Certifiable

Obama wins Wis. for 9th straight triumph
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama cruised past a fading Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Wisconsin primary Tuesday night, gaining the upper hand in a Democratic presidential race for the ages.

It was Obama's ninth straight victory over the past three weeks — with results unknown from the Hawaii caucuses — and left the former first lady in desperate need of a comeback in a race she long commanded as front-runner.

"The change we seek is still months and miles away," Obama told a boisterous crowd in Houston in a speech in which he also pledged to end the war in Iraq in his first year in office."I opposed this war in 2002. I will bring this war to an end in 2009. It is time to bring our troops home," he declared.

In a race growing increasingly negative, Obama cut deeply into Clinton's political bedrock in Wisconsin, splitting the support of white women almost evenly with her. According to polling place interviews, he also ran well among working class voters in the blue collar battleground that was prelude to primaries in the larger industrial states of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Clinton made no mention of her defeat, and showed no sign of surrender in an appearance in Youngstown, Ohio.

"Both Senator Obama and I would make history," the New York senator said. "But only one of us is ready on day one to be commander in chief, ready to manage our economy, and ready to defeat the Republicans. Only one of us has spent 35 years being a doer, a fighter and a champion for those who need a voice."

In a clear sign of their relative standing in the race, most cable television networks abruptly cut away from coverage of Clinton's rally when Obama began to speak in Texas.

Ouch! It looks like the cable TV networks see Hillary as yesterday's news. She is even losing ground among "Nascar Democrats."

Hillary's tired old line of being "ready on day one" is as stale after her ninth consecutive defeat as it was the first time she uttered it. By the way, you'd think that those who need a voice wouldn't choose one as strident as hers.

Hillary is in denial big time. If insanity is indeed doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, Hillary is certifiable.

Obama is a cut-and-run liberal. His pledge to bring the troops home from Iraq in his first year in office, should he get elected, is reckless and plays right into the hands of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida.