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Last stand for Hillary as support grows for Obama

New York: Barack Obama has extended his electoral grip among groups of voters until recently seen as core supporters of Hillary Clinton, including low-income families and moderates, and has even drawn level among Democratic women, a slew of new opinion polls suggest.

The surveys underline the critical few days facing Ms. Clinton, who must perform well in next Tuesday’s primaries in Ohio and Texas if she is to stand any chance of regaining some of the momentum currently enjoyed by Mr. Obama, who has won 11 straight contests in the past two weeks.

In the face of such setbacks the Ms. Clinton campaign has decided to go on the offensive against Mr. Obama, unleashing what one adviser told the New York Times was a “kitchen sink” fusillade against him. The paper said that she would focus on five points of perceived weakness in his experience and preparedness for government.

But such aggressive tactics look increasingly like last-ditch efforts. A nationwide poll by Associated Press and Ipsos found that Mr. Obama has taken a significant lead among Democratic voters earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year — reversing the lead that Ms. Clinton had enjoyed among that group as recently as February. He has also pulled ahead among white men and those describing themselves as liberals.

According to the survey Ms. Clinton continues to enjoy dominance among those aged over 65 and with white women.

But a similar poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS News found that even her prevalence among Democratic women voters has been eroded until both candidates now stand neck and neck at 45 per cent. The Times/CBS poll overall gave Mr. Obama a 16-point lead nationwide, with 54 per cent Democratic support to Ms. Clinton’s 38 per cent.

Mr. Obama received a further boost on Wednesday with the endorsement of the former presidential candidate Chris Dodd. The Connecticut Senator’s backing was seen as important partly because of his close ties with the Clintons, and because he is one of the 796 so-called superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention who could hold the balance of power.

Mr. Dodd, announcing his endorsement alongside Mr. Obama at an event in Cleveland, Ohio, said Mr. Obama had emerged victorious in more than half the states despite having been “poked and prodded, analysed and criticised, called too green, too trusting”. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

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