Obama's Weekend to Win

Article from Time

For all of his attempts to downplay expectations, Senator Barack Obama is heading into a weekend that will probably make him look like anything but the underdog. Democrats in four more states are scheduled to cast their ballots, and while they will not be the deciding factors in what remains a virtual dead heat between him and Hillary Clinton, the contests could give Obama an extra boost heading into next week's important Potomac primaries of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. On a conference call with key Clinton donors on Thursday, the campaign's senior strategist Mark Penn admitted as much; "I think we'll have some bumps in the road, some difficult states in the next week or two."

Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington State are holding contests Saturday and Maine Democrats will caucus on Sunday. There are 228 pledged delegates at stake this weekend, though all of the states will split delegates proportionally, so it's unlikely that either candidate can gain too big an advantage. As it stands now, Obama leads Clinton with 853 pledged delegates to her 849, not including Superdelegates, according to Real Clear Politics.

The caucus format in Washington, Nebraska and Maine could help Obama, who has won six of the seven caucus states so far, thanks to his passionate, dedicated following and stronger grassroots organizations. "I think that it is fair to say that he should win the caucuses in Maine, Nebraska and Washington State on Saturday. For my own state of Louisiana, I would venture that Senator Obama should win here," said Kevin Mulcahy, a political science professor at Louisiana State University, who himself plans on voting for Clinton.

But just because Obama has momentum — beating the expectations game on Super Tuesday and continuing to lead Clinton in the money race — doesn't mean Clinton, a New York senator and former First Lady, isn't putting up a fight in the weekend's races. Clinton, who still leads in most national polls, is campaigning vigorously in Washington Friday and in Maine Saturday, while her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has headed to Louisiana.