After the March 4th primaries, Senator John McCain is the indisputable, bulletproof Republican presidential nominee. GOP voters in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont put him in a mathematically-certain position, with enough delegates to swing the convention. Senator McCain has certainly survived tougher fights than this one; he has another ahead of him.
The People Has Spoken, with feet as well as votes. Voters thronged the polls for the “Potomac Primaries,” the new simultaneous DC, Maryland, and Virginia presidential primary elections. Several DC polling places (including Precinct 91, Watkins Elementary School here on Capitol Hill) ran out of paper ballots for the Democratic Party race, forcing voters to stand in long lines for the few touch-screen voting machines.
February 12, 2008: 238 Democratic delegates and 119 Republican delegates are at stake today in the “Potomac Primaries,” the Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia presidential primary elections. This year, for Democrats at least, they count.
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are neck-and-neck in the horserace. Either vote is a vote for change: a white man won’t be the 2008 Democratic presidential candidate. But who will get the tap? If delegate totals stay close, will “super-delegates” — party leaders who get votes due to prominence — pick the candidate at the convention? If so, won’t that alienate half the Democratic primary voters?
Kansas and Louisiana voted overwhelmingly for former Alabama Governor Mike Huckabee. “I majored in miracles and I still believe in miracles,” he said afterwards in his usual “mix of folksy Scripture, inspirational anecdotes.”
Remember last week? States that voted for Huckabee on “Super Tuesday” were visited by devestating tornadoes on Wednesday, whirlwinds of Biblical proportions. Could it be that “God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7)?
If I lived in Kansas or Louisiana, I’d sweep out the storm cellar and put in some jugs of fresh water.
Tornadoes from No place Like Oz (top) and NWC Stormtrack.
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(Image: Currier, Ives & Licht)
Former Governor Mitt Romney withdrew from active pursuit of the Republican presidential candidacy today. Drawing on his vast military experience and knowledge, Mr. Romney determined that continuing in the race would aid the Democratic Party candidates, who favor ending the undeclared wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and would weaken support for Republican frontrunner and war supporter Senator John McCain.
(Image by Licht, Lewis and Clark)
After the Democratic presidential candidates battled to a virtual tie on Super Tuesday, contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama suddenly discovered that the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia have delegates up for grabs in primary elections on Tuesday, February 12th. Likewise, Republican primary leader John McCain has realized there is a large concentration of military and retired military voters in the area who are likely to be in his corner.
Goodbye, Super Tuesday
Now that all the primaries are done
Everyone but Mitt had lots of fun
Huckabee’s all right
Says he’s in the fight
But John McCain
Inflicted pain
Goodbye, Super Tuesday
Candidates hung hopes on you
Democrats are tied this new day
Still we’re gonna miss you…
(Licht & Jagger, 2008)
So much hype surrounded the “Super Tuesday” round of primary elections in 24 states that many voters thought it was a national election. Far from it; the grueling pace continues, with DC, Maryland, and Virginia primary voting next week.
The three-way battle between front-runner John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee might be the big story in this multi-state primary contest (don’t you feel like there should be a Power Ball number, too?).
(Left to right: Mitt Romey, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Ron Paul.)
The five leading Republican presidential candidates compete tonight on MSNBC’s “Survivor: Boca Raton” (special guest host: Fred Thompson).
Candidates will explain why the economy isn’t really in the toilet, and even if it is why it wasn’t Republicans who put it there, and how they even started a war to try and stimulate the economy. They will agree on three measures to boost the economy: tax cuts, tax reductions, and tax-cut extensions. After all, look how well those policies have worked already.
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[Update 9AM January 9, 2008] A big win for Senator John McCain, whom the conventional wisdom had grown to favor in the New Hampshire Republican primary in the past week. Mitt Romney trailed by five percent.
With 96 percent of precincts reporting, AP reports McCain with 37 percent of the vote, Romney 32 percent, Huckabee 11, Giuliani 9 percent, Ron Paul 8 percent and Duncan Hunter one percent. Tom Tancredo (who has withdrawn from the race) got less than one percent, as did Alan Keyes and another twelve candidates unknown to the general public
