Clinton Camp Defines Victory

After parsing the Clinton campaign media call, The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder reports that “if Clinton wins the popular vote in Ohio and Texas, she’s staying in the race.” Texas has a somewhat bizarre primary/caucus hybrid that is thought to favor Barack Obama. Which is to say Clinton could find herself even less likely to win the nomination, but still feeling like a winner.

There’s a bit of the expectations game at play here. Though Clinton needs to win all remaining states, including Ohio and Texas, by big margins in order to win the nomination (without the help of superdelegates), a simple win would be presented as an achievement. Likewise, an Obama loss would allow the Clinton camp to challenge his momentum and ability to, as some members of the Clinton team have put it, close.

(h/t: Political Wire)

The Atlantic:

Bottom Line From The Clinton Spin Call…

Is that if Clinton wins the popular vote in Ohio and Texas, she’s staying in the race.

Even if she loses the delegate race in Texas.

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