February 17
If the polls were to be believed, with John Kerry's expected victory tonight in a closer-than-expected Wisconsin primary, the endgame of the Democratic presidential nomination would have well and truly begun to play out.
The Massachusetts senator was set to add another 72 delegates to his tally, all but clearing the field ahead of 'Super Tuesday' on March 2, when Democrats in California, New York and Texas vote.
But wait just a minute...
Kerry was obviously rattled by the late surge by John Edwards - who picked up a lot of last-minute 'undecideds' and the endorsement of a couple of major local papers; as well as being bolstered by a good performance in a debate on Sunday night.
Edwards' strong showing was in part a signal that Democrats don't necessarily want this contest to be over too soon.
So while Kerry has accused him of "cherry-picking" states and not campaigning nationally, Edwards lives to fight another day. And in the long run, that may turn out to be the best thing for Kerry and for the party.
The eventual nominee will need to remain in the media spotlight for the next few months in order to attract campaign contributions, and will need to hone his debating skills for the general election campaign.
Having John Edwards as a foil - even if the Carolinian eventually ends up on the ticket - gives the media a reason, albeit a somewhat artificial one, to continue following the primary process.
In tonight's other back story, for Howard Dean, tomorrow may well be the first day of the rest of his life as a non-candidate. Whether it is or not, the question remains as to how the 'Deaniacs' - the group of young, dedicated supporters he brought into the party - might react to his defeat.
The truly hardcore, 'no-one-but-Dean' brigade, epitomised by those who wrote to the DNC saying they would find it hard to support a nominee who did not commit to repealing all of the Bush tax cut, might well dissipate, disillusioned with national politics.
But the expectation is that enough of them are more inclined to support 'anyone-but-Bush' and as such will rally behind the eventual nominee.
A lot, however, depends on Dean himself; and how he handles the mechanics of his disengagement.
Elsewhere, tonight, Democrat Ben Chandler won the special election to fill the vacant congressional seat in Kentucky.
The victory leaves the Republicans with a 228-205 majority in the House, with one vacancy and one independent.
Having been bounced into starting his campaign early, President Bush himself, meanwhile, was in Louisiana today, speaking to a group of national guardsmen soon to depart for Iraq. The president defended his decision to take the country to war.
"...saying that he had the choice of believing U.S. intelligence that said Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction, or "take the word of a madman," in reference to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"Faced with that choice, I will defend America every time," he said.
If the polls were to be believed, with John Kerry's expected victory tonight in a closer-than-expected Wisconsin primary, the endgame of the Democratic presidential nomination would have well and truly begun to play out.
The Massachusetts senator was set to add another 72 delegates to his tally, all but clearing the field ahead of 'Super Tuesday' on March 2, when Democrats in California, New York and Texas vote.
But wait just a minute...
Kerry was obviously rattled by the late surge by John Edwards - who picked up a lot of last-minute 'undecideds' and the endorsement of a couple of major local papers; as well as being bolstered by a good performance in a debate on Sunday night.
Edwards' strong showing was in part a signal that Democrats don't necessarily want this contest to be over too soon.
So while Kerry has accused him of "cherry-picking" states and not campaigning nationally, Edwards lives to fight another day. And in the long run, that may turn out to be the best thing for Kerry and for the party.
The eventual nominee will need to remain in the media spotlight for the next few months in order to attract campaign contributions, and will need to hone his debating skills for the general election campaign.
Having John Edwards as a foil - even if the Carolinian eventually ends up on the ticket - gives the media a reason, albeit a somewhat artificial one, to continue following the primary process.
In tonight's other back story, for Howard Dean, tomorrow may well be the first day of the rest of his life as a non-candidate. Whether it is or not, the question remains as to how the 'Deaniacs' - the group of young, dedicated supporters he brought into the party - might react to his defeat.
The truly hardcore, 'no-one-but-Dean' brigade, epitomised by those who wrote to the DNC saying they would find it hard to support a nominee who did not commit to repealing all of the Bush tax cut, might well dissipate, disillusioned with national politics.
But the expectation is that enough of them are more inclined to support 'anyone-but-Bush' and as such will rally behind the eventual nominee.
A lot, however, depends on Dean himself; and how he handles the mechanics of his disengagement.
Elsewhere, tonight, Democrat Ben Chandler won the special election to fill the vacant congressional seat in Kentucky.
The victory leaves the Republicans with a 228-205 majority in the House, with one vacancy and one independent.
Having been bounced into starting his campaign early, President Bush himself, meanwhile, was in Louisiana today, speaking to a group of national guardsmen soon to depart for Iraq. The president defended his decision to take the country to war.
"...saying that he had the choice of believing U.S. intelligence that said Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction, or "take the word of a madman," in reference to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"Faced with that choice, I will defend America every time," he said.
posted by Steve at 2:24 AM
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