Barack Obama goes four for four this weekend in the Democrat nominating contests.

Senator Barack Obama defeated Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Maine caucuses on Sunday, giving him his fourth victory this weekend as he headed into three more state contests on Tuesday.

With 90 percent of MaineÂ’s precincts reporting, Mr. Obama received 58.7 percent of the vote, compared with 40.7 percent for Mrs. Clinton.

Voter turnout in parts of Maine was reported to be strong on Sunday afternoon, despite a snowstorm. The Portland Press Herald reported on its Web site that there were long lines at the caucus in Portland, while a large crowd in Cape Elizabeth delayed the start of the caucus there by more than an hour.

Mr. ObamaÂ’s victory in Maine follows those in Washington, Louisiana and Nebraska on Saturday. Combined with his advantage in fund-raising, these victories should give him momentum going the primaries on Tuesday in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

And this should be an interesting race, filled as it is with establishment Democrats AND a major city which is overwhelmingly African-American. The Clinton campaign had expected to be done with the nomination fight by now, but that is not anywhere close -- or anywhere near certain to happen at all.

So what is the solution? A Clinton campaign shake-up!

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton replaced campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle with longtime aide Maggie Williams on Sunday, a staff shake-up coming just hours after presidential rival Barack ObamaÂ’s Saturday sweep of three contests.

Campaign aides said Solis Doyle made the decision to leave on her own and was not urged to do so by the former first lady or any other senior member of the team. But it comes as Clinton struggles to catch Obama in fundraising and momentum and faces the prospect of losing every voting contest yet to come in February. On Sunday, Obama also won the caucus count in Maine.

Solis Doyle announced the shift in an e-mail to the staff on Sunday.

And how many of us believe that Solis Doyle REALTY made the decision to quite without being pushed by Hillary and her other close advisers? Not many, I'm sure. But will this change really help the campaign at all? And will dumping a Hispanic woman for a black woman really be of any benefit for a campaign that is strong among Hispanics and weak among African-Americans? Frankly, there is an air of desperation hanging about the Clinton campaign.

Posted by: Greg at 10:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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