Barack Obama won Maine handily tonight - an “upset” per the Obama campaign, even though the polls going into today’s caucus favored Obama. According to his campaign manager, “Obama has now won 20 contests to Clinton’s 11; he’s won a larger share of the popular vote; and he’s projected to more than triple his current pledged delegate lead since Super Tuesday from 27 pledged delegates to 84, a net gain of 57 pledged delegates.”

Here’s what he told some 18,000 in Virginia Beach after he heard the results.

And the memo sent out by the Obama Camp:

Today, Obama won an upset victory in Maine, a state where internal and external polls had Clinton leading in the days leading up to the caucuses. Obama is projected to win 15 delegates to Clinton’s 9, capping off an Obama sweep of this weekend’s contests.

Barack Obama has won nearly twice as many states as Hillary Clinton. He won a Red State, Purple State, and Blue States this weekend – showing he has broad national appeal and can win in every corner of this country. Obama has now won 20 contests to Clinton’s 11; he’s won a larger share of the popular vote; and he’s projected to more than triple his current pledged delegate lead since Super Tuesday from 27 pledged delegates to 84, a net gain of 57 pledged delegates.

This weekend’s net gain of 57 pledged delegates represents more than the 42 delegate net gain that Clinton won in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tennessee and Arizona – combined.

While Obama’s victories demonstrate his broad national appeal, he still faces an uphill battle in every upcoming contest because the Clintons are far better known and have a political machine that’s been honed over two decades. But the more voters get to know Obama and his message of change, the more they support him, which bodes well for the upcoming primaries.

Obama’s victories reflect what a recent Time poll confirmed the other day – that he is the candidate best suited to win Independents, play well in Red States, and beat John McCain in November. As the nominee, Obama will also help down-ballot Democrats get elected to Congress across the country, especially in those Red States where Democrats haven’t fared well for decades. So Obama won’t just win an election, he’ll win a new majority for change, so we can finally solve the problems we’ve been talking about for decades.

After holding two campaign events in Maine, Senator Barack Obama and his traveling entourage of press, staff, and Secret Service headed to Richmond, Virginia, to speak at the state Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner. Hillary Clinton was still shaking hands on her way out of the convention center when Obama, today’s clear victor arrived.

Obama national co-chair and Virginia Governor, Tim Kaine, introduced Obama. “In case you have not been looking at your blackberries tonight, folks, let me give you some news,” he said. Obama won by 2:1 margins in both Nebraska and Washington state, he announced. And he carried Louisiana. The crowd went wild - as they did when Senator Obama took the stage minutes later to U2’s City of Blinding Lights. According to reporters who had been present for both rivals’ speeches, the room greeted the latter candidate with significantly more enthusiasm. He was, after all (if not for just today), the winner.

“Today the voters from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast to the heart of America stood up to say, ‘Yes we can.’ We won in Louisiana, we won in Nebraska, we won Washington state. We won North, we won South, we won in between,” he said with authority. “And I believe that we can win in Virginia on Tuesday if you’re ready to stand for change,”he said to the thousands of Democrats gathered in the state’s capitol. He might be right - recent polls show he is leading Clinton here by significant margins.

While Obama did mention his Democratic rival - he stressed they both had good plans and were indeed friends, despite certain press reports - he saved much of his heat for the Republican he might go up against should his current momentum propel him to lock up the Democratic nomination.

“I believe John McCain is a good man and a genuine American hero, and we honor his half century of service to this nation. But understand in this campaign, in this year, he has made the decision to embrace the failed policies of George Bush’s Washington,” Obama said.
And continuing to talk more and more like a frontrunner, Obama outlined the differences between himself and McCain. “It’s a choice between debating John McCain about who has the most experience in Washington, or debating him about who’s more likely to change Washington. Because that’s a debate we can win.”

America needs a Democrat in the White House, Obama said. “We need to win. America needs us to win. Virginia Democrats know how important this is.”

Following his speech, the Obama campaign sent out emails to reporters, claiming to have a 72 pledged delegate lead over Clinton after today’s wins. And, they say, the Obama campaign has raised “well more” than the Clinton camp this month from more donors, although they did not put out a specific number to match Clinton’s $10 million since February 5th.

Tomorrow Maine holds its caucus - and as they have prior to every race, Team Obama seeks to lower expectations for a handy win. A staffer reminded reporters following tonight’s speech that Maine is in New Hampshire’s backyard, where Clinton pulled out a victory last month.

At a rally in Bangor, Maine, today co-Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama talked more than usual about the likely Republican nominee, John McCain.

“I honor John McCain’s half century of service to this country and you know, he has done some heroic stuff,” he started pleasantly enough. “But his basic proposals are to perpetuate the failed Bush domestic policies and the failed Bush foreign policies,” Obama continued to applause from the 7,000 in the Bangor Auditorium. Obama then spent several minutes knocking McCain on the economy, earmarks, and the Iraq war, before bringing his chief Democratic rival back into the fray.

“Awhile back [McCain] was interviewed and he said, ‘You know what? I’m not really good with the economy.’ He said, ‘I bought Alan Greenspan’s book. I’m reading up to find out what’s going on.’ You don’t need to read Greenspan’s book, you need to go to Nicky’s Diner and talk to folks and find out what’s been happening in the economy here in the United States of America,” Obama said, referring to the local diner where earlier in the afternoon he met with four locals to talk about middle class tax fairness. “You don’t need to read a book. Talk to some of those workers who’ve been laid off. Talk to those retirees who are, have to figure out how to pay for the heating bill. You know, John McCain used to oppose the Bush tax cuts. He said it was it was irresponsible to cut taxes for the wealthy when we were going into war. And then he started running for president and suddenly he’s for ‘em. I’m happy to have that debate, because he was right the first time and he is wrong now and we are gonna convince the American people that we need a new direction.”

The crowd erupted into applause, but Obama wasn’t done yet. “I am happy to have a debate with John McCain about fiscal responsibility,” he continued. “He goes out there and complains about earmarks, but it was his party, the Republican Party under George Bush and a Republican Congress, that presided on the biggest increase in pork barrel spending that America has ever seen, and that is what we’re gonna change when I’m president of the United States of America.”

He saved his biggest criticism of McCain for last. “And when it comes to foreign policy, John McCain says he wants to fight a 100 year war! ‘A hundred years,’ he said. ‘As long as it takes.’ That is not designed to make us safer. That is simply stubbornness. That is designed to try to make a bad decision look better,” Obama declared.

And then he remembered that candidate he has to overcome before he has that much-talked about debate with McCain. “By the way, you know, it is gonna be a lot easier for me to have that debate with John McCain than Senator Clinton ’cause she supported the war. So, you know, John McCain won’t be able to say that I supported the war in Iraq ’cause I didn’t. He won’t be able to say that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt when he was beating the war drum against Iran because I haven’t given him support on that the way Senator Clinton did. We can offer a clear contrast on foreign policy in this next election and move us in a new direction. That’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America.”

At the University of Maine in Orono, Senator Clinton continued to battle on two fronts: attacking her Democratic rival Barack Obama and the presumptive GOP nominee John McCain, who she hopes will be her rival in the general election. Today, however, there was praise for McCain in her jabs at Obama — if only to build up a worthy adversary that she argues only she can beat.

“We all want change. But talking about change is easy. Making change is hard,” she said, making the case that the Senator from Illinois is all talk, no action. “So we need a nominee and then a president with the strength and experience to make the changes we want. That’s what I’m offering.”

“It will be even more important if our nominee is running against someone with the record and the legendary background of John McCain,” she said.

Clinton argues that her long record of public service — and of sparring with Republicans — make her the only candidate tough enough to take on McCain. “You’ll never have to worry about me being knocked out of the ring. I think I can go toe to toe with John McCain every single day.”

While Clinton focused her speech on the economy, a large part of her electability argument against the Arizona Senator and war hero centers on foreign policy — an area where she’s built credibility for the last 6 years as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (where she serves with none other than Sen McCain).

Advisers have spent considerable effort toughening up her image and her record on national security issues, knowing that a woman seeking the presidential nomination in the US has to pass the Commander in Chief test. And while Iraq has become less of an issue in the primary race, McCain’s identification with the surge and the Democrats’ firm stance on troop withdrawal means it will be an issue in the general election.

At the end of her remarks today, Clinton said the GOP will make this election “about national security, foreign policy, making the decisions necessary to protect and defend the United States.”

If that’s the case, she asked, “who do you want to stand on that stage with Sen McCain?”

Maine holds its caucuses tomorrow, and is the one state voting this weekend where Sen Clinton is thought to have a good chance at beating Obama. Later tonight, she travels to Richmond, VA for a Democratic dinner in another important state for her; she’s focusing on stealing a win in Virginia when VA, MD, and DC vote next Tuesday. All are expected to go for Obama.