I was a bit disappointed that Sen. Hillary Clinton won the primaries in Pennsylvania, this past Tuesday. I found solace in the fact that it was not the blowout that the media had predicted. I found even more solace in the fact that my hometown, Philadelphia, gave an overwhelming show of approval for Sen. Barack Obama, by giving him nearly two-thirds of our vote. There were 158 delegates up for grabs in Tuesday’s election. Sen. Clinton pulled in at least 82 delegates and Sen. Obama gained at least 73. Sen. Obama holds his lead in total delegates at 1,723.5 to Sen. Clinton’s 1,592.5. A total of 2025 is needed to clinch the nomination, an amount that probably neither will attain before the Democratic National Convention (DNC). That means that the nomination, most likely, will be decided by the delegates at the DNC.
So, what’s next? There are two primaries coming shortly, those being North Carolina and Indiana. Sen. Obama is heavily favored in North Carolina; in Indiana, it’s been predicted that it will be a close race. Aside from the next two primaries, the biggest job is to convince the Super Delegates and the Democratic National committee that he or she is electable. There are two ideas afloat at the moment: the total popular vote count and either candidate’s “electability factor”, and they go hand in hand.
Sen. Clinton is determined to make the votes and delegates from Florida and Michigan count. Both states were disqualified when they moved up their primary dates after being warned of the consequences of doing so. Be that as it may, Ms Clinton is spouting victory in the overall amount of votes that she has received thus far. If Florida and Michigan were to be counted, that summation would be correct. Without those votes, Sen. Obama has a sizeable lead, as goes the popular vote. It should be noted that Chairman Howard Dean is slow to hear anything concerning the possibility of allowing those votes to be counted. By adding those votes, it gives Sen. Clinton a total of about 4.1 million votes and Sen. Obama 4.0 million. With the electoral college in place and fully operational, the popular vote holds no weight for either candidate receiving the nomination. Why, then, does she insist upon touting the grand total of popular votes? She is trying to justify the notion that she is more electable.
The biggest problem that I see at the moment is the dreaded media (big surprise there). They continue to load this story into their output without getting to what really matters. The primaries that have taken place and those that will take place shortly actually have no determining factor, by popular vote, as to who would be the more electable candidate. The primaries are between two Democrats. Electability speaks to the following notion: the ability to bring in more votes than the Republican Party’s candidate. Therefore, it may mean something only if they were facing a Republican, which does not happen in a primary race. That would determine which candidate is more electable. In the primaries, they are only up against each other. It neither addresses nor brings to any conclusion which candidate is more electable than the opposing Republican candidate. None of the media seems to be addressing that issue. Voters hear the totals, and figure that it makes sense without hearing the whole story. The key issue seems to be “electability”, which, due to its own meaning and the very definition of the word “primary”, becomes a non-entity.
One thing that we need do is to stop “Hillary Hatin’”. It’s merely politics as usual, or in this case, “parlor tricks” as usual. It’s the way that the politicians have been playing the game since for forever. It’s not a very good way to run a campaign, but, by now, we should all expect it. It is true that Sen. Clinton has left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of people, and she brings the “hatin’” to her own doorstep all by her lonesome. There is a bigger picture to consider. As much as a multitude of us want to see Sen. Barack Obama progress to President Obama, there is the very distinct possibility that he may not get the nomination. It is what it is. That’s just a fact. In that very unlikely and unfavorable situation, one must ask oneself “Do I still want change, or do I want eight more years of George W. Bush?” View Ms Clinton from a distance and take the nonsense on the chin. If Sen. Barack Obama does not get the nomination, she may be our only hope (Lord help us). She may not be your choice, but, please – consider the alternative.
This is blackstarr saying “Vive La Renaissance”.
copyright © 2008 blackstarr
