"A President Like My Father"

When the Kennedy family steps up, I listen. Granted, I remember Ted Kennedy's abortive attempt to unseat Jimmy Carter in 1980, but when the Lion of the Senate roars, it's time to sit up and take notice.

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has joined with his niece, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, in endorsing Barack Obama for President of the United States.

In yesterday's New York Times, Caroline, the child of John F. Kennedy, endorsed Obama in an op-ed piece, A President Like My Father.

Of the remaining candidates in the race, I have been leading toward John Edwards. I have long maintained that Hillary, while dominant, is unelectable. Obama is fresh, he's new, he represents change. But I still don't know if this country is ready to elect a black man. I will admit to being very impressed at the margin of victory in South Carolina.

For now, I'll go along and see what Super Duper Tuesday brings.

What About Mike Gravel?

So I guess I am not going to have a chance to vote for Mike Gravel in the MD Primary . . . there is no word from Mad Mike. His whereabouts are unknown. Saturday, the Democrats will complete the other part of the South Carolina Primary. At this moment, the remaining candidates are debating in Myrtle Beach.

I was getting a haircut today and on my left was an older white woman getting her hair cut by an African-American woman, probably in her late 20s-early 30s. I happened to overhear when they started talking politics. I was intrigued to hear that the older white woman was more inclined to vote for Hillary after she showed some emotion before the NH primary. The black woman was going to vote for her until that point. It was a little microcosm of the electorate that I found interesting.

I am still disappointed by John Edwards. If he can't win in South Carolina, there may be no future for him or a role at the convention for that matter. I also can't see him taking the number 2 spot again.

Here is how the delegate count looks for the Democrats among the four remaining candidates.

Needed to nominate: 2025
Total delegate votes: 4049

• Hillary Clinton - 236
• Barack Obama - 136
• John Edwards - 50
• Dennis Kucinich - 1
  

Mac is Back, The Hunt[er] is Over

Another weekend, another two Republican contests in the books. The Nevada Caucuses and the GOP South Carolina primary were this past Saturday. John McCain is continuing his "Lazarus-like" comeback, capturing a primary that eluded him eight years ago. The two events also knocked Duncan Hunter from the presidential sweepstakes (but what about the one delegate he won?).

I still can't believe that McCain can win. I have heard a lot of talk about getting him to commit to serving only one term. Like he would go on the record and aver that. We will see how things go in Florida this weekend and then on Tsunami Tuesday. Of course, Florida is shaping up as the last stand of Rudy Giuliani. He has had the state to himself for some time and if he doesn't win here, time to pack up the tents and head back into his 9/11 bunker.

According to the Washington Post here are the latest delegate counts.
Needed to nominate: 1191
Total delegates: 2380

• Mitt Romney - 59
• Mike Huckabee - 40
• John McCain - 36
• Fred Thompson - 5
• Ron Paul - 4
• Rudy Giuliani - 1

Three down, 47 to go

Iowa went first and then Tuesday, New Hampshire. The Wyoming Republicans snuck in there between the two. Here's how they went:

Iowa (Republicans):

1. Huckabee - 37%, 17 delegates
2. Romney - 25%, 12 delegates
3. McCain - 13%, 3 delegates
4. Thompson - 13%, 3 delegates
5. Paul - 10%, 2 delegates
6. Giuliani - 4%, 0 delegates
7. Hunter - 1%, 0 delegates

Iowa (Democrats)

1. Obama - 38%, 16 delegates
2. Edwards - 30%, 14 delegates
3. Clinton - 29%, 15 delegates

Wyoming (Republicans)

1. Romney - 67%, 8 delegates
2. Thompson - 25%, 3 delegates
3. Hunter - 8%, 1 delegate (OH, HE'S ON FIRE NOW!)

New Hampshire (Democrats)

1. Clinton - 39%, 9 delegates
2. Obama - 37%, 9 delegates
3. Edwards - 17%, 3 delegates
   

New Hampshire (Republicans)

1. McCain - 37%, 7 delegates
2. Romney - 32%, 4 delegates
3. Huckabee - 11%, 1 delegate

Now its on to Michigan then Nevada, and South Carolina.

If you need a primer on how the delegate selection process works, read this.

Can't he run again?

I was but five years old when George McGovern ran for president as a Democrat in 1972. He was, of course, crushed under the Nixon landslide. McGovern is 85 now and has outlived most of his political contemporaries. He has put the current president in his sights.

"Why I Believe Bush Must Go" - today's Washington Post

The sub-title of the editorial - "Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse."

I love being a Democrat.

Done With Hawkeyes, Off to Granites

For the Republicans - Huckabee vanquishes the Mormon and heads off to New Hampshire without much money or support. How big will the bounce be? Is it enough to stop the surging John McCain, who is fighting his last stand in the Granite State. Will New Hampshire make McCain the "new Comeback Kid?" We'll find out Tuesday. What is evident is that by Tuesday the Republicans should be down to a three man race. Sorry, Dr. Paul, your campaign is terminal. And if Romney comes in a distant third, you should be able to stick a fork in him, too. He'll be done.

A donkey is sort of like a horse right? For we have got ourselves a horse race for the Democrats. Obama's win was much more surprising than Huckabee's (Iowa voters think more like an evangelical Christian than a black man from the city) and it is bad news for the Clinton camp. Well, we have said it all along, she is unelectable. Finally, the voters are coming around to that. I would have liked Edwards to have done a little better, but he is managing. I don't know how long the three man (person) race can last, but it is certainly exciting.