The Morning Roundup

NBC's "The Today Show"

Tim Russert on Clinton's chances today: "She's doing better in Indiana... we just don't know who's going to turn out."

If conventional wisdom holds out and Clinton takes Indiana and Obama takes North Carolina: "Clinton has to say her victory in Indiana proves she continues to draw with blue-collar Democrats, a state that borders Illinois...Obama says 'not so fast', I won one, you won another, status quo continues. I'm still ahead by 150 delegates, this race has not changed."

Concerning the gas tax holiday, Russert emphasized how "it's a perfect metaphor for each campaign." Russert said he'd never seen an election where both camps strongly believed taking different sides of an issue helped their campaigns: Clinton as working class hero, Obama as not the same politics as usual.

Chuck Todd on tonight's impact on the delegate count: "Likelihood is they're going to split it right down the middle."

Fox News' "Fox and Friends"

Mark Halperin: "[Obama's] got to win them both in a way that shows he's commanding...Win the African American vote in both states, but also more importantly win the white vote...It's going be difficult. Rev. Wright's clearly been a drag."

On the candidates' moods: "[Clinton] is now the fired-up and ready-to-go candidate ... Every report I get is she's really hitting her stride and that's what she needs to do. I think [Obama] needs to snap out of it, whatever happens today."

"Make no mistake, [Obama's] still the favorite to win this nomination. The question is can he snap out of it and start projecting that positive image again."

On Clinton's chances in NC: "It'll be very difficult. About a third of the vote is going to be African American ... If his efforts to get college students to vote don't perform the way they like to ... and African Americans don't turn out the way he wants, and she gets a lot of the vote from the eastern part of the state, she could win it, I think, very difficult."

ABC's "Good Morning America"

George Stephanopoulos: "What I'm hearing from both campaigns is that there will most likely be a split today... Both sides saying Obama likely to hold onto North Carolina...Clinton camp starting to put out that Obama could win by double digits. Clinton should hold on in Indiana...Should go on for several weeks."

On Bill Clinton's relentless campaigning in rural towns, making nine stops yesterday: "He's really gone back to becoming an asset."

MSNBC's "Morning Joe"

Russert: "For Obama to lose North Carolina, he's going to have to get less than 30% of the white vote. And that would be a real signal to a lot of people -- we got to look at this closely. This is going to be a big night."

(Greg Bobrinskoy contributed to the Morning Update.)



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