Well, the front-loaded nominating process seems closer now to producing the sort of result the Democratic party wanted.
With John Kerry heading for seemingly comfortable victories tonight in Virginia and Tennessee, effectively scuppering John Edwards and Wesley Clark's 'pseudo-Southern strategy' - as Time magazine calls it, a "winner take y'all" approach - the Massachusetts senator could be on the brink of clearing out the rest of the field by the time Democrats in California, New York and Texas get to have their say.
But wait a minute. Obviously the twin factors of momentum and perceived electability helped Kerry secure a seemingly unassailable lead - that is, about 20 per cent of the delegates needed to mathematically secure the nomination. Given the DNC's financial resources compared with the fundraising power of the incumbent, not having to go through a primary fight that may even last until the convention would be a plus.
Yet one of the reasons some recent polls show Kerry beating Bush is simply because he's been all over the media looking like a winner. If he's left with no opposition, he has nothing to win, and no platform from which to manifest that 'electability'.
True, he can all but turn his full attention to attacking George Bush, but that will mean the Republicans dipping into their massive election war chest and going on the offensive against their challenger.
Thus, in an effort to get out ahead of a thorny story, the White House, responding to some of the reaction to President Bush's appearance on Meet The Press on Sunday, and the growing questions over his Vietnam war service in the Air National Guard, today released copies of the president's pay stubs from the period in question.
This shows that GOP strategists know they are on shaky ground against Kerry when it comes to military service - the subject, incidentally, of tonight's ABC News Nightline. By putting information out now and then dealing with any follow-ups, they hope to be able to put the matter to rest before the Democrats even choose their nominee.
With John Kerry heading for seemingly comfortable victories tonight in Virginia and Tennessee, effectively scuppering John Edwards and Wesley Clark's 'pseudo-Southern strategy' - as Time magazine calls it, a "winner take y'all" approach - the Massachusetts senator could be on the brink of clearing out the rest of the field by the time Democrats in California, New York and Texas get to have their say.
But wait a minute. Obviously the twin factors of momentum and perceived electability helped Kerry secure a seemingly unassailable lead - that is, about 20 per cent of the delegates needed to mathematically secure the nomination. Given the DNC's financial resources compared with the fundraising power of the incumbent, not having to go through a primary fight that may even last until the convention would be a plus.
Yet one of the reasons some recent polls show Kerry beating Bush is simply because he's been all over the media looking like a winner. If he's left with no opposition, he has nothing to win, and no platform from which to manifest that 'electability'.
True, he can all but turn his full attention to attacking George Bush, but that will mean the Republicans dipping into their massive election war chest and going on the offensive against their challenger.
Thus, in an effort to get out ahead of a thorny story, the White House, responding to some of the reaction to President Bush's appearance on Meet The Press on Sunday, and the growing questions over his Vietnam war service in the Air National Guard, today released copies of the president's pay stubs from the period in question.
This shows that GOP strategists know they are on shaky ground against Kerry when it comes to military service - the subject, incidentally, of tonight's ABC News Nightline. By putting information out now and then dealing with any follow-ups, they hope to be able to put the matter to rest before the Democrats even choose their nominee.
posted by Steve at 2:13 AM
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