Senator Barack Obama could hardly have had a better weekend. On Sunday he added the Maine Democratic presidential caucus to the three contests he swept Saturday against rival Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, giving him momentum heading into Tuesday's voting in three mid-Atlantic states. And for dessert, he won a Grammy award Sunday night, beating out another Clinton. He beat former president Bill Clinton and others to win a Grammy for ‘best spoken word album,” for the audio version of his book, “The Audacity of Hope.”
While Senator Obama was gaining momentum and having a great weekend, Senator Clinton’s campaign was in a regrouping mode. She replaced her campaign manager on Sunday. Maybe Ms. Patti Solis Doyle, who is of Hispanic decent, could not deliver enough Latino votes. Whatever the reason, it is strange to “change horses in the middle of the stream.”
The Democratic nomination is far from decided, with weeks or months of campaigning still ahead. But, for now, the wind is at Obama's back. Polls published Sunday showed him leading in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia which hold primaries Tuesday. Barring a Clinton upset in one of those states, her best bet to slow his momentum may lie in upcoming primaries in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Senator Obama was extremely happy Sunday, telling a crowd of 18,000 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, "We have won on the Atlantic coast, we have won on the Gulf coast, we have won on the Pacific coast and we have won between those coasts." Obama has looked buoyant and confident in recent days, basking in huge crowds that cheer him loudly and call out "We love you" and "Yes we can!" Another 1,000 people listened in overflow rooms, typical of the overcapacity crowds Obama has drawn repeatedly. Over the weekend he filled arenas ranging from an 18,000-seat arena in Seattle to a 7,000-seat gym in Bangor, Maine. In each case, several thousand people had to listen and wait outside for a glimpse of the popular candidate — remarkable crowds for campaign events nine months before a general election. Seasoned analysts say they haven’t seen anything like it since John F. Kennedy in the 1960’s. Senator Clinton draws good-sized audiences. But Senator Obama's crowds tend to be several times larger when the two senators campaign in the same state within a day or two of each other.
Both candidates are vying for the endorsement of former candidate John Edwards. Clinton quietly visited Edwards last Thursday in North Carolina, and Obama reportedly planned to do the same Monday after two rallies in Maryland.
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