It's lining up to be a good week for Barack Obama. The race looks like it will swing his way this weekend with caucuses in Washington State, Nebraska and a primary in Louisiana. Both candidates spent Friday in Washington State, where 80 delegates and 17 super delegates are at stake.
A day before the Washington State Democratic caucuses, Hillary Clinton was in Tacoma picking up the endorsement of the American Nursing Association.
"When it comes to universal healthcare, my opponent says no we can't. I say yes we can," said Clinton.
Clinton has the backing of Washington's two U.S. senators, but today Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of Washington Governor Christine Gregoire
"Everywhere I go, people tell me they are ready to change America," says Obama.
As the Obama and Clinton campaigns go against each other, they are both trying to position themselves as the candidate most likely to beat John McCain.
A Time Magazine poll released this week shows Hillary Clinton in a dead heat with the presumptive republican nominee. The same poll shows Barack Obama beating McCain by 7 points.
Political scientist Proffesor Henry Brady says it's way to early to say whose the favorite.
"That's not such a big difference that you can't imagine a campaign is going to change it enormously," says Henry.
He expects John McCain will point his campaign towards the war in Iraq, national security, and the Middle East, while Clinton will want the election to revolve around the economy and health care.
Finally, there's a third question that it may not be about the economy or the war. It's just going to be about trying something completely different.
In that case, Brady says Obama has the advantage, particularly in reaching across party lines. Whether it is Obama or Clinton, the Democratic Party is already gearing up to "tell the real story about John McCain."
The Democratic National Committee is telling donors that John McCain is favoring an endless war in Iraq.
Fact check: What McCain actually said is he wouldn't mind a hundred year troop presence as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed, wounded, or killed.
They say McCain looked the other way rather than investigate lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the Republican culture of corruption. In fact, McCain's investigation resulted in sending Abramoff to prison along with the downfall of several powerful Republicans.
Other claims are that McCain lacks training in economics and relies on lobbyist for campaign help. The lack of economic training is equally true for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
