DNC Skullduggery
The DNC has
stripped Joe Lieberman of his SuperDelegate status, apparently not due to his leaving the party (he has been an independent since the netkooks drove him out in support of Neddy Lamont), but due to his endorsement of Senator John McCain.
I can't blame them, much as we appreciate Joe's support, and I gotta wonder if he even wanted to go to the DNC; he hasn't been popular with the nutty activist base of the party since 2004 or so.
Meanwhile, Howard Dean (remember him?) is pledging to step in and broker a deal
the Hillary delegates and the Obama delegates.
"The idea that we can afford to have a big fight at the convention and then win the race in the next eight weeks, I think, is not a good scenario,” he said.
If there is no nominee selected by his predicted mid-spring date, or by Puerto Rico's June vote – the last presidential primary on the Democratic calendar – Dean said the party would likely bring both sides together to work out a deal.
Hoo-boy, I would not want to be in that room unless they cleared it of ashtrays. This virtually guarantees that the losers will end up hurt and angry; not a good thing for the party of emotion.
The problem arises because the Democrats' desire for "fairness" has put them in a bind that was terribly obvious years ago. By awarding delegates proportionally, as compared to winner-take-all, the Democrats have set up a situation where two strong candidates will almost certainly end up unable to reach the magic number, particularly if a third candidate manages to win some delegates along the way.
Suppose the Democrats had winner-take-all in the states the Republicans did on Super Tuesday. Then Hillary would be cruising to her coronation. She won New York, New Jersey, and Arizona, just as John McCain did. Instead of winning all the delegates, she lost 93 in New York, 59 in New Jersey, and 25 in Arizona; that's a total of 177 delegates that should be in her column (and not for Obama). Take away the 22 she won in Connecticut, 6 in Delaware and 36 in Missouri, which Obama won, and she'd still be at a plus 113 compared to where she is now, or at a total of 1169, while Obama would be at 866.
Other voices:
Blue Crab Boulevard:
Obama has been running extremely well, much better than I initially expected, frankly. For him to give up all his aspirations to be President is pretty well unthinkable. For Clinton, she believes that job is hers, almost as a birthright. I can't see her giving that up, either. So [we] have a virtually unsolvable problem there.
Protein Wisdom:
Rove, you magnificent bastard!
Hot Air:
But if it keeps going and stays tight, maybe Hillary finds some money in an old Hsu or something, Howard Dean might scream in to save the day.
Eeeeeeyyyyyaaaaaaahhhhh!
Labels: Barack Obama, DNC, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean
