Crazy Guide to the Internet

From the Wall Street Journal:

Sen. Barack Obama won Saturday’s crowded Wyoming caucuses, defeating rival Sen. Hillary Clinton …

Sen. Obama won 61% of the vote to Sen. Clinton’s 38%, with all 23 Wyoming counties reporting.

Twelve delegates were at stake in Wyoming, and the win provides a boost for the Obama campaign because both candidates ran aggressively in the sparsely populated state. Sen. Obama’s victory is the first since his streak of 11 straight primary wins was shattered on Tuesday with a big loss in Ohio and a narrower defeat in Texas.

The Illinois senator has done well in caucuses and the Rocky Mountains and Plains states, which made him the favorite in Wyoming. His grassroots mobilization has helped boost voter turnout in caucuses, which are usually more involved than primaries. On Super Tuesday, Sen. Obama won contests by large margins in North Dakota, Idaho and Colorado.

… While Saturday caucuses nominated just one-half of 1% of the total delegates needed for the nomination, the visits to this town of 52,000 by both candidates underscored the tightening of the race. “It makes you feel listened to in Wyoming like you haven’t ever been in the past,” said John Gans, 51, of Lander, Wyo.

… From here, the contest turns to Mississippi’s primary on Tuesday, where 33 delegates and seven superdelegates will be awarded. Then the candidates brace for a six-week battle in Pennsylvania, which awards 159 delegates in its April 22 primary.

From the Associated Press:

Sen. Barack Obama captured the Wyoming Democratic caucuses Saturday, seizing a bit of momentum in the close, hard-fought race with rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the party’s presidential nomination.

Obama generally has outperformed Clinton in caucuses, which reward organization and voter passion more than do primaries. The Illinois senator has now won 13 caucuses to Clinton’s three.

Obama has also shown strength in the Mountain West, winning Idaho, Utah, Colorado and now Wyoming. The two split Nevada, with Clinton winning the popular vote and Obama more delegates.

… Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the Wyoming victory speaks to the candidate’s strength in the West, and that Obama is better suited to help down-ticket Democrats even in states that traditionally vote Republican in the general election.

“I think it’s evidence that Senator Obama is going to be able to put more states in play because of his strength with independent voters,” Plouffe said.

From the New York Times:

Party officials reported extremely high turnout at caucus sites across Wyoming. In Laramie County, more than 1,500 came to cast votes at the caucus site, quickly filling the auditorium in downtown Cheyenne. Hundreds waited outside for hours until they could enter and vote. (In 2004, only 160 people showed up for the Laramie County caucus.)

Wyoming Democrats, usually a lonely bunch in an overwhelmingly Republican state, basked in their moment in the spotlight.

“Wyoming, this is our 15 minutes,” Kathy Karpan, a former Wyoming secretary of state who supported Mrs. Clinton, said on Saturday morning.

Mr. Obama beat Mrs. Clinton by 23 points. He appeared to have to won seven new delegates, while she will probably gain five.

While both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama pushed hard to win the state, the Obama campaign’s early organizing here appeared to have paid off.

The campaign set up shop two weeks before Mrs. Clinton’s did, opening five offices in the state to two for Mrs. Clinton.

… The newfound attention by the candidates and the national news media drew many newly registered Democrats to caucus on Saturday — officials said there were more than 2,000 registrations recently — and lifelong Democrats who had never caucused before.

Vernice Sack, 80, and her husband, Paul Sack, 83, counted themselves among the first-time caucusgoers. They both supported Mr. Obama, they said. “He’s got the right ideas,” Mr. Sack said.

From Reuters:

Pennsylvania, the biggest remaining state in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, should be a safe win for Hillary Clinton but experts say there are pockets of vulnerability for Barack Obama to exploit.

… Clinton was ahead in the polls by as much as 20 percentage points at the start of the year but Obama’s string of victories in February pushed him closer, narrowing the gap to just 6 points in the latest Quinnipiac poll in late February.

… Sean Smith, a spokesman for Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, argued that the demographics claimed as friendly by the Clinton campaign had helped him win Wisconsin and could do so again.

“We did extremely well in Wisconsin with the same types of voters,” he said, pointing to older voters who were “absolutely open” to Obama’s message of hope and change and “bringing the country together to solve our problems.”

Richards of Quinnipiac said Obama needed to do three things to have a chance of winning: boost turnout among black voters, which is historically low in primaries, motivate students at the state’s numerous universities and colleges, and win over affluent voters in the Philadelphia suburbs where Clinton is vulnerable.

The race has generated considerable excitement, election officials said. Abe Amoros, executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, said the state has not played such an important role in the primary process since 1976, when it helped propel Jimmy Carter to the White House.

“Since January 1 we’ve seen more than 40,000 changes in registration from Republicans or independents to Democrat because they want to participate in the primary,” Amoros said, predicting turnout at the primary could double from 2004 when 26 percent of all eligible Democrats participated.

From the Chicago Tribune:

In a stunning upset Saturday that could be a sign of trouble for Republicans this fall, a little-known Democratic physicist won the special election for a far west suburban congressional seat long held by former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

… The result also could be an omen for November, when two other Illinois congressional seats are up for grabs following Republican retirements, and Sen. Barack Obama could bring out a huge turnout if he’s the Democratic presidential nominee.

“It tells me that voters are ready for a change. They want new leadership in Washington,” said Sen. Dick Durbin.

… Obama called Foster to offer his congratulations late Saturday.

“By electing him to a traditionally Republican seat—a seat that former Speaker Dennis Hastert held for 20 years—the people of Illinois have sent an unmistakable message that they’re tired of business-as-usual in Washington,” Obama said in a statement.

More: continued here