The measure of victory

Stepping aside in advance of the torrent of talk and spin that will follow the Pennsylvania Presidential primary election today, the only outcome that has any significance for Sen. Hillary Clinton is one that will draw new contributors to her. From all accounts she is strapped for cash, running up debts, and her base of financial support is maxed out. What she needs to go forward with her campaign is a whole new group of individual donors.

Sen. Obama’s campaign currently has received donations from more than 1,370,000 individuals, with a stated goal of reaching 1,500,000 by May 6. By any measure, this is an impressive number of grassroots supporters that Sen. Clinton has not come close to matching.

What margin of victory in Pennsylvania does Sen. Clinton need to bring the infusion of cash her campaign needs? As it stands, many observers have stated that she needs significant victories to have a chance at winning the nomination, not only in Pennsylvania, but also in each of the remaining contests. Five hours before the polls close in Pennsylvania, that doesn’t look like it is going to happen in a way that will much affect the delegate count. But, turning on the money spigot is what she needs above all else.

I don’t have a prediction of how Clinton supporters will react to the election results today, any more than I have a prediction of how the vote itself will go. It has been a season of surprises for me many times, and I am content to wait and see how it plays out. I do think, however, that the actual vote count today is less important than the Clinton collection plate totals going forward will be.

I’ll wait to see how that turns out too.