Notes from a Floating Dog

Well it looks like our higher learning skills are going to be put to the test now on the democratic side of the race. I know I promised not to turn this into a political blog but the and I still intend to honor that promise. I just have to say something about what’s going on.So here we are two days after super Tuesday and nothing has been decided on the democratic side (on the republican side it looks like McCain barring some amazing Meltdown. On the other hand, the Pats did lose). There are caucuses or primaries on the 9th, 10th,12th and 19th including Louisiana, Nebraska,Washington,the US Virgin Isles, Maine, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, and Wisconsin.  In March you’ve got Ohio and Texas, with these two primaries accounting for 334 delegates. A good friend and I spent a fair amount of time jawboning this out, for the hardcore among you most of this may be obvious. But here is where we went:

1. Now that it looks like McCain is the man on the republican sight, beyond what I really think is some short period wood chopping, the republicans will get behind him and start to push a general gameplan into action which can morph into one specifically tailored for either Obama or Clinton. On top of this, national campaign fundraising for them can begin in earnest.
2.  There is no clear leader on the democratic side currently,  so the question is , when will either Obama or Clinton  emerge as the frontrunner. Can this be resolved before the end of the month ? If not, is it time for “the” math ? This is where my friend and I are in the dark; how long will the determination of the front runner take. If this can be done by the end of February, then great, problem solved. What if however, this has to drag on into at least the middle of March and possibly beyond ? My friend is concerned that this is a resource drain on the Demos, I agree, however it is at this point that my friend thinks if necessary, that someone be anointed so that we can get on with it. I understand his thinking completely and I understand that “we” need a “win” in November, I guess I am still a bit naive in wanting us to get there the right way, meaning no brokered convention, no deal, let the chips fall where they may. I also think that while it would be a perfect storm to have a non-republican president and congress, I can live with a congress as they could still get things done, especially if it is a veto proof majority.
3. I tend to agree with my friend that if  it was to come down to a deal being made, and that if things were still even-steven at the time a “deal” was being discussed, odds are that Hillary would get the nod. I attribute this to my belief that she probably has a better “smoked-filled room game” then Obama. The question is whether or not Obama would join her ticket if asked, because to be quite honest, I think she needs him and his organization. I wonder how expensive within the party this would be in terms of bitterness, and backlash from the ground troops in the Obama organization.Well there you have it, this what I spent 

So it sounds like to me, that we should get out and push hard for the candidates we support and hope that one comes out the clear winner by the end of the month. Care to guess who I am stumping for…. I promise my next post won’t be about politics. It will be about content….  One last thing, calling Rove Lord Sith was my friend’s idea. All credit goes to him… 

This will be brief, first, I must say, that Thursday nights (January 31, 2008) Democratic debate was by far the most civil, and in fact illuminating on the somewhat minor differences between Obama and Clinton. Actually, given my stance on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, maybe not so minor differences. That being said, was it just me, or did this debate also seem to be beginning to lay the ground work  (at least visual)  for the Democratic party’s presidential/vice presidential ticket ? It sure seemed it to me. The real question being who is going to be president and who will be vice-president