Obama Drama will Continue: Clinton wins Pennsylvania- Improves Primary Record to 15-30

From the Chicago Tribune [HERE] 

Hillary Clinton won a solid but not overwhelming victory in the Pennsylvania primary tonight, exit polls and television networks projected, adding another dose of ambiguity to an already muddled Democratic presidential campaign.

Clinton beat rival Barack Obama in this, the largest remaining delegate trove on the Democrats' primary calendar. A total of 158 pledged delegates were at stake in Pennsylvania -- along with the attention of the remaining uncommitted "superdelegates" who will likely decide the nomination. Behind in delegates and sporting a 14-30 primary record the Clinton campaign needed a blowout victory in Pennsylvania to get any closer to winning the nomination.

The vote capped six weeks of increasingly harsh exchanges between the candidates, culminating with a barrage of attacks this week, and a series of dust-ups that marred each candidate. Clinton was forced to explain how she overstated the dangers of a trip to Bosnia she took as First Lady. Obama dealt with fallout from inflammatory statements made by his pastor and his own description of "bitter" Pennsylvania voters who "cling" to God and guns in the face of economic woe.

Exit polls showed Clinton winning among women, whites, union members, late deciders, gun owners, senior citizens, frequent churchgoers and voters earning less than $50,000 a year. They showed Obama winning among men, voters with college degrees, those younger than 45 and newcomers to the Democratic Party. He continued his dominance among African Americans, winning their votes 9 to 1.

The polls showed voters prized "change" over "experience," that they overwhelmingly believe America is in recession and that the economy weighs heaviest on their minds as an electoral issue. Two in three voters said Clinton attacked Obama unfairly.

Left unclear was whether Clinton would achieve the necessary margin to convince uncommitted superdelegates her victory was large enough to change the dynamic of the race. Both campaigns sought during the day to lower their own expectations and raise the bar for their opponents.

Obama's campaign contended Clinton needed a "blowout" win: "Tonight's outcome is unlikely to change the dynamic of this lengthy primary," the Obama campaign said in a memo, adding later: "We expect that by tomorrow morning, the overall structure of the race will remain unchanged--except for the fact that there will be 158 delegates off the table.

• Pictured above: Recently Chris Rock said "It's going to be hard for Barack to be president. . . . Hillary's not going to give up. She's like Glenn Close in 'Fatal Attraction.' " [MORE]