Timing And The Campaign

There are reasons for Obama to be optimistic. The next stretch could provide an opportunity for him to introduce himself to more voters. The more people see of him, the more they like him. The fact that he survived Super Tuesday - which benefits the huge brand-name of "Clinton" in a national primary - and actually won the delegate battle is impressive enough. But now, the retail politics and more and more media exposure and more and more money give him an edge. VandeHei and Allen:

Obama also runs tremendously well in states with large African-American populations, another promising sign since next Tuesday’s three primaries are in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia all of which have significant percentages of black voters.

Then comes another caucus state, Hawaii, where Obama is viewed as a native son.

The bottom line is that it figures to be another month before Clinton hits a stretch of states places like Ohio and Pennsylvania where she will be strongly favored to win.