Election Day Tuesday

Better a Diamond With a Flaw Than a Pebble Without

“I’m not perfect. You know that by now.” Such were the words of Senator Obama in his speech to the North Carolina delegation as he stood before them with a double digit lead over Senator Clinton. What should have been a one day story about a rogue preacher was turned into a several week story by the media. Senator Clinton pursued the issue with the fervor of an attack dog losing a fight. And she did – lose the fight that is, particularly on this day.

Bill knows campaigning: Former President Bill Clinton has been in many fights during his political career, losing a few and winning many. He’s learned all the tricks needed to win an election: define your opponent, move the goalposts, smear your opponent, pander with ghost issues, and pound the pavement. He’s helped his wife’s campaign do all of those, especially pounding the pavement in North Carolina. He visited every little village and used every bit of charm on his wife’s behalf, but Senator Obama won with a double digit victory (at this writing the difference is about 15%).

Don’t forget Indiana: In a state that tossed out its beloved coach Bobby Knight, Senator Clinton’s camp was predicting a clear victory. And clearly it appeared that she would trounce Senator Obama with early returns showing her ahead by up to 30 points. As the night grew darker and votes continued to roll in the lead continued to shrink; 25% then 20%, 15% 10% and then the lead slipped below double digits. With less than 80% of the votes in the lead dropped to 3% then hovered around 4% where it stands at this writing. For some reason the greater Chicago area of Indiana has not reported so it is possible that the lead may shrink further or even disappear.

Obama Sounding Presidential in N. Carolina: Most pundits who listened to the Obama victory speech in North Carolina seem to agree that the nomination monkey is off his back and his comments made him sound more like a presidential candidate than one who is trying to wrap up the nomination. But don’t count the Clinton’s out. They know how to campaign and garner support. Whether tactics include tossing out more ghost issues, rules changes, or negative advertising (does anybody really think President Obama would not answer the White House phone at 3 a.m.?), this game is not over.

Other News – Far Out, Dude: The Del Mar Racetrack advertises its location as, “Where the Surf meets the Turf.” Twenty miles south of Del Mar is San Diego State University, that laid back school where Joe Cool attends in shorts and shades. No wonder the student body seems so mellow. 100 folks including a Criminal Justice major and a Homeland Security major were busted for more than a couple of lids of cannabis sativa (otherwise known as “wacky tobaccy”). Three quarters of the bustees were students. Among items confiscated were several kilos of cocaine and several guns. They shoot sharks, don’t they?


A little blogging music Maestro... Afroman’s “Because I got High.”
Dr. Forgot