICK HERE), even as Obama slipped past her in the overall polls.

The question going into Tuesday night, when Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island will vote, is whether the results will be muddled enough for the fight to spin forward, or whether the results could be clear-cut enough to put the end of the road within sight.

Place your bets now.

And in the meantime, crank up the volume and CLICK HERE for sound and pictures by multi-tasking superstar Judy DeHaas from Texas.

Inquiries from the Rocky Mountain News prompted Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign to remove a purported supporter's "Bill in blackface?" event announcement from the official campaign web site.

The notice appeared in an "action center" section of www.hillaryclinton.com where average supporters are allowed to publicize local events that are not necessarily sanctioned by the campaign.

In this case, the notice promised "Laughter at NAFTA Rally!" on Monday in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

The description:

"We've hired some high-end comedic talent to ease the way into Primary Day! Want to see HRC in cat-scratch mode? Bill in blackface? How about Mark Penn doling out pizza crusts and doughnut holes to the volunteers? We've got it all!"

The event was listed at:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/actioncenter/event/view/?id=10076

An archived version of the announcement is available HERE.

Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee called the language of the announcement "inappropriate and offensive."

"Any one of our supporters can host an event using the action network on our web site and post it up there," Elleithee said. "If we ever find anything objectionable and it doesn't reflect what our campaign is about, we remove it, as we did in this case."

You've heard it before.

The gloves are coming off. The debate will be a slugfest. There will be blood...

Well, this time we thought we could pretty much guarantee it -- OR YOUR MONEY BACK!

But our panelists didn't think so at an UNMODERATED, LIVE-CHAT during the Democratic presidential debate from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.

READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE featuring a very, very lively group from all colors of the political spectrum: red, purple and blue.

And then, let us know.

What did you think about the last face-to-face meeting between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton before the make-or-break contests of March 4?

View full-frame for context. Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

In Akron, Ohio, on Saturday evening, Sen. Barack Obama had a little trouble with the wireless microphone.

Let's just say his famous oratory lacks its punch when roughly every 20th syllable gets lost in transmission.

So, with our trusty point-and-shoot camera, we had fun focusing on the worried sound man as Obama tried to get his attention.

Yes, the photo above is the product of creative cropping. Below is the full-frame for greater context. (Sorry, Lil Frontrunner, we thought it was funny.)

Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Clinton stock price in BLUE; Obama stock price in YELLOW.
CLICK HERE to see the University of Iowa's Electronic Trading Market.

Think back to Oct. 13, 2007.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had just closed at 14,093.08.

And on a different stock exchange, the University of Iowa's Electronic Trading Market for presidential candidates' futures, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton looked like a blue-chipper, too.

Investors, wagering REAL MONEY (explained here) on the likelihood that a candidate would become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, were betting heavily on Clinton. And Sen. Barack Obama, once considered a hot start-up, had seen his stock price plummet.

So just imagine what would have happened since that day if you had $1,000 invested in a Dow Jones-indexed mutual fund on Oct. 13, 2007.

* If you kept the money there, by now you would have lost 12.83 percent of your value -- or $128.30.

* If you had shifted that $1,000 into Clinton stock, you would have lost 76 percent of your value -- or $760.

* And if you had shifted $1,000 out of the Dow and into Obama's stock? Today, you would have gained 554 percent in value -- or $5,540, on top of your $1,000 investment.

View larger Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

On Thursday afternoon, would-be First Lady Michelle Obama faced a big, enthusiastic crowd at Cleveland State University.

The atrium was packed, and we're told the crowd was larger than the one former First Kid Chelsea Clinton drew at the same site last week.

But the audience was not unanimous in supporting Obama -- not quite.

A lone Clinton supporter snagged a strategic spot in the background of the podium, injecting herself into untold numbers of photographs of the event.

There were boos as she arrived and raised her sign before Mrs. Obama arrived.

Obama supporters briefly attempted to block her sign with their own, but they quickly gave up and the woman stood peacefully throughout the speech.

View larger Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

The Democrats might be debating tonight in Texas, but they'll get another shot at one another next week in Ohio.

In Cleveland, they're starting to prepare the pizzas for Tuesday night's watch parties.

If they're taking the gloves off in tonight's debate, they can put them back on and slug it out at this boarded-up boxing gym in Youngstown, Ohio -- one of the biggest Democratic battlegrounds in the state.

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

LET US KNOW: WHO WON Thursday night's debate, and what do you think each candidate needs to do in next week's rematch (here where we are) in Ohio?

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Did you hear that Sen. Barack Obama extended his winning streak on Tuesday night?

No?

Then maybe you were at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's rally in Youngstown, Ohio, instead.

She didn't mention the Wisconsin results when she took the stage, just as various news outlets were reporting numbers showing Obama on his way to a comfortable, 17 percentage point win.

Instead, Clinton used fiery, pro-labor talk to build that fabled "fire-wall" she's supposed to have in Ohio and Texas on March 4.

This was not the Clinton who has spent much of the campaign trying to soften her image by lowering her voice. This was the fightin' Clinton, the defiant Clinton, telling this working-class city with shuttered steel mills that she's the one who will stand up for working people, oppose unfair foreign trade deals, and champion union causes.

She got some of her loudest cheers when she said people ask if she'll let labor unions have a seat at the table when she hammers out policies.

"Labor built that table," she said. "You better believe labor will have a seat at the table."

Clinton's latest catch phrase, sprinkled throughout the speech, is that it's time for a president to "get real" -- as in, "get real" about protecting jobs; "get real" about reforming NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement signed by her husband, former President Bill Clinton; etc.

But after suffering a wider-than-expected loss in Wisconsin, she also has to "get real" about Obama's widening lead in convention delegates.

There's a reason why television talking heads -- and Clinton's own supporters -- now call Ohio and Texas "must-win" states on March 4.

As the crowd was filtering out of the high school gym where the event was held, Back Roads to the White House jokingly asked a Clinton supporter if she has Obama right where she wants him -- with a false sense of security.

He laughed, rolled his eyes and walked away smiling. We'll take that as a "perhaps..."

Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer