Can't Spell Graham without Obama

What used to be the Graham house organ is increasingly the Obama House organ given how gaga the national media is over the phenomenon of Barack Obama (or maybe it’s just the manifestation of white Northwest DC guilt).

 

In any case, the WaPost buries the lede in its front page story on the Democratic presidential race. Writes the Post, “After 10 straight defeats, she now trails Obama in overall delegates 1,351 to 1,262, according to an Associated Press tally, and faces a dwindling number of opportunities to slow her rival's pursuit of the 2,025 delegates needed to claim the party's nomination.”

 

Whoa!@ What? After 10 straight wins Obama is only leading by 89 delegates? How is that possible? More importantly why is his nomination practically a foregone conclusion? And note that the Post doesn’t report that given proportional representation in the primaries that even Obama won’t be able to reach 2,025 before all the states have voted, but finesses it to make it seem that he can do it and that Clinton needs to slow his pursuit.

 

And then for good measure the Post hands a full paragraph over to Obama campaign manager and Archmere alumni David Plouffe to crow about how wide a lead 89 delegates is: “Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters during a Wednesday conference call that for Clinton to catch up, she would have to win Ohio and Texas by 30-point margins, and follow that with a 40-point rout in Pennsylvania on April 22. "This is a wide, wide lead right now," he said. "The Clinton campaign keeps saying the race is essentially tied. That's just lunacy."”

 

And yet, couldn’t the converse be said? That Obama needs to win by 30 or 40 points in those states to expand his narrow lead? The Post includes a thruway quote by Clinton’s husband meant to rally the voters in those states as some sort of counterbalancing view that confirms Plouffe’s assertion.

 

And then there’s the bizarre McCain story today about some sort of relationship he had with a lobbyist. It’s all very strange with the hook being that the woman lobbied McCain’s Commerce Committee and that his staff were concerned that his relationship with her would undermine his ethics crusade/reputation. And yet there is the between the lines subtext that they were somehow romantically involved, complete with ¾ length picture of the woman in an off-the-shoulder gold dress gown.

 

The Post can do better than this.