Obama fully denounces Wright

Obama fully distances himself from a 3 day press blitz by Former Pastor Reverend Wright. Obama made clear his outrage and disappointment in Wright, and reiterated that they in no way share views.

The half delegate

So this post should be about how Clinton got what she needed from the voters in Texas and Ohio.  And perhaps that would follow into the concern of many that the Democrats won't have a decisive candidate before the convention.  I'd like to draw attention to a more minor detail of the whole process, and that is the half delegate.  WHAT IS A HALF DELEGATE?  I first noticed this while browsing the New York Times results summary:

http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/delegates/index.html

You will notice that in "Democrats Abroad" that Clinton received 1.5 delegates to Obama's 3.  As of the date of this post, you would also notice that the New York Times is estimating Obama will receive 159.5 delegates based on a Survey of Superdelegates.  

So  in the case of the survey, a half delegate *could* be someone who basically said they'll flip a coin on the day of the vote.  While not all that helpful to report in a race this close, it is a valid statistical way to describe a delegate in such a quantum probabilistic state.  But in the case of the Democrats abroad, 1.5 delegates have pledged their vote for Clinton.  Does this mean that US territories get less of a vote?  I can't imagine someone agreed to give their arms to Obama and legs to Clinton.  What gives?

Last Stand at Austin Debate

The Democratic debate in Texas is in many ways Clinton's last stand against Obama's continuing momentum. The results were mixed. Factoring out an alleged low blow by Clinton early on when she accused Obama of xeroxing his speeches, most of the discourse was extremely cordial. The candidates stressed their similarities, dodged direct questions to point out their differences, and complimented each other regularly -- it was almost as if the two had struck a secret deal to be running mates no matter how it turned out. By the end however, Clinton came out the clear winner of the debate. She was more articulate throughout, came out ahead with her mandate for universal health coverage, and moved the audience to a standing ovation with an emotion evoking closing statement. In many ways she hit it out of the park, the question is will it be enough for her? Opinion polls were more mixed than this assessment -- with reactions split down the middle. Since it is unlikely either candidate will achieve the 2025 delegates needed to secure the nomination, the best result for Democratic voters would be if they did eventually agree to run together, and teamed up against McCain with a unified pair of candidates that the country is familiar with and excited about.

Fidel Castro steps down

Fidel Castro stepped down today from the position of "Comandante en Jefe" of Cuba, the only Communist state in the Western Hemisphere. His younger brother of 5 years, Raul Castro, is expected to replace him.

The Potomac Push

Obama sweeps up post-super-tuesday states and surpasses Hillary Clinton to lead in delegate count, states won, and popular vote. The race is essentially a dead-heat draw except when inertia is accounted for in which case Obama comes out ahead. Recent states picked up by Obama include: Washington, Louisiana, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, Virginia, Maryland, and DC. Clinton hasn't won a state since Feb. 5th, and in fact has lost by no less than 20% margins: primary map.

In Republican news, McCain remains the de-facto winner, and is now facing a backlash from the ultra-right-wing press. Talk radio hosts are questioning whether he is conservative enough, and mentioning to their listeners a preference for the devil or Clinton over him. Romney dropped out after super-Tuesday despite being a clear choice for republicans concerned about the economy. Huckabee continues to dazzle the evangelicals, especially in the South, but not enough to win it seems to pull ahead without "a miracle".

Super Duper Tuesday In Effect!

Don't forget to vote!

Tuesday results are expected to be very interesting -- especially the Democratic challenge in California. Hillary Clinton is getting lots of buzz surrounding her being a "two for one" deal, and the possibility of Obama as her ultimate running mate after a rather cordial debate. Barack Obama has tons of momentum as well following his endorsement by the Kennedy clan, including California native Maria Shriver. The clan mentioned his surrounding himself with "people of high integrity", and being most like California as reasons to go for the Change candidate. Many Hillary voters are wanting to get both -- Hillary now and Obama later -- generally reasoning that the other way around is a no-go. The state is not all-or-nothing for the Democrats, so it should prove to provide a swath of delegates for both candidates.

Democratic Voters Disenfranchised in Michigan and Florida

A fairly underreported story in my view is the fact that all the Democratic voters in Florida, the sunshine state, have been effectively disenfranchised this year. They, along with Democratic voters in Michigan, will have no say in who the Democratic nominee will be. Usually this sort of punishment is reserved for felons, but this year, because the legislators of these states decided to move their primaries "too early", all potential Democratic voters for both states have been penalized. I believe the driving force in this decision was the Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean. That will teach voters to cower and fear his pterodactyl cry! Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the voters of such critical swing-states respond in the general election when their vote finally does count.