Despite what has been hailed as a strong showing by Barack Obama in Indiana, his campaign claims he would’ve done better but for the sabotage of Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Post reports. Under his “Operation Chaos,” the conservative radio host urged Indiana Republicans to vote for Clinton in order to prolong the Dems' dogfight and "bloody up Obama politically."
It’s possible that Operation Chaos may have had an effect: 5.4% of the 1.27 million voters in Indiana's primary were registered Republicans who voted for Clinton, and 60% of those told exit pollers that they would vote for McCain over Clinton (by contrast, most Obama Republicans say they would vote for him over Mac). Assuming that 60% were Limbaugh's minions, that's 41,000 votes for Clinton—in a contest where she won by only 18,000. (More Indiana primary stories.)