US Scene
Since Super Tuesday, a few events have occurred. First on the Democrat side, Obama pulled off a clean sweep yesterday, winning Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington, while today he won Maine. This definitely gives him momentum, and although not yet the frontrunner, he may pull ahead soon. Nebraska, was no surprise, as he has pretty much won all the Middle American states and likewise Louisiana was no surprise either as all the Southern states with large African-American populations, he has won and Louisiana unlike Tennessee and Arkansas fits this. Washington being on the coast and with a large union population would fit the bill of being a potential Clinton state, however almost all her wins have been in primaries, not caucuses where Obama tends to do well, so no surprise Obama won, but the size of his win was definitely impressive. He not only won in Eastern Washington and the large college towns where he normally does well, but finished ahead in King County, which fits more the profile of a Clinton strength. Most polls also show he has a better chance at beating McCain over Clinton, which maybe helping him.
On the Republican side, Mitt Romney dropped out, and all I can say is good riddance. Whether you are a liberal, conservative, or moderate, this guy was someone who relied on big money, nasty attacks, and was willing to flip flop on just about every position just to win the nomination. Despite being seen as a hard right conservative, he was quite moderate as governor of Massachusetts, so this shows he is willing to change his positions to whatever suits his interests, whereas at least McCain and Huckabee stick to their principles, even if one disagrees with them. Huckabee won Kansas and Louisiana, while McCain won Washington. Kansas and Louisiana are both part of the bible belt so no real surprise here although, I am not surprised McCain was competitive in Louisiana but not Kansas. Unlike most of the South, Louisiana has a large Catholic population and unlike Texas and Florida, where is primarily due to the large Latino community, in Louisiana most Catholics are white (of French ancestry primarily, the Cajuns), so I wonder if this is why his win was smaller as he is strongest amongst Evangelical Protestants. Still, despite Huckabee's impressive wins, I think he is too far behind to catch McCain. The real issue is can McCain unite both the moderate and conservative factions of the Republicans. Despite, what some say, McCain is a conservative on over 80% of the issues. The problem for some Conservatives is anything less than 100% is not good enough. They would rather have a candidate who blindly follows an ideology, rather than one who generally supports a certain ideology but also assesses the facts. Also the fact McCain isn't a rabid partisan and can work with the other side angers many conservatives. But while this may anger many conservatives, I would argue someone who can work with the other side is a good thing considering it is highly unlikely the Republicans will take all three branches so if they don't want political gridlock, they need a leader who can work with others. And never mind, I thought politics was about serving your country and representing everyone, not just representing your base. As Obama, rightly pointed out, the President's goal shouldn't be just to unite his or her party, but also unite all Americans. Although I don't want the Republicans to win, I am happy to see nutjobs like James Dobson, Rush Limbaugh, Rick Santorum, Tom Delay, and Anne Coulter have an egg in their face.
On the Republican side, Mitt Romney dropped out, and all I can say is good riddance. Whether you are a liberal, conservative, or moderate, this guy was someone who relied on big money, nasty attacks, and was willing to flip flop on just about every position just to win the nomination. Despite being seen as a hard right conservative, he was quite moderate as governor of Massachusetts, so this shows he is willing to change his positions to whatever suits his interests, whereas at least McCain and Huckabee stick to their principles, even if one disagrees with them. Huckabee won Kansas and Louisiana, while McCain won Washington. Kansas and Louisiana are both part of the bible belt so no real surprise here although, I am not surprised McCain was competitive in Louisiana but not Kansas. Unlike most of the South, Louisiana has a large Catholic population and unlike Texas and Florida, where is primarily due to the large Latino community, in Louisiana most Catholics are white (of French ancestry primarily, the Cajuns), so I wonder if this is why his win was smaller as he is strongest amongst Evangelical Protestants. Still, despite Huckabee's impressive wins, I think he is too far behind to catch McCain. The real issue is can McCain unite both the moderate and conservative factions of the Republicans. Despite, what some say, McCain is a conservative on over 80% of the issues. The problem for some Conservatives is anything less than 100% is not good enough. They would rather have a candidate who blindly follows an ideology, rather than one who generally supports a certain ideology but also assesses the facts. Also the fact McCain isn't a rabid partisan and can work with the other side angers many conservatives. But while this may anger many conservatives, I would argue someone who can work with the other side is a good thing considering it is highly unlikely the Republicans will take all three branches so if they don't want political gridlock, they need a leader who can work with others. And never mind, I thought politics was about serving your country and representing everyone, not just representing your base. As Obama, rightly pointed out, the President's goal shouldn't be just to unite his or her party, but also unite all Americans. Although I don't want the Republicans to win, I am happy to see nutjobs like James Dobson, Rush Limbaugh, Rick Santorum, Tom Delay, and Anne Coulter have an egg in their face.
posted by Monkey Loves to Fight at 6:02 PM
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