Big news out of Florida tonight is not just that John McCain won the Republican primary, but that Rudy Giuliani came in third, and according to reports will formally withdraw from the race on the steps of the Reagan Library in California tomorrow.
I think that's good news for the country. As a New Yorker, I can testify to the autocratic way he ran this city. His contempt for everything from people in the street to art in the museums made his tenure as Mayor one of the most dangerous and unpleasant in our history.
Meanwhile, the Democrats held a non-primary in Florida tonight. As in Michigan, the Democratic high command ruled that these votes won't result in delegates being seated in the national convention. As I pointed out last month, that's about as counterproductive and undemocratic as you can get.
So, what was Hillary Clinton doing claiming "victory" in Florida tonight - after issuing a statement in Iowa that the results in Michigan and Florida, regrettably, wouldn't count?
The answer, obviously, is that she and her campaign are seeking to score some points against Obama, who did so well yesterday with Ted Kennedy's amazing endorsement.
To which I say: not a good move, at all, for the Clinton campaign. Rather than taking the high road, Hillary tonight on MSNBC spoke of "victories" in New Hampshire and Nevada (true) and Michigan and Florida (not true, since those "victories" are not supposed to count). Such political manipulation will only further put off Americans who are looking for the new type of politics that Barack Obama is attempting to build.
3 comments:
This is a test of the Florida Democratic primary.
The party leaders in your area, in violation of Democratic national authorities, have developed this unofficial primary to try to cut ahead of other states, in the event of an actual election.
For the next sixty seconds, you will hear a high-pitched whining tone that will let you know that your fellow Floridians just threw their votes away, followed by a collective yawn from the rest of America.
Remember, this is only a test.
*WHHI-I-I-I-I-NNNE!*
*yawn*
This has been a test of the Florida Democratic primary. If this had been an actual primary, you would have been instructed to vote one week later at one of the polling stations in your area.
This concludes this test of the Florida Democratic Primary.
Using that same logic (that delegates are what count) I wouldn't be so quick to ackowledge that it is "true" that Clinton won New Hampshire and Nevada, either.
Clinton and Obama tied in New Hampshire (both received 9 delegates).
Obama beat Clinton in Nevada - by getting 13 delegates while Clinton got 12.
Now that Edwards and Giuliani are out, it's time to see what the blogosphere thinks of the 6 remaining candidates, using Range Voting, a voting method detailed in William Poundstone's Gaming the Vote
http://polls.zoho.com/brokenladder/super-tuesday-2008-presidential-poll
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