The Presidential Playoffs
Coming up, another day of presidential primaries! I'm excited. Are you?
At the risk of seeming like I'm editorializing, let me offer my two cents...
I know there are a lot of people out there who are CRAVING some closure in this race. I understand that. Its kind of like being in a conversation that's spinning in circles (at least on the substantive points of difference between Obama and Clinton.) And there's no doubt things will shake up once the Democratic nominee starts debating John McCain. But in the meantime, I can't help but think this extraordinarily long primary season is actually GOOD thing, especially for the states that previously had no influence in the process. I grew up in Indiana. Only the die-hard I'll-never-miss-a vote types went to the polls on primary day. Sure, I commend those Hoosiers - it's the principle, right? But really we all knew - we just didn't matter (and this horrible feeling of irrelevance was made worse on the actual Election Day, when the networks used to call elections earlier). I grew up believing my vote would never be more than just an act of good will.
Presidential candidates stumping in Indiana and North Carolina ... in MAY? This must be a good thing for democracy, right? The primaries were, after all, created so each state would have a stake in the nomination.
What do you think? Are you still tuned in? Or is the back and forth bringing you down?
I just asked our resident political expert Beneva about the potential outcome of tomorrow's primary in North Carolina and Indiana. Could a presumptive nominee emerge tomorrow? Well, maybe, but not quite ... here's what she had to say:
If Obama wins Indiana then you'll see a big bunch of superdelegates break his way and then he will be the presumptive nominee (which doesn't mean she will drop out....) But pressure for her to do so will GREATLY increase.
Since so much of the rest of the game rests on the superdelegates, we thought it was appropriate to talk to superdelegates from Indiana and North Carolina - one for Obama, the other for Clinton. They both gave us their take on how the contest is shaping up in their state (and seemed to be just as excited as I am).
Also, in our weekly Behind Closed Doors segment, we talked about the prostitution industry in America. It's an especially relevant topic, given the recent suspected suicide of the so-called "DC Madam," Jeane Palfrey, who apparently thought it would be better to die than go to prison for running an escort service.
And one of our producers Arwa Gunja has a commentary about Cinco de Mayo. She taught me something about the origins of the holiday. Next time I squeeze a lime in my Corona, I'll be thinking about what she had to say.
Stay tuned. The Barbershop video is being encoded by our online team and will be posted soon. I'll have an update shortly.
3:32 PM ET | 05- 5-2008 | permalink
