What will fill the gap?
The Pennsylvania primary is seven weeks away. In politics, that’s an absolute age—the Iowa caucuses were only eight weeks ago. One of the big determinants of the result there will be what fills this gap.
Hillary Clinton would dearly love it to be filled by seven weeks worth of articles looking at Barack Obama’s links to Tony Rezko, the Chicago political fixer from whom Obama brought property and who is now on trial for corruption. While the Obama camp would like reporters to concentrate on Obama’s likely victories in Wyoming and Mississippi, his lead in the delegate count and on pushing the Clintons to release their recent tax returns. Of course, with a seven week gap, the election could end up being dominated by some shock event that hasn’t happened yet.
One definite impact that the gap will have is on how the candidates campaign. Already, the Obama folk have said that they plan to move away from their signature big rallies and instead put more emphasis on roundtables. If Clinton is smart she will do town halls every day in Pennsylvania: they are her best format, they allow her to show off her command of the policy detail and her more human side, and Obama’s worst. The sight of Clinton answering questions from voters every day will play to her narrative that she is the candidate who is ready to go from day one.