Political Hangover Wednesday

AIR DATE: Wednesday, February 6th 2008
POSTED BY: DAVID MILLER

Political pundits are so breathless about tomorrow's massive pseudo-national primary that plain old "super" isn't enough. Tomorrow has been variously called Super Duper Tuesday, Giga Tuesday, and even the weirdly tone-deaf Tsunami Tuesday. (And on and on.)

Whatever you call it, there will be primaries or caucuses in 24 states tomorrow, with more than half of all delegates hanging in the balance. The stakes may be higher for Republicans -- in that their races are winner-take-all -- but the polls seem closer over all for Democrats. So basically if you're backing any one of the four front-runners it's liable to be a tense, late night. (Am I the only one, by the way, who will sorely miss Dan Rather's chicken-fried pronouncements? Something tells me that Brian Williams won't be saying anything nearly as piquant as "This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach.")

What are you watching for on Tuesday night? (Are you watching?) A blowout for your candidate? A messy draw in the hopes that your vote just might mean something in a week or two (if you're in Washington) or in three months (if you're in Oregon)?

Has this congested primary season provided you with your candidate of choice -- or, at the very least, a selection process you can believe in? Or are you already dreaming of a third party?

Win, lose, or draw, do you know how will you be nursing your political hangover -- and figuring out what comes next?

GUESTS:

Tagged as: 2008 primary · super tuesday

Photo credit: Brendan Heywood / Flickr / Creative Commons

I'm a California native going to college in Oregon. I voted in the California primary, but I still think that the primary system as it stands now is undemocratic, because in practice it ends up giving some people's votes more weight than others, as early contests translate into financial and manpower benefits for winners and force losers out of the race. My personal opinion is that it would be much more democratic to have one open national primary, so that there isn't all this pandering to early states.
Brenton —
I loathe all the major candidates.

I know that in a democracy you don't get everything you want, and some people don't get anything they want, but dmmm. This has to be the biggest collection of self-serving narcistic losers ever.
jaimeshawn —
I am really tired of two things. 1. pandering & 2. The religious conservatives hijacking the fiscal and real conservatives of the GOP.
Rodnkim —
Many of my pro-choice, pro gay marriage republican friends have had to go along for the ride with the agenda of religious conservatives for YEARS. It will be interesting to see if evangelicals will buck up and take their turn not getting everything they want.

Ethan Jewett
EthanPDX —
I'm spending my hangover fretting over the fact that while I think that Hillary Clinton would make an excellent president, Democratic voters seem to be forgetting that many conservatives have an almost pathological hatred for her. I think that the number of people that would vote AGAINST Clinton makes a win for her impossible.
infrarad —
I've never been able to figure why "conservative" is a seen as a badge of honor in this country, while "liberal" is regarded with such suspicion, even by Democrats.
PDXBob —
Most everyone is both conservative and liberal. It just depends on what issue is being considered...and whose ox is being gored or fed.
Valjean —
The Republic party has dumbed down the political process so much so that we are now bound to headlines, catchphrases, and soundbytes. They have ingrained into modern American politics the idea that to have values you must be a Republican. Conversly, if you are a Democrat you do not have values let alone vote with them. It is the subtle and subliminal attacks that now improperly define what Democrats are.
Logic and the weight of facts have no place in our current political dialogue and that is unfortunate. The facts are on our side and if democrats can frame or actually debate facts instead of spin and opinion we will do very well.
Secondly, the debate process is frustrating. It is not a public process anymore. Why is our corporations and mass media outlets funding, running and deciding who can participate in our debating process. This along with paid punditry only narrow the scope of topics discussed and subsequently frames an election to which best suits the funder, not Americans.
Nickel Arcade —
In respose to your guests last comments...Small states and rural areas indeed have a voice. Its called the electoral process. Thats what it was set up for. The candidates are already going where the populations are. The amount of delegates awarded is calculated by population. Wouldn't this be an accurate inference. I respect your guests opinion, but he seems a bit misguided.
Nickel Arcade —
One of the major issues I see is the mass media's role in pushing certain candidates and suppressing others. CNN seemed to ignore Huckabee and Paul in the last debate (let not even talk about FOX). Is there a watchdog agency to promote fair reporting when it comes to candidates?
JerryR —
At 52 I've seen my fair share of presidential elections and am just now beginning to understand the arcane and sometimes ridiculous aspects and rules of the primary process, such as it is. Now that I am a registered Independent, I find that my non-vote in Oregon's May primary is a serious problem for me. Should I quickly re-register as a Democratic member so I can help tip the scales between Obama and Clinton? Or should I just set tight and watch the show until November? I'm leaning to go back to the Democrat side just this once.
KevinV —
Primaries are for political parties to select who they want to run for president. I don't think independents should even have a say in who my political party selects because they are not a member.
Nickel Arcade —
Primary Fairness:

If you want a two-phased voting process, then it should be party neutral: the top "n" candidates can go to the general election regardless of party.

If not, then why should governments be paying for election processes for private groups (parties)?

Without the blanket primary system (born and killed within the PacNW), these questions really are the only ones that matter.
AnthonyZ —
I'm leaning towards Obama and I've noticed something (new) about the mainstream media that's really been bothering me. No one is saying what the delegate count from last night alone is. If Obama has as much momentum as seemed to have going into "Super Tuesday" this seems likely to undermine or at least dull that momentum. The extremes range from CNN where they seem to adding the super-delegates as well as Florida(!) and Michigan(!) into the count to the NYT website which isn't listing any delegates that aren't definitive. Did Obama or Hilary get the majority of delegates from last night? Does anyone know?
djchazzychazmo —
Comments here and everywhere, including on your broadcast, of those who strongly oppose the candidate of their party saying they will vote for the party they don't support rather than for the one they oppose. The mantra of this election cycle is "change". One benefical change would be to include a NO column an the ballot and the highest net yes wins. The disgusted voter could help their party win by voting no against the opposition without indicating support for the nominee of their party...of is so enrqaged, they could vote no against the one they hate so much directly. The politicians have pushed the idea that we have to vote only support, never the lack of it. They insist we say, on the ballot, that we want yucky parsnips even though we really want to say we don't want even yukier broccoli. We shouldn't have to. We should be able to say we don't want broccoli, directly, honestly and spin resistantly. "JUST SAY NO" needs to be brought back into play.
Valjean —
In yesterday's election, Obama caught up with Clinton. I feel that Obama is inspired and passionate - with the potential to be as courageous a leader as Abraham Lincoln, who had the same legislative background as Obama, when he ran for president.
victoriaivy —

Comments are now closed.



Become a sponsor