Another election day
I made a couple of calls to women in Texas tonight for Obama, and the people I reached sounded pretty grumpy. Maybe I just had a bad streak, but they just didn’t want to hear from me. By contrast, when I was calling into Super Tuesday states, even the people who were going to vote for Clinton sounded happy with their options and willing to talk.
I’m guessing that tomorrow’s going to be a split decision. Clinton will take Ohio and Rhode Island; Obama will take Texas (at least by delegates) and Vermont. And I think that means the campaigns will slog on to Pennsylvania.
I’m a self-admitted political junkie, but I’ve run out of enthusiasm for this primary. I like both candidates, and worry that the infighting is becoming too destructive. I want Obama to win the primary, but I want a Democrat to win in November even more.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Hmh, primary fatigue. You should update the Obama campaign. I tihnk thre is a point where pushing the calls goes too far. I too want it to end, and ending now means it has to be Obama since it’s impossible for Hillary to get the delegate count in her favor tomorrow.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:39 am
Don’t think you are in the home stretch yet – Charlie Crist is calling for a do-over in Florida, so that they can get delegates seated at the Convention. I assume his plan is that Florida will elect Clinton delegates, so that his pal McCain will face the weaker candidate.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:59 am
I highly doubt Florida will have another primary; it will cost tax payers in Florida 8-12 million dollars. Everyone is talking about how the democratic primary is dividing the party, or gender vs. race, but I think the DNC divided people when it removed the delegates for Florida and Michigan. They really should have known better. Hillary will never give up without a fight especially since she won those two states whether it was fair or not. If this goes on to Penn. I think Hill has a fair shot at the nomination and I would not drop out if I were her; it is just too close.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Saying that Hillary won Michigan and Florida strikes me as highly disingenuous. No one else campaigned in Michigan, after all. That’s not a very robust example of a free and fair election.
I’m sick of it, too. Enough already. But I am also a little embarrassed to admit (because I don’t think of myself as a waffler on these things) that I’m not sure who I’d vote for today, if I lived in one of the four voting states. Sigh.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:16 am
So? the mood? I am quite sad. I’m not seeing there being joy in the continuing battle, especially given the tone of the last few days. I was seriously depressed about the “He’s not a Muslim . . . as far as I know” comment by Clinton.
http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/31260-hillary-takes-obama-at-his-word-that-he-s-not-a-muslim.
If that influenced votes, it’s even more depressing.
How are the Clinton supporters feeling? Are you ecstatic? Looking forward to the continuing battles?
My update on the math is that Clinton has to win about 58% of the delegate count, including having new primaries held in Michigan & Florida. I think that’s a fair way to win, so if she can do that, she will get my vote in the general election without complaint. To get my money, too, she’ll need to do it in a way that doesn’t raise my ire: no talk of seating the existing Michigan & Florida delegates, no more “muslim”-type comments. . . .
March 5th, 2008 at 11:28 am
PS: I think that Elizabeth’s report of “grumpiness” is ominous for those of us who care more about having a Democrat win in November than whether Obama or Clinton wins.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:54 am
bj, I am a Hillary supporter, but not overly ecstatic about her wins yesterday. The focus on identity politics is deflating since I would be happy to have either the first black or woman president in office. I will be more excited when it is decided who will be the democratic nominee and I am hoping for the dream team. I still say that these two need each other to beat the republicans regardless of who is President or Vice President.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
well, as someone who lives in a state that has not yet held a primary, i have to admit i’m kind of glad that the primary is going to be carried through all fifty states for a change. some of us almost never get a voice in the primary selection process, and this year it is different!
also, having the presidential primary be contested when we have our election in may will have terrific effects down ticket. i for one am excited at the prospect of having obama’s GOTV efforts focussed on my state, i think it will bode well for the other contested primaries in the state, especially for the unconventional, non party-establishment candidates i tend to favor.
so there’s that. though i do get the big picture issue of draining resources and the negative results of in-fighting.
March 5th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Trishka — I hope your state-mates also feel that way, ’cause it does put a positive spin on continuing the election. There was excitement here in WA when we got to vote, and I’m not opposed to everyone getting a chance to make a choice. If primary fatigue is only affecting those of us who have already had a chance to have our say, it’s not as bad.
I worry a little bit about draining the monetary resources, but it’s draining the enthusiasm and good will that I really worry about.
Christine — I agree that they need each other, but I don’t think they can take each other as the others VP, oddly enough, because they are too alike. What they need to do, is that who ever looses has to give a high profile happy speech encouraging everyone to vote for the other. That becomes harder to do if it takes until August to get a decision.
bj
March 5th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
bj, I remain puzzled why you think Obama needs Clinton. She is widely disliked in the independent and reep electorates, and he has shown he can poach in those groups. She carries a lot of old scandals. She has the Bill Clinton albatross around her neck. He can pick Napolitano or Sebelius and show openness to women without choosing this very problematic woman.
I think you’re right that she needs him, though, to distract AfAm voters from what she did to him. So if she wins, she should invite him. But if he wins, he should look elsewhere.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I don’t agree that this long-drawn-out campaign is necessarily the kiss of death for the Dems. After all, there were far more Democrats turning out to vote in this primary than Republicans. The Repubs are not being very successful at getting out the votes. And McCain doesn’t seem to inspire very many people. Sure, the media just looooove him and vie to lick his boots (I’m using a G-rated metaphor here), but it seems that most actual voters are at best “meh” over McCain. The greatest strength the Dems have now is that people are sick to death of Bush and his crew.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Oh, by “need Clinton” I mean that he needs the support of Clinton, not Clinton as a veep. He needs her to beg the white women and the hispanics to vote for, to say that he is *not* a muslim, or inexperienced, or all the other accusations that have been tossed. She needs to use her contacts in California & Texas to support him, to excite those people to come out and vote for the democrat, no matter who wins.
I don’t think it makes any sense for either of them to pick the other as a veep, for real, and I’d suggest that the only reason it would be suggested is as the result of a truly brokered convention, where each has amassed sufficient power that it’s the only way to get the other to bow out.
I think the floating of the “dream ticket” balloon by the Clinton folks yesterday was such a plan. If Clinton doesn’t have enough pledged delegates (awfully hard, though not impossible if FL & MI re-vote), then, she might potentially be able to induce Obama to step down as part of a brokered deal. Or, at least, that’s the way the trial balloon goes.
bj
PS: I think we democrats are deluding ourselves if we don’t see that McCain will be a tough candidate. He attracts people who think themselves above the partisan fray and there are a lot of people who wouldn’t consider not voting for a republican, and he is independent enough from the Bush administration that he’s not tainted by their decisions.