Operation Chaos May Have Swung Indiana for Clinton

Hillary Clinton's victory in Indiana will be uncomfortably close for her (less than 17,000 votes as I write this), but if she prevails it will still be a victory, and at least one of the lefty blogs is speculating that Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos may have played a significant role:

Did Rush Limbaugh actually impact the Democratic primary?

The loud-mouthed radio talk show host has been encouraging Republicans to vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton to continue the "chaos" in the Democratic race. And a sampling of some key exit poll information suggests he may, to a certain extent, be having an effect.

Thirty-six percent of primary voters said that Clinton does not share their values. And yet, among that total, one out of every five (20 percent) nevertheless voted for her in the Indiana election. Moreover, of the 10 percent of Hoosiers who said "neither candidate" shared their values, 75 percent cast their ballots for Clinton.

These are not small numbers. By comparison, of the 33 percent of voters who said Sen. Barack Obama does not share their values, only seven percent cast their ballots in his favor. Basically, more people who don't relate to Clinton are, for one reason or another, still voting for her. These are not likely to be loyal supporters.

A lot of Republicans really got into this whole plan, and despite threats from the Indiana Democrat party, apparently donned their hippie clothes, skipped the shower, and headed to the polls to vote like a good Democrat. It's too bad we won't be able to get any hard numbers, but Clinton's margin of victory may well have been decided by dittoheads.

UPDATE: The margin of victory may end up being less than 2%. Even the Obama campaign is crediting Rush for Clinton's victory.

UPDATE 2: Jake Tapper has more on Operation Chaos.