Mark Casey Online

Hillary Clinton may not want to believe that the primary fight is over, but most apparently do.

Only 16% of the Puerto Rico populace turned out to vote in the primary, which amounts to around 300,000 people.

That’s less than a quarter of Clinton’s prediction of “over two million voters.”

Today was a big day for Obama.

A very big, very good day for Obama.

First, we have the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting, which took place today to decide what to do about Hillary Clinton’s much-bemoaned issue of seating the delegates from primaries in Florida and Michigan, both of whom broke the rules and theoretically deserved no votes at the convention. And the DNC, if you can believe it, almost followed its own rules.

(Analysis below the photo)

Among the millions of pounds of minutia discussed was the fairly straightforward issue of awarding a state which held an unapproved primary only “half-votes” at the condition, which is what they decided to do with both states. This is a huge boon to the Obama campaign, as it keeps him well within reach of the “magic number” for a delegate majority. (It also bolsters the potential Clinton argument of having won the popular vote, because it gives her more votes than Obama in each state.)

But that’s not all! Obama also quit his ridiculously controversial church this evening, which is the best possible thing he could ever have done. Now, whenever the pastors from that church get out of hand, no one can somehow suggest that Obama actually agrees with what insane religious zealots say. (As if, by the way, anyone actually believes the stuff they usually hear in church on Sunday.  …Okay, some people do.)

So, a stiff jab followed by a crushing uppercut, and suddenly Hillary Clinton and John McCain had better watch out — they just lost the only two things which have ever hurt Obama.

And they lost them on the same day. Ouch.

Representative Brad Ellsworth, from my home state of Indiana (and the district next to mine, no less) said today that, while he said he would cast his vote as a superdelegate for Hillary Clinton, he cast his vote in the voting booth for Barack Obama.

Oh, if only I was joking.

I’m very familiar with Ellsworth, and he’s honestly a stand up guy. And to be honest, his personality is that of an Obama supporter — fresh, idealistic, ready to have a chance to look at things in new ways. So it’s no surprise to me that he voted for Obama.

I suppose he wanted to follow the way his district/state voted when he declared for Clinton, but he’s clearly on the fence now, and has said repeatedly that his support for Clinton is conditional, and “not an endorsement.”

Sounds to me like the Clinton camp will have lost at least one more superdelegate by Friday.