Kerry's going to be the Democratic candidate. Sure, he lost Vermont* and will probably lose Georgia**, but other than that, it was all him. Edwards is apparently going to bow out gracefully tomorrow; when that happens, the arcane art that is Democratic delegate selection will virtually guarantee Kerry's elevation to candidate.
So, that's the end of Act II. Act III will start tomorrow (or maybe next Monday) and continue in its madcap, ruthless way for the next few months, so please fasten your safety belts and put your trays to the full, upright position. Election 2004 just ran out of soft and fuzzy.
Moe
*Which pleases Katherine, I know, as her favored candidate won that state.
**Zogby got that one wrong, too. They don't do so hot when it's an open primary situation, I'm telling ya. Not that it matters anymore, I suppose.
“Soft and fuzzy”? Been on the planet long, Moe?
;)
Seriously though it’s good that the Democrats have finally chosen their piñata for us, it was troublesome having to work with and update multiple opposition files in case the Dems picked someone other than Kerry (although I will be keeping mine in the archives for 2008). Kerry though represents a nice fat, target-rich candidate for us to work with in response to the Democratic machine which has been running virtually non-stop (save for about a week after 9/11) since the 2000 election.
The opposition has had an easier time with only one target for their ire while we’ve had to multi-task (in addition to being the only serious party on national security issues). It will be interesting to see the poll numbers switch when it is no longer “Nine Wannabees bash the Incumbent while Slap-fighting Each Other” and Kerry’s own record comes under scrutiny.
Posted by: Thorley Winston | March 03, 2004 at 09:40 AM
it’s good that the Democrats have finally chosen their piñata for us
So let me see...in the absence of being able to win the election based on his own record, you're saying Bush needs to run on Kerry's record...interesting...profoundly disturbing and sad, but interesting.
Posted by: Edward | March 03, 2004 at 10:31 AM
The results from Georgia were 47% Kerry (37 delegates), 41% Edwards (32 delegates); Zogby had it at 51 % to 37%. This is as of now with 99% of the precincts reporting.
As for predictions, like we don't have enough idle time (8 months) for that.
Posted by: Norbizness | March 03, 2004 at 12:11 PM
Edward wrote:
Hate to break the news to you but elections are not merely about the incumbent’s record. The challenger has the burden of proof of proving why s/he would do a better job, which makes their own record fair game.
In Kerry’s case it’s particularly difficult because he has placed himself in the position of having wrote part of the PATRIOT Act while now saying he’s against it, voted for the liberation of Iraq (but not the troops or the reconstruction), flip-flopped on NAFTA, complaining about deficits after having voted for the spending that caused them (or greater levels in the case of the Medicare prescription drug benefit) and wanting to increase the deficits but another $160 Billion a year, wanting to raise taxes on job creators while complaining about unemployment and outsourcing, has gone AWOL on entitlement reform while we are entering the last administration before the baby boom generation begins to retire, has insulted our allies while supplicating our adversaries, and has pretty much nothing in the way of legislative accomplishments in the nearly three decades he’s been sucking up oxygen on Capitol Hill.
Posted by: Thorley Winston | March 03, 2004 at 12:49 PM
all that and still not a word about Bush's record...you'd think Kerry was the incumbent.
Posted by: Edward | March 03, 2004 at 01:03 PM