Super Tuesday was Hillary's Reprieve

With powerful endorsements and momentum, many political pundits were sure that Super Tuesday would define the dominance of Barack Obama. When the dust settled, Hillary's campaign got new energy and a lot to say to new contributors.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - On the morning of Super Tuesday, campaign staffers for Hillary Rodham Clinton were bracing for the worst. They dreaded the outcome, knowing that the Mid-Atlantic primaries next week would also favor their adversary.

Barack Obama had received endorsements from old-line democrats including the senior and junior senators from Massachusetts, Kennedy and Kerry. He had received the support of John F. Kennedy's daughter, Caroline, and then, just before Super Tuesday, Maria Shriver, the wife of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and part of the Kennedy clan, also took up his banner.

It looked like it could be an Obama domination for Super Tuesday.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton was named the victor in California, due largely to support from the Hispanic and Asian communities. As of midnight, she had also won eight additional states, including Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Arizona. Since California is not a winner-take-all primary, the delegate distribution, however, is still unclear, but she made her point on Tuesday. Endorsements didn't swing many voters.

"I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debate about how to leave this country better off for the next generation," Clinton told supporters in New York, congratulating Obama on his wins.

"We know what we need is someone ready on day one to solve our problems because when the bright lights are off and the cameras are gone, who can you count on to listen to you, to stand up for you, to deliver solutions for you?"

Barack Obama did have a strong day, winning thirteen states, and even stole Missouri away from the Arkansas Senator, who earlier in the evening was given the victory there. Campaign fundraiser Terry McAuliffe had even announced to the Clinton campaign crowd they had won the "Show Me" state earlier in the evening.

Barack Obama, in his speech to supporters, stated confidently that "Our time has come."

"Well, the polls are just closing in California and the votes are still being counted in cities and towns across the country. But there is one thing on this February night that we do not need the final results to know - our time has come, our movement is real, and change is coming to America."

Pundits and media analysts are all commenting at the end of the day on the lack of accuracy of the polls in anticipation of Super Tuesday. Obama was shown as having the lead in California, while Clinton seemed to be the winner in Missouri. Neither came true.

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A large voter turnout was of particular note in all the primaries for Super Tuesday, particularly among Democrats. In many areas, Democratic voters outnumbered Republican voters two to one. When all the votes are counted nationally we may see that each Democratic candidate may have received more popular votes than the leading Republican candidate.

Voter turnout indicated that Democrats, on this day of multiple primaries, were passionate about the person they wanted to uphold and came out to show their support.

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