Weekend Update

After a tough two weeks, there was a great deal of positive pixie dust sprinkled on Barack Obama the last few days. And you could say the opposite for Hillary Clinton.

To wit: Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a veritable standard bearer for the blue collar, white voter that Obama supposedly can't attract, endorsed Obama and accompanied him on the kick-off of a 6 day bus tour. The tour might have come as a surprise to the Clinton campaign, who, not so long ago, were scolding Obama for taking PA lightly. Be careful what you wish for. We don't make predictions here, but we have a sneaking suspicion that this campaign trek will shrink Hillary's lead.

Then Obama publicly acknowledged Hillary's right to continue the primary. Very smart to take the high road on this. He can counter claims that he's piling on with the rest of the Boy's Club, which will help him with the female vote.

Speaking of the female vote, Obama wowed 'em on The View, the fem-centric talk show created by Barbara Walters. (How Hillary's people didn't get her on there first is a mystery.)

But the most shocking development of the week for Obama was that a bona fide conservative Republican said some nice things about his speech on race. Newt Gingrich, in an address at the conservative think tank The American Enterprise Institute, took Obama up on his call for a national dialogue on race. And he did it with a speech that can only be described as
a revolutionary call to action. The transcript takes a few minutes to read, but I beg you to read it. You won't agree with everything Gingrich says, but it is an honest attempt to transform the way we approach poverty in America.

And Hillary? Well, she had to beat back the drumbeat of ending the race. And now evidence is surfacing that her campaign is short on cash and is not paying its bills. In the meantime, her strong addresses on the economy and health care are not getting the attention they deserve. She's certainly capable of a comebeack, but the fact that polls show her losing ground after two tough weeks for Barack Obama (previous to this one), is not a good sign.

Here's a question: Is Obama lucky or good. Or both? Tell me how. Talk about this or anything else you want by clicking on'comments' below, by passing the Google sign up and hitting the anonymous or nickname button.