I’m starting to really want this nominating contest to end already.
Next Tuesday probably won’t be decisive. Obama might win Texas and Clinton might win Ohio. If Clinton wins both, the race continues. Even if Obama wins both (and they split Rhode Island and Vermont), Clinton has said she’s looking to Pennsylvania on April 22.
April 22! That’s seven weeks from now. Fifty-four days from today. How much time is that, you ask? Well, 54 days ago was January 5, right between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Think of how long ago that was and how much has happened since then and then realize that that’s the amount of time between now and the Pennsylvania primary. I don’t know if I can bear our party’s tearing itself apart for two more months.
Mike voiced similar thoughts eons two months ago, and I disagreed with him then. Now I’m starting to see his point. I guess it’s a subjective question of how much more of this I can personally take.
It’s ironic. Everyone complained that by front-loading the primaries, the nominating race was going to be over too soon and we were going to have to suffer through a nine-month general election campaign. Instead, the race is taking forever.
The 2004 nomination battle started later and ended earlier than this one. On January 19, 2004, John Kerry won the Iowa caucuses. On March 2, 2004, Super Tuesday, Kerry crushed his last remaining rival, John Edwards, who then decided to drop out. Time elapsed: 43 days.
This year, the Iowa caucuses were on January 3. It’s 56 days later and we’re still in the thick of it.
The day after Super Tuesday 2004, the New York Times wrote:
With yesterday’s balloting, 29 states and the District of Columbia have now passed judgment on the Democratic field. And the party’s leaders appear to have accomplished precisely what they were looking for in setting up this calendar: A near-consensus candidate, chosen early and with minimal bloodshed.
How nice.
On the other hand, after we nominated Kerry we got buyer’s remorse. At least this year we’ve been able to vet the candidates more. It’s good that Obama didn’t cruise to the nomination after Iowa. Whichever candidate ultimately wins the nomination will have been tested and vetted and will have learned greatly from the experience. Ultimately, this fight will make our nominee a better candidate.
Eh, who am I kidding. I have no idea what it all means. It’s just agita-inducing.
If Hillary loses both and doesn’t drop out it would be really uncool.
The loudest supporters of both need to tone their rhetoric and tantrums way down. My favorite are the people who say, if XXXX wins the nomination, I’m voting for John McCain! That’s real grown-up.
This is why I just don’t listen if anyone continues trying to proffer continuing with staggered primaries. Doesn’t work, weighs the opinions of certain states too much, etc.
Hold it early or hold it right before the convention, but a national primary will end this back and forth and fighting.