Super Sunday

Holy Mrs. Governator! Maria Shriver, wife of the Republican governor of California, endorsed Barack Obama for President Sunday afternoon at the big L.A. rally with Michelle Obama, Caroline Kennedy and Oprah.


The first Sunday news: the Reuters/C-Span/ Zogby poll shows Obama ahead in California for the first time, 45 to 41%, just above the margin of error. Zogby also polled Georgia (where Obama is way ahead), Missoui and New Jersey, where Obama has virtually tied Clinton. New Jersey in particular is an eye-opener--next to New York, it was Clinton's safest state.

In terms of momentum, there's also the ABC/Washington Post poll that shows nationally "Obama, Clinton are even." Which means that nationally, Obama is still moving up, and has essentially erased Hillary's huge lead. Significantly, her large lead in electability has also dropped to a near tie.

Update: the Gallup daily tracking poll nationally also shows a statistical tie. The USA Today story emphasizes Obama wipes out Clinton's double digit lead from just two weeks ago. "The poll showed Obama had the highest favorable rating of the major candidates still in the race — 59% favorable to 32% unfavorable. Clinton was even at 48% favorable, 48% unfavorable."

Newspaper endorsements for Obama Sunday include the Newark Star Ledger, Alburquerque Journal and Birmingham News.

Guess who else thinks Obama is above average? Garrison Keillor endorsed Obama.

There are a number of stories about Obama's unorthodox choices for appearances late in the campaign, such as his event in Republican Idaho. From a conventional point of view it could look like somebody way behind trying to make it look good by winning small states, or somebody way ahead, or--as these stories indicate--somebody with a different strategy. However, it can't be much comfort to Clinton that Obama will end up in the Northeast for the last days--Delaware this morning, then New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. He's leaving southern California in the capable hands of Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Caroline Kennedy.