Why Obama won and what his win gets him

Tom Curry National affairs writer • Profile • E-mail

COLUMBIA, S.C. - There were two true stunners Saturday night: the size of Sen. Barack Obama’s margin of victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton — 28 percentage points — but just as significant this number: Total turnout for Democrats in their primary was greater than the turnout for the Republican primary in this state, which is one of the most loyally Republican in the nation.

Four years ago about 293,000 Democrats voted in the state’s primary: Saturday Obama alone got more than that number of votes.

Why did Obama win South Carolina and what does this triumph portend for future contests?

One short answer: He and his campaign staffers worked.

Thus Obama vindicated Sen. Hillary Clinton’s own New Hampshire campaign slogan when she said, “Some believe you can get change by hoping for it. I believe you get change by working hard.”

Democratic activists here in South Carolina said that the Obama campaign had perhaps the most extensive field operation ever seen in this state.

Superb field organization
The reach of the Obama field operation extended even to such often forgotten places as Allendale County, which has the second smallest population of any of the state’s 46 counties.

To cite another locale, Obama had had about 20 supporters working out of his Greenville, S.C. office since mid-summer; Clinton had only five or six starting in the fall, according to one Greenville Democratic activist.

The Obama high command showed a skill for picking talent: Craig Schirmer, a veteran South Carolina get-out-the-vote expert, was in charge of Obama’s mobilization effort in the state.

Obama also won because Clinton and her strategists, sensing defeat, apparently decided to trim their effort in the state.

“They basically pulled out of the state,” said veteran Charleston, S.C. Democrat Phil Noble, the president of South Carolina New Democrats, and an Obama supporter.

Clinton slackens effort
“They did no phones, they did no mail, any real extensive expenditures seemed to have stopped about two months ago,” Noble said.

“I’m a Yellow Dog Democrat and I didn’t get any direct mail” from the Clinton campaign.

“I got zero mail from the Clinton campaign in the last two weeks; I probably got six pieces from Obama and easily eight from Edwards,” said Greenville, S.C. Democratic activist Kevin Mertens, who supported Sen. Joe Biden, who pulled out of the race three weeks ago.

Video Obama: ‘Ready to believe again’ Jan. 26: Barack Obama addresses his supporters in South Carolina after his triumph. MSNBC

Clinton’s loss here puts even greater pressure on the New York senator to win in the massive round of Feb. 5 contests: California, New York, Colorado, New Jersey, Arizona, and other states.

The imperative is for her to come up with a new set of reasons for voters to not put their trust in Obama.

The line of arguments offered by Bill Clinton — that nominating a first-term senator would be “a roll of the dice” and calling Obama’s explanation of his stance on the Iraq war “a fairy tale” — fell far short here in South Carolina.

MORE FROM BARACK OBAMA NEWS

Barack Obama News Section Front

Obama elected 44th president Obama campaign head gets big book deal Tears of joy, dancing in streets over Obama win Barack Obama's grandmother dies A nostalgic Obama return to Iowa Obama infomercial tops network ratings Obama plot shocks suspects' neighbors McCain, Obama battle into the homestretch Poll: Obama opens biggest lead over McCain Powell endorses Obama for president Barack Obama News Section Front   Add Barack Obama News headlines to your news reader: