Lessons learned

May 07, 2008 05:03 pm

— The price of regular unleaded gasoline spiked to an all-time high in Kokomo Wednesday in some locations – $3.86 per gallon.
Had it happened on Election Day, Sen. Hillary Clinton might’ve picked up another delegate or two in Indiana. As it stands, the Democratic presidential candidate’s hopes of securing the nomination are running out – and her war chest is running low.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday Clinton loaned her campaign $6.4 million over the past four weeks. She previously gave her campaign $5 million. Now that Sen. Barack Obama is 184.5 delegates from winning the Democratic nomination, it’s likely Clinton will have trouble getting the financial support she needs to continue her campaign.
Neither candidate delivered a knockout blow Tuesday, though Obama came close. He scored a lopsided victory in North Carolina, and garnered 49 percent of the Hoosier vote.
What else did we learn Tuesday?
• Clinton might not be giving up any time soon. She planned to make campaign appearances in Oregon, South Dakota and West Virginia today, the AP said.
• One-third of Hoosiers for Hillary, and a third in the Tar Heel State, said they would vote for Republican John McCain over Obama, the AP said.
• Clinton won six of 10 white voters in both states Tuesday. Obama won nine of 10 black voters.
We also learned Clerk Mona Myers had miscalculated Howard County’s interest in the Democratic presidential race. The Clerk’s Office had to have more ballots printed and delivered to a few precincts.
Myers and her staff, however, deserve credit and not contempt. They identified the problem early. Extra ballots were dispatched to precincts with heavy demand before cupboards were bare. Voters didn’t wait for Democratic ballots and people weren’t turned away.
The Democratic presidential race has been white-hot these past eight weeks. Had it been so in February, when Myers ordered primary ballots, there likely wouldn’t have been a problem.
And had Clinton made gasoline an issue in February, she might’ve won Indiana convincingly.