Food for thought this morning:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Don't look to crown any presidential nominees on Super Tuesday. The race for delegates is so close in both parties that it is mathematically impossible for any candidate to lock up the nomination on Feb. 5, according to an Associated Press analysis of the states in play that day.
"A lot of people were predicting that this presidential election on both sides was going to be this massive sprint that ended on Feb. 5," said Jenny Backus, a Democratic consultant who is not affiliated with any candidate. Now it's looking as if the primaries after Super Tuesday - including such big, delegate-rich states as Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania - could grow in importance.
"Maybe some states were better off waiting," said Backus.
That doesn't mean Super Tuesday won't be super after all. Voters in more than 20 states will go to the polls on the biggest day of the primary campaign, and thousands of delegates will be at stake.
But it's possible Feb. 5 might not even produce clear front-runners.
Kicked to the front for discussion.
Thank you, Mr. Fielding.
I read this in the News-Gazette.
What upsets me most is the idea that Hillary Clinton has more delegates because of "super delegates" that have pledged to support her.
If she is behind in delegates selected by voters, will these folks stick with her or will they go with "the people's choice"?
And is the Democratic party setting itself up for sort of the inverse (?)(obverse?) of Florida 2000, when the popular vote supported one candidate but the electors were apportioned by other means? That really could be a situation that would lose the Dems a lot of votes, especially if HRC is the nominee...
Super delegates signal a return to the wiser days when party leaders could decide nominees based upon who might win the general election, instead of nominating someone like McGovern or Dukakis.
Ah, but there's the rub..Who can win the general for the Democrats?
Hillary, who will lose people from her own party and who will (probably) not attract independents or peel off voters from the Republicans? She's currently estimated at getting 52% of the popular vote, at best...
Obama, who can attract independents and who has peeled off a few Republicans...but he has the audacity to run in an election Hillary considers hers, and she'll do anything she can to kneecap him and bring him down (not to mention all of Bill's shenanigans).
Edwards...nice guy, great hair (whatta you expect for $400?), but seems to be positioning himself for a vice-presidential bid...
or someone else, who just hasn't popped up yet?
And if Hillary has fewer delegates gained by proportional representation, but is still picked by the super delegates to be the nominee, what happens to the party? I see unity going to s***...
In other words, the Dems may deliver this to the Republicans by the end of their convention...
(a scenario, I realize, that probably the closest to a (teenage male event) the Republicans can envision.)