Clinton and Followers Jubilant After Victory
April 24, 2008 - Bryan Schwartzman, Staff Writer |
Sen. Hillary Clinton greets supporters after winning the Pennsylvania primary as Gov. Ed Rendell (right) and husband Bill Clinton join the cheering.
Photo by Jordan Cassway |
As it turns out, keeping Passover on the final day of electioneering in the state's grueling, seven-week primary wasn't all that difficult for Majorie Shribman, a Doylestown resident who canvassed parts of Bucks County for Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) campaign.
During the frenetic day, Shribman only had time to munch some fruit and matzah. Yet, crammed into Clinton's Election Night party with hundreds of other supporters at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, she had more than enough gas left to giddily jump up and down after she, and the rest of the crowd, learned that CNN had projected the New York senator as the winner of the Pennsylvania primary.
"This is the first time I've ever worked for a candidate," said Shribman, who spent the past six weeks volunteering for the campaign on nights and weekends.
After the announcement at just before 9 p.m., supporters -- who sported signs like "Real Men Vote for Hillary" and "I Voted for the First Woman President" -- began enthusiastically chanting "Hillary, Hillary!" and "Madam President!"
With the question of whether or not the former first lady would score a win seemingly settled -- a loss would certainly have dealt her candidacy a knockout blow -- the question on everyone's lips became: by how wide a margin?
As it turned out, it was the double-digit victory that pundits said she needed in order to gain some momentum as the candidates head to Indiana and North Carolina for their May 6 primaries.
Here in the Keystone State, in a primary with a turnout that far surpassed any in recent memory, Clinton bested her rival, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) -- who outspent her in the state by a 3-to-1 margin -- with 1,175,608 votes to 973,849, according to unofficial results posted by the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Among Jewish voters, 57 percent backed Clinton and 43 percent backed Obama, according to exit polls cited by MSNBC. Jews accounted for 7 percent of the total number of respondents to that poll, a number several times greater than the percentage of Jews in the state.
Obama crushed Clinton in Philadelphia by more than a 2-to-1 margin, and managed narrow victories in Delaware and Chester counties. Clinton, in turn, eked out a narrow win in Montgomery County, but carried Bucks by about 30,000 votes and more than 20 percentage points. Her incursions into Southeast Pennsylvania -- considered an Obama stronghold -- coupled with her strong showing in the northeast, central and western parts of the state, helped hand her the victory.
'A Lot of Work Ahead of Us'
Despite this win, Clinton still faces an uphill battle over who will square off with U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) in November's general election. She trails Obama in total pledged delegates, the popular vote and statewide victories, and still has less campaign cash to spend.
"We still have a lot of work ahead of us," Clinton said after she came out to the podium to the tune of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "I Won't Back Down," joined by former President Bill Clinton and former first daughter Chelsea.
Political heavyweights like Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and U.S. Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-District 13) and Joe Sestak (D-District 7) had taken turns revving up the jubilant crowd. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine also turned up.
Rendell said that Clinton had earned the right to play the "Rocky" theme from here on. Schwartz -- who, aside from Rendell, was perhaps Clinton's most prominent Jewish supporter -- told the audience that the former first lady had scored a "huge and transformative win."
"I might stumble and I might get knocked down, but if you stand with me I will always get back up," said Clinton. "Some people counted me out and said to drop out. But the American people don't quit, and they deserve a president who doesn't quit."
Indeed, both sides landed some blows in the long campaign, one that saw millions spent on negative ads. Clinton's misstatement about once landing under sniper fire in Bosnia seemed to offer Obama hope in a state that many considered hers to lose. But Obama had problems with the comments of his retired pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright and remarks Obama himself had made at a San Francisco fundraiser about small-town Pennsylvanians being bitter with politics.
In the closing weeks of the campaign, both candidates aggressively courted Jewish voters, who seemed split. But perhaps due to the flack over Wright's comments -- particularly those condemning U.S. support for Israel -- Obama took the step of meeting with Philadelphia Jewish leaders on April 16, the day he debated -- analysts say poorly -- with Clinton.
Before the room broke out in frenzy after Clinton's victory became apparent, Shribman noted that she wasn't drawn to her by foreign policy, per se. Instead, she felt that Clinton represented the Democrats best chance to win in the fall.
She also said that Clinton, a more known quantity than her much younger opponent, is better suited to bring about universal health coverage.
Marsha Wheeler, a Center City resident and member of Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia, said that her vote for Clinton was not influenced by gender. Instead, Wheeler noted that she was impressed by her experience.
"She was such a strong force behind Bill," said Wheeler, who added that she was optimistic, but also a little nervous, about whether or not Clinton will prevail in the end. If it came to it, she said she'd cast a ballot for Obama, if necessary.
Ditto for Caren Moskowitz, of Abington resident who ran as a pledged Clinton delegate to the Democratic National Convention. (The delegate results were not available at press time.) Moskowitz was reached by phone at a Montgomery County polling site.
Moscowitz noted that she's also a campaign chair for State Rep. Josh Shapiro (D-District 153), Obama's most visible Jewish supporter.
"On this we disagree," said Moskowitz, who predicted that once the official nominee is chosen, the party itself will find a way to reunite after a contentious primary season. As she said, in the end, "we're all good Democrats."
