Campaign Revisited

A funny thing happened on the way to the nomination (Obama's, that is). After suffering a double-digit deficit in the late polls before the New Hampshire Primary and being all-but-given-up on in her quest for the Presidency, New York Senator Hillary Clinton pulled off an unexpected upset over "surging" Illinois Senator Barack Obama in yesterday's voting. Now I suppose the pundits are going to say that Obama's campaign is now in trouble! I still prefer him to Clinton for President, but at least now it looks as if I'm actually going to have viable candidates to choose from in the upcoming January 29 Florida Primary. But the delegates selected there won't be seated at the Democratic Convention because Florida was such a naughty state in moving its primary date ahead one week. This is the same party that was so insistent (or at least claimed to be) in 2000 that every vote in Florida be counted (and recounted and recounted). What a difference eight years can make!

Arizona Senator John McCain further muddled up the GOP side of the Presidential race by winning over super-wealthy (with a quarter of a billion dollars) former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. They say that Romney has so much money to throw into the campaign that it doesn't matter if he keeps losing. I believe that he (Romney) is the establishment Republican candidate that would most closely follow the policies and tone of the present George W. Bush administration: elitist, pro-corporate, and anti-worker. So I guess you can tell that I care little for him or his candidacy. But he could very well end up spending his way to the nomination!

All in all, I'm pleased with the New Hampshire results. Now it looks as if we will actually have real campaigns in both parties for a while, at least through Super Tuesday (February 5).