... I dunno, really. Five? Four? Three? Two? One, and everybody else is deluding themselves? Depends on who you ask, I guess. The short version is, Kerry won both VA and TN today: my prediction that he wouldn't get more delegates than Clark and Edwards combined came true only in the latter and he won by more than five percentage points (even by delegate percentages) in both. Ach, well. Maybe not amusingly wrong, but kinda droll at the least - I take some comfort in knowing that Zogby got TN wrong, too.
At any rate, in other good-news-for-Kerry Clark's out of the race - and, let me tell you, typing out the sentence "Wesley Clark is out of the race" gives me a warm fuzzy feeling nside - because of his third place showing in TN and VA. Poor Wesley: Kerry took on his anti-Dean mantle, Edwards called dibs on the Southerner schtick, Dean was a much better Political Outsider, not enough of us Righties particularly cared that he was the guy on the white horse here to save us from Bush and Dennis Kuchinich has the wild-eyed vote already sewn up. No traction for the guy, in other words. Such a pity.
But enough about whatshisname: Kerry did well for himself today, and he's in a great place to go for Wisconsin. Can Dean and Edwards keep him from picking up enough delegates to win this thing outright? We'll see...
Moe
Actually, and not that it will matter much, but Clark's exit is good news for Edwards, not Kerry. As the dog in front, Kerry benefits from as great a number of challengers as possible, and Clark's value began and ended with his ability to siphon off votes from fellow Southerner and Anyone But Kerry candidate, John Edwards. Not sure if the votes will simply move from one to the other. But Clark's exit helps Edwards a little. A Dean exit would help even more.
Posted by: Harley | February 11, 2004 at 05:16 AM
Yeah one question I heard last night was interesting.
Did Clark keep Edwards from getting the nomination? Or was Clark's vote equally from likely Kerry and likely Edwards voters?
Posted by: bob mcmanus | February 11, 2004 at 12:18 PM