Ron Paul (R-Lunar Orbit) is returned to Congress.Heh. (patented by InstaPundit)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Clinton Hammers Obama...
Well, not quite. But Clinton picked up three badly needed wins (after ten-in-a-row for Obama) that she can talk about. In all three cases (especially Texas) her win was very narrow, and because the Democratic primaries generally apportion delegates proportionally to the vote that means that her delegate gain is slight. Texas (and some other states) have an even more complicated delegate apportionment: some delegates are apportioned proportionally to the primary vote, and others are apportioned based on caucuses (cauci?) held on the same day as the primary.
The Republican primaries, by contrast, are generally winner-take-all affairs. Last night, for example, McCain won Ohio and all of the delegates, even though he took only 60% of the vote. Texas apparently has some other method of delegate apportionment, as the media is reporting that Huckabee has taken some delegates from there (though McCain clearly won the state). Huckabee's delegate win is smaller (percentage-wise) than his vote win, so I'm not sure what their system is.
I think the bottom line here, basically, is good news for the Republicans – Clinton and Obama will continue their battle now, focusing more on each other than they are on McCain. With each day that goes by, they throw more criticism at each other – and all of that will be fodder for the Republicans in the general election. Meanwhile, McCain last night officially sewed up the Republican nomination (though that still may not be enough to get the quixotic Huckabee to cough up a concession speech!) and can spend the rest of the campaign focusing on differentiating himself from the squabbling Democratic candidates.
Advantage: Republicans.
Update: Huckabee conceded last night (I just read about it), and committed to support the Republican ticket (i.e., McCain).
Advantage: Republicans, now unified against a split Democratic party...
The Republican primaries, by contrast, are generally winner-take-all affairs. Last night, for example, McCain won Ohio and all of the delegates, even though he took only 60% of the vote. Texas apparently has some other method of delegate apportionment, as the media is reporting that Huckabee has taken some delegates from there (though McCain clearly won the state). Huckabee's delegate win is smaller (percentage-wise) than his vote win, so I'm not sure what their system is.
I think the bottom line here, basically, is good news for the Republicans – Clinton and Obama will continue their battle now, focusing more on each other than they are on McCain. With each day that goes by, they throw more criticism at each other – and all of that will be fodder for the Republicans in the general election. Meanwhile, McCain last night officially sewed up the Republican nomination (though that still may not be enough to get the quixotic Huckabee to cough up a concession speech!) and can spend the rest of the campaign focusing on differentiating himself from the squabbling Democratic candidates.
Advantage: Republicans.
Update: Huckabee conceded last night (I just read about it), and committed to support the Republican ticket (i.e., McCain).
Advantage: Republicans, now unified against a split Democratic party...
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