Should Florida and Michigan vote again?

BocaGuy: So they want to have a "do over" ?

Joan Walsh
salon.com
March 5, 2008


The talking heads on MSNBC and CNN had a mind-meld Tuesday night: Hillary Clinton threw "the kitchen sink" at Barack Obama, and her negativity paid off big time. She won Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island, by large margins in two of three states, while losing Vermont. That sets up what they all pretend is a nightmare, but it's really a hot media fantasy: Mutant Superdelegates Pick Nominee!

Cable television ratings aside, let's all hope it doesn't go there.

First of all, let's take the stories apart. After 11 losses in a row, Clinton won three impressive victories in big, diverse states. The "kitchen sink strategy" analysis is silly. The Nevada and South Carolina races were arguably nastier. Yet over and over Tuesday night, the talking heads lumped together a supposedly toxic trifecta of NAFTA, Rezko and "the 3 a.m. ad" as having carried the day for a newly nasty Clinton. But in fact, only the 3 a.m. ad -- you saw it, the White House Terror Phone ringing when your adorable kids are asleep -- was Clinton's debatable creation. The NAFTA gaffe was entirely the Obama camp's doing, when they failed to figure out what economics guru Austin Goolsbee told the Canadians, and when. And Clinton didn't decree that the trial of Tony Rezko would begin March 3. On the other hand, Obama is still ahead in delegates, he's still the likely nominee, and while he's had a bad week, he's run a great campaign until now. The notion that he has to panic or suddenly change course seems silly.

Still, as much as I've tried to swat away the specter of superdelegates deciding the convention, because I've believed ultimately one candidate, probably Obama, would get a decisive voter and delegate majority, I have to admit it's looming as a larger worry. It will be extremely hard for Clinton to close Obama's lead in pledged delegates, but it will also be hard for Obama to win the number of delegates he needs to decisively win without superdelegates. Lately I find myself wondering: Why aren't more powerful Democrats in both the Obama and Clinton camps lobbying for a revote in Florida and Michigan? Is it simply about money? Sure, it would be expensive, but both candidates are raising money phenomenally. ... ( more )
Copyright ©2008 Salon Media Group, Inc.