BuggBlog: About last night

So, Texas was close for Hillary Clinton, but I haven't found anything that sets out the delegate counts, particularly for the Texas caucuses that were apparently won by Barack Obama. Because for all the wild spinning going on this morning, it remains a close race in which Obama maintains a lead in delegates -- important, since delegates are what determine who wins the nomination.

Although that seems to be getting lost a bit. Howard Kurtz this morning takes a swing at Obama's inability to "close the deal" and the supposed spin from his rally last night: "Little wonder, then, than Obama said he has nearly the same delegate lead that he had in the morning. You go with the math most favorable to your side."

Actually, Howard, you just go with the math. The funny thing about math is that it pretty much always stays with the straightforward formulas, like "if a>b and b>c then a>c," even if you have Ohio and Texas voting systems trying to screw around with the fabric of the space-time continuum.

Anyways, cold hard delegate math aside, the next few days will be tough for supporters of either Democrat. And, despite the assurances of various political poo-bahs that an extended Democratic race won't hurt the party's chances at all, no sir, no way, it's hard not to be nervous about a footloose John McCain traipsing around the country basking in the glow of his still-rosy press corps, while Clinton and Obama continue to hack at each other.

I've put a full version of last night's liveblog after the jump, hard-posted into the blog so you don't have to launch something else to get it.

Live Blog:

Just Warming Up: Liveblogging the March 4 Primary Results

(03/04/2008)
Powered by: CoveritLive

6:46	Well, here we go. Will this be the beginning of the end, or the start of a long national nightmare? Can you guess which Democrat I'm supporting? Here's a hint: I'm frickin' overflowing with hope.

6:48

So, MSNBC is reporting that exit polls show independents will play a "significant" role in today's primaries. In the past few weeks I would expect that to be a veiled reference to a big Obama win -- I'm not quite as confident of that today. Although I'll say I'm not buying the story the masses of Republicans are crossing over to vote for Hillary to guarantee a McCain victory in November. A handful, maybe. But that sounds like trying to make a mountain out of a Rush Limbaugh molehill.

6:54	God, Chris Mathews makes me want to punch myself in the head. Joe Scarborough makes me want to punch myself in the crotch.

6:54	God, Chris Mathews makes me want to punch myself in the head. Joe Scarborough makes me want to punch myself in the crotch.

6:57	On to CNN: Jon King -- "It's about momentum." Can't this be about who wins by the rules of the political game? Geez, this gets tiring.

7:00	What would this campaign be without Dana Milbank? While waiting for Vermont, check out his piece on Clinton and the moving goalposts.

7:01	Well, at least for a half hour Obama will have a 12-state winning streak.

7:04	Wolf Blitzer goes out of his way to reassure the voters of Vermont that they count, even with bigger states in the picture. The Clinton campaign could take some lessons, if they weren't choosing sides in Penn-Ickes knife fight.

7:04	Lou Dobbs makes me want to kick myself in the crotch.

7:08	Matthew Yglesias: "The trend of Obama doing very well in states with no black people continues."

7:12

I understand that, given the left-for-dead look of the Clinton campaign a couple weeks ago, even a narrow win by her in either or both Ohio and Texas would be seen as a sign of a more ambulatory campaign. But this whole thing about how Obama would "bandage" himself if he loses, even narrowly, yet stays way ahead in delegates is just obnoxious.

7:15	Here's a prediction: If Obama keeps it close tonight, and looks to get back to winning ways in Wyoming and Mississippi, the new spin will be how Obama is learning to take a punch and keep going, which will make him a stronger general election candidate.

7:19

While I may be a bit annoyed with how a lot of this has played out politically, it has been great to see formerly "irrelevant" states like Vermont are suddenly finding themselves having a big, big say. People in Michigan and Florida who let their legislatures get them into this mess should make them pay the next time around -- though I still believe that those two states should not have their delegates seated.

7:31	Yawn, John McCain takes Ohio. Oooh, but they can't make a projection on Democrats. I hope that holds for a couple hours. I think that would likely be good news for Obama. Or maybe I'm just wishing on a star.

7:34

No big surprise, but Rush Limbaugh is a disgusting liar, according to this post from TNR: "So, a caller to Rush Limbaugh's radio show says that her twelve-year-old daughter thinks Barack Obama looks like Curious George, and Rush laughs. Later he issues an apology, claiming 'I never heard of Curious George until that caller... I don't care how old Curious George is, I never heard of Curious George. Had no idea what she was talking about. Now they tell me Curious George is a monkey. Well, whoop-de-doo.'"

I suppose he's never heard of the Cat in the Hat or the Grinch, either.

7:35	Hey, where the hell is Anderson Cooper? I could at least use a little silver fox eye candy to get through this.

7:39	Fineman on Clinton's comments re: Obama's Christianity v. possibly being Muslim: "positively Nixonian." I'll say.

7:46	Man, Lou Dobbs and Bill Bennet are really sticking up the joint over at CNN. Back to Keith Olbermann.

7:50

So half of Democratic voters, according to exit polls, see Clinton as being "unfair" in her attacks. Which seems to affirm, as Ezra Klein writes about her post Ohio and Texas prospects, "the Clinton campaign lacks an affirmative argument for why the superdelegates should take a risk and overrule the pledged delegate, and without that affirmative argument, they've little chance. Taking down Obama, unless they can actually dig up a disqualifying piece of oppo, isn't enough."

7:55

The reason this whole talk-radio campaign to keep Hillary in the race is stupid is that, essentially, I think the general election is for the Democrats to lose, regardless of the nominee. While Clinton is no slam dunk, it's certainly not going to be a cake walk for McCain, who seems to be a walking case of campaign missteps these days, and who can't (I believe) count on his adoring press coverage to continue all the way through.

7:58	Now Pat Buchanan is stinking up MSNBC. In this new techno age is it too much to ask that I can edit together a news station with commentators that don't make me absolutely want to barf? I like hearing from people I disagree with, but not from people who are flat-out batshit crazy.

8:00	If John McCain clinches it tonight, I hope he splurged for room a little classier than the San Antonio Best Western.

8:04	After seven years of teeth gnashing and garment rending over Gore winning the popular vote but losing the election, why couldn't the Democrats put together a primary system that wouldn't reduce a close race to a decision by party pooh-bahs?

8:24	Sorry, had to go eat some Cheerios.

8:28

Something interesting from the exit polls: "Roughly six in 10 Democratic voters Tuesday said "superdelegates" â�� party leaders and elected officials who get to cast votes at the party nominating convention this summer in Denver â�� should vote based on results of the primaries and caucuses rather than for the candidate they think has the best chance to win in November.
Even among Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's voters, about half said the superdelegates should follow the results of the primaries and caucuses. Sen. Barack Obama's supporters were more likely to say so. Clinton is trailing in pledged delegates and depending on how the remaining primaries go, it's possible her only chance for the nomination is if many superdelegates support her at the Democratic convention."

Granted, the position of Obama supporters, like myself, can be dismissed as self-interest. But I'm glad to see that half of Clinton supporters agree as well.

8:31	Let's all prepare for a lot of Clintonian whining about how unfair Texas was to her, as though she hasn't had years as one half of the putative head of the party to advocate for changes in the Democratic system.

8:33	Although, I'll admit, this Texas shit is cuh-ray-zee.

8:40	Man, CNN is really running it's second-tier line-up tonight. Where is everyone?

8:40	Oops, I meant "its." Guess I could use an instant editor.

8:45	Re: Racists for Clinton -- maybe they were looking for Final Solutions for America.

8:52	According to MSNBC, Clinton's people -- and lawyers -- are gearing up for whine about the Texas caucus system. Too bad they didn't bother to read the rules until two weeks before the frickin' election.

8:58	Ohio: Where voting systems go to die. Seriously, is this any way for a major democracy to run its elections? Favorite story of the day: the Ohio ballots inspired by mattress tags the read "Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law."

8:58	Three minutes till Rhode Island. Fingers crossed.

9:02	It took him eight years, but McCain finally does it. I still think this is relatively good news, because I think he's going to be a lot easier to beat when the campaign gets going than a lot of people seem to. But then again, I'm probably as loony as, oh, John McCain.

9:10	Yay, I just Anderson Cooper in the background. Maybe the first tier is back. Not that they're actually the "best team."

9:12	"Like marrying a girl you didn't want to date" -- oh, shut up with the stupid one-liners Paul Begala.

9:16	Why is Robert Goulet sitting on the CNN panel between Begala and Bennet?

9:19	Huckabee lost. What's Jesus gonna do for ya now, big boy?

9:25	Apparently all the really interesting stuff is going on off-screen -- check out this report on Obama's lawyer dropping in on a Clinton press conference call about supposed caucus irregularities in Texas.

9:27	Okay, Huck, shut it down so we can see what else is going on. And if you're proud of the fact that someone sold their wedding ring to finance your losing campaign, then you kind of suck.

9:31

Apparently, becuase the Texas election system is overwhelmed this go around, the caucuses were set up to be chaired by whoever showed up first. No, really, that's what happened. So, the Clinton campaign is making noise with a claim that Obama supporters may have obtained the "caucus packets" illegally. By, you know, getting there first.

9:37	Clinton wins Rhode Island, which actually counts because Stewie lives there.

9:42	Dear God, I've been doing this for almost three hours. And I'm neither high nor drunk. Though I am stupider than when I started.

9:47	McCain's speaking, so it's time to take a break.

9:52	Hey, why is McCain giving Obama's stump speech?

9:53	Oh, well, Obama plus GUNS WAR GUNS TANKS WAR WAR. Ladies and gentleman, McCain-Mars 2008.

9:58	What? WHAT? Failed big govenrment policies of the 60s and 70s? What about the frickin' failed big governemnt Republican policies of the 2000s? Does he think American voters are stupid? Yeah, yeah, I know. I see what's happening in Ohio, too.