AP-Photo-Charleston,WV

CHARLESTON, WV — “Whoa, how ya doing?” Biden said upon seeing the assembled press inside Ellen’s Homemade Ice Cream. After pressing the flesh for a few minutes, Biden ordered a cup of “Biden Thyme” sorbet for himself (as well as a cone of chocolate chip) and a “Baracky Road” cone for his brother Jimmy, who fessed up to eating ice cream out of the gallon.

He even offered to buy a round of cones for the press corps, joking “I’m loaded, I’m the last of the big spenders from the East.” But when it came to answering questions, Biden’s generosity dried up.

A local reporter asked how he thought Obama would do in West Virginia, a traditionally red state. “”It feels good. It’s early,” Biden said of the Democratic ticket’s chances. “We got a long way to go. We got a long way to go. We got another 12 days. But we’re gonna, we got a great ground operation and we’re optimistic.”

But Biden refused even to acknowledge NBC reporter Mike Memoli’s question about the news of the day — a TV ad from the McCain campaign attacking Obama using Biden’s own words at a Seattle fundraiser this weekend. Memoli is part of the press corps that travels every day with the Delaware Senator.

Biden hasn’t taken questions from his traveling press since early September, though the campaign says he has done hundreds of television and print interviews since then - mostly with local news outlets. But Biden aides often refuse to tell reporters which stations and print outlets Biden has talked to throughout the day.

Even the once-reclusive GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin has taken more questions from her press corps in recent weeks — holding two press availabilities in one day this week.

AP Photo-Charleston, WV

CHARLESTON, WV — If John McCain’s trying to be the candidate of change, he’s going to need a better costume, says the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Joe Biden told a cheering crowd in this traditionally red state that Americans are seeing through McCain’s efforts to distance himself from George Bush.

“I know Halloween is coming, but John McCain as a candidate of change? Whoa, come on! John McCain and change? He needs a costume for that,” Biden said.

“Yesterday, literally, John McCain actually went so far as to compare Barack Obama with George W Bush. As my granddaughter Finnegan would say, Hello! This is as crazy as, you know, Butch Cassidy attacking the Sundance Kid. I mean, that’s a team. These guy have been a team.”

Biden ridiculed McCain and Sarah Palin for calling each other mavericks. “I love to watch ‘em,” he said. “They get on that stage and they start — ‘I’m a maverick. No, you’re a maverick. We’re mavericks.’ They’re all mavericks, right?”

“Senator Casey, he said you know, you can’t call yourself a maverick when all you’ve been for the last 8 years is a sidekick. Well all of a sudden they’re trying to get off this horse. You know, ‘and the horse you rode in on?’ Well they rode in on Bush’s horse. They’re continuing to feed it.”

It was the Obama campaign’s first general election campaign stop in West Virginia - a state Obama lost in the primary by 40 points, but where polls have been closing to the point that Sen Jay Rockefeller told the cheering crowd that it’s down to a one point race.

Biden appealed to the crowd in this coal mining state by defending his commitment to clean coal technology - and accusing McCain of opposing it. McCain has been running ads on the issue ever since Biden told a woman on an Ohio rope line that he opposed clean coal.

(more…)

After losing the Mountain state by more than 40 percentage points, today Obama picked up the support of the state’s senior senator, Robert Byrd. “After a great deal of thought, consideration and prayer over the situation in Iraq, I have decided that, as a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, I will cast my vote for Senator Barack Obama for President,” Byrd said in a statement.

The repentant former Ku Klux Klan member said he purposefully waited until after his state’s primary to endorse and praised both Democrats as “extraordinary.”  But, in another sign the Democratic Party is rallying around Obama continued, “I believe that Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history. Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support.

Obama had previously been endorsed by West Virginia’s other senator, Jay Rockefeller, who has appeared on the campaign trail with Obama.

CHARLESTON, WV — No suspense in West Virginia tonight. As soon as the polls closed here at 7:30pm, the Fox News Decision Team was able to project Hillary Clinton the winner here, based on exit polls and early returns that show her with a wide lead over Barack Obama

The crowd gathered for Clinton’s victory party inside the Civic Center chanted “It’s Not Over!” as cable hosts announced the results on big screen TVs. Unfortunately for them, pundits and analysts disagree with their assessment — even with Clinton’s big win here.

The New York Senator is expected to meet with about 50 members of her national finance team in Washington tomorrow, as well as superdelegates both committed and uncommitted. Part of her argument: the working class voters that led her to victory in West Virginia are the same ones Democrats need in the Fall — and the same ones that have said they’ll vote for McCain over Obama.

Read the Clinton campaign’s memo on why WV matters after the jump.

(more…)

While Hillary Clinton will embrace her West Virginia victory, Barack Obama headed to a state he already won in this Democratic endurance match. The candidate visited Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he gave a speech on the economy. In his prepared remarks, there was no reference to the Mountain State’s primary and no mention of Hillary Clinton - another sign the campaign is preparing itself for the general election before he has actually secured the nomination.

Today the Obama camp sent out a memo to reporters, where they admitted “there is no question that Senator Clinton is going to win by huge margins in the upcoming primaries in West Virginia today and Kentucky next week.” But the memo went on to say, “With 49 contests behind us and only six to go — including several states where we expect to do well — Barack Obama leads in pledged delegates, contests won, and superdelegates. And for perspective, while 28 pledged delegates are up for grabs this evening, Obama has won the support of 27 superdelegates in the course of just the last week putting him less than 150 total delegates away from clinching the Democratic nomination.”

Despite the campaign’s growing confidence in an Obama nomination, in today’s memo they are still trying to assure  some in the Democratic Party who are skittish about Barack Obama’s chances in the general election as he has not been able to win states made up of white, working class voters such as West Virginia. The lengthy memo then debunks what the campaign described as “five myths about Obama’s support.”

1. The race for the nomination has left the Democratic Party divided

2. The primary has hurt Obama with swing voters and Republicans

3. Obama will not get the support of white voters

4. The campaign has hurt Obama’s standing with women voters

5. Obama cannot win working class voters

Read the full memo below.

TO: Interested Parties

FR: The Obama Campaign

RE: West Virginia and Obama’s Strong Position in the Race Ahead

DA: 5/13/08

West Virginia

There is no question that Senator Clinton is going to win by huge margins in the upcoming primaries in West Virginia today and Kentucky next weeks. She has poured resources into both states and she, former President Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton have all campaigned extraordinarily hard there.

The Clinton campaign has already been touting their margins in these states – In fact, Bill Clinton said that Hillary can win West Virginia with 80 percent—and the West Virginia Senate Majority Leader said Clinton needs to win by “80-20 or 90-10.”  And in keeping large margins in perspective, it is worth noting that, while Senator Clinton will win big in West Virginia, Barack Obama won neighboring Virginia by 29 points.

But with 49 contests behind us and only six to go — including several states where we expect to do well — Barack Obama leads in pledged delegates, contests won, and superdelegates. And for perspective, while 28 pledged delegates are up for grabs this evening, Obama has won the support of 27 superdelegates in the course of just the last week putting him less than 150 total delegates away from clinching the Democratic nomination.

(more…)

LOGAN, WV — Even the most ardent supporters of Hillary Clinton’s long-shot bid for the nomination now recognize the kind of results she needs from here on out if she’s to have a chance. Introducing the NY Senator at a rally in West Virginia’s coal country, State Senate Majority Leader Harry Truman Chafin told the crowd “you think it’s loud in here, wait until we win by 80-20.”

Chafin said Hillary supporters in West Virginia need to send a message to the national media — which has all but written Clinton off. “We’ve got to give her a vote tomorrow of 80-20 or 90-10,” he said, raising the bar even higher. “This is a national election. We will be responsible for making the national media understand that you will be President of the United States.”

Clinton wouldn’t go that far herself, but said tomorrow’s primary will be “a crucial turning point” in the battle for the nomination. “West Virginia has a record of picking presidents. West Virginia made it possible for President Kennedy to become the President of the United States. West Virginia in the general election votes for the winner,” she said. “I think it’s real important for people to pay attention to what West Virginians do.”

Clinton campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee smiled when asked about Chafin’s comments, saying “we appreciate his exuberance, but we expect it will be a closer race than that.”

The Obama campaign today announced Barack Obama would head to Michigan tomorrow - a move that only a frontrunner could make on the night of the West Virginia primary. While Hillary Clinton will likely celebrate her victory in the Mountaineer State, Barack Obama is traveling to Missouri and Michigan, states that held their primaries on February 5th and January 15th respectively. Obama will spend Wednesday on the stump in Michigan.

Of course Obama won Missouri and did not contend in Michigan as no delegates were at stake due to a punishment handed down by the DNC. Hillary Clinton carried the illegitimate primary, whose results have not factored into the heated race, and remains one of the reasons why she has yet to concede.

After Tuesday there will be five contests remaining in the Democratic nomination. The Obama campaign vows to campaign in each of the remaining states, but noted in a statement today, “Our schedule reflects the fact that we are still fighting for votes and delegates in the remaining contests but also that we are going to places that are going to be competitive in the fall. John McCain has gone unchallenged for far too long and we’re going to make sure that voters in competitive states know the choice in this election between changing Washington and the third term of George Bush’s failed policies that McCain is offering.”

And while Barack Obama himself has said this nomination is not over, his campaign is beginning to morph into general election mode. “Obviously we also don’t want to wake up on the morning of June 4th or June 10th or whenever this is going to end and not be prepared, so we’re going to do the things we can in our off hours,” Campaign Manager David Plouffe told reporters on a conference call last week. At the time it wasn’t clear “off hours” would mean prior to the campaign sealing the Democratic deal.

One of the “silver linings” to this long, drawn out campaign, Plouffe says, is that they have an organization in most states which will better ready Democrats to take McCain on in the general election. But Obama did not campaign in Florida or Michigan. “I think Florida is one state where we’ve probably suffered the most from lack of campaign activity compared to the rest of the country,” Plouffe observed on last week’s conference call. Which may be why Obama is scheduled to campaign in the Sunshine State on May 21st and 22nd – just one day after the candidate is expected to have accumulated the majority of delegates at stake in the nomination.

On Obama’s travel plans, a spokesman for the RNC responded today by noting, “Barack Obama can travel wherever he wants, but it won’t make his calls for higher taxes, restricted gun rights, and proposed meetings with state sponsors of terrorism any more appealing. Wherever Obama takes his flawed message, voters will learn more about the weak leadership he has demonstrated on important issues confronting the nation.”

GRAFTON, WV — Hillary Clinton celebrated Mothers’ Day with her daughter Chelsea in the holiday’s ancestral home — using its founder as a message of perseverence for a campaign that’s hanging on by a thread.

“I think it’s interesting that this holiday we start today was the idea of a woman, right here in Grafton,” she said. “Anna Jarvis prevailed against the odds. If you were to come up with an idea right now for a national holiday, and you persevered for nine or ten years like she did, it would be a labor of love. And that’s what it sometimes does take to make the changes that benefit us.”

Part of the inspiration to persevere against her own long odds, she said, comes from messages from her supporters telling her to keep her head up and forge ahead. “Over the past few weeks I’ve gotten emails from around the country from people offering words of encouragement and advice,” she said. “One man from California wrote ‘keep fighting. No matter what the outcome may be, the fact that you stood throughout the constant ups and downs of the race, one thing is sure - you never wavered and you never gave up.’”

At that, the crowd cheered - and one man loudly yelled “don’t give up!”

Hillary continued, “My favorite message was from a woman named Angela. ‘Keep strong,’ she said. ‘It’s not over until the lady in the pantsuit says it is.’”

Clinton is spending the next few days in West Virginia, where the campaign hopes a big win can give her some momentum. But with a big win lready expected due to the large white, blue collar base in the state, any result here is unlikely to have much impact on the state of play.

A new :30 second spot called “Level,” it’s focused on the economy and leveling the playing field when it comes to trade. Features Sen Clinton on some of her many visits to manufacturing centers. Obama is already up with TV ads in West Virginia.

PORTLAND, Ore — Despite limited resources, impossible delegate math, and a ticking clock working against her, Hillary Clinton’s first few public events after a big loss in North Carolina and too-narrow victory in Indiana on Tuesday have shown very little to suggest that she’s changed her strategy or approach going forward.

In the wake of that poor performance, some pundits suggested that Clinton would cease and desist in attacking her Democratic rival Barack Obama to pave the way for a graceful exit and possibly curry favor for a joint ticket. Indeed, in her remarks in Shepherdstown, WV on Wednesday, there was nary a mention of Obama or even “my opponent.”

But yesterday saw Clinton criticizing Obama for opposing a federal gas tax holiday — as she did in the last days before Tuesday’s primary — and calling him out for ducking a debate in Oregon, much as she did in the week after her win in Pennsylvania last month. She also repeated her standard attacks on his vote for what she calls the “Dick Cheney Energy Bill” in 2005

The only concessions to her new political reality now come in the form of defiant responses to those who would end the election before all the votes are counted.

“People say to me all the time, are you going to keep going? Of course I’m going to keep going”!” she said in Central Point, OR. And in Charleston, WV, she listed all the times she defied the odds when she was counted out. “Some in Washington wanted us to end our campaign, then I won New Hampshire. Then we had huge victories on Super Tuesday. Then we won Ohio and Texas and Pennsylvania. And I was never supposed to win Indiana,” she said. “Now there are some folks who have said, well, we needed to end this before we got to West Virginia. Well I don’t think so. I think we want to keep this going so that the people of West Virginia’s voices are heard.”

There is, however, a hint of wistfulness amid the tough talk. Clinton thanked supporters at a fundraiser in Washington for sticking with her though all of the ups and downs of this campaign. And in Central Point apologized for being late with something of a metaphor for the uphill battle she’s facing.

“We were flying against the wind,” she said. “You know, that’s the story of my life. Fly against the wind, you’ll get there eventually.”