Clinton Broke, Obama Needs to Move on

Indiana and North Carolina behind them, the Democratic candidates are taking the day to sit down with strategists to decide where each camp goes from here.

Money may be a deciding factor for the Clinton campaign. After their April 22 victory in Pennsylvania, Hillary and Co. were quick to announce that millions of dollars in donations were pouring in. No such announcement was made after their squeaker of a win in Indiana, leading many politicos to believe that their cash inflow has largely run dry. Continuing the primary process will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, without the resources to combat Obama's unprecedented fund raising.

Obama, while still campaigning hard in the remaining primaries (next up: WV on 5/13, KY and OR on 5/20), will start shaping his message for the general election. Obama's tone, as it did between the Pennsylvania and IN/NC primaries, is likely to shift away from negative snipes at Clinton and toward McCain as Obama attempts to solidify his place as inevitable nominee and make amends with Clinton supporters.

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As a side note, I hope that the Obama campaign takes note of the strengths and weaknesses of their candidate in the coming weeks and months. Obama's recent struggles with the essential working-class segment of the electorate should be addressed with a strong reminder of his personal story. Voters are far more likely to identify his unlikely life story and his image as a principled reformer (think gas tax and Iraq) than by any other personal or policy arguments.

A quick quote from a recent Washington Post article explains why Obama's life story is the best ammo against the "elitist" charge:

""We're just going to have to make it very clear that this son of a single mom on food stamps, a guy who made a very self-conscious choice to be a community organizer for, what, $12,000 a year, is hardly an elitist," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)."