quote:
Also maybe I don't understand the primary process completely. When the media says "Kerry is leading the pack", does that just mean he is the media favorite now? Because at last count:
Dean's total delegates: 113
Kerry's total: 94
I know unpledged delegates get re-shifted when people drop out, but Dean is leading more there also, I think like 90 to 60.
I was wondering about that, too. They are actually showing Dean having more delegates than have been awarded overall from the Iowa caucus and NH primary. My guess is that there are some delegates who have already pledged their votes to Dean before the actual primaries. There's no reason they can't change those votes, though. (That's true even for delegates from states that have already held primaries.) Kerry is said to be ahead, despite the overall pledged delegate tally, because he is winning a large majority of the unpledged votes now and he is well ahead in the polls.
Kerry is Gore with medals. Hurray for mild-mannered, efficient leadership. Yay. Yippee. Woohoo.
He's young, relatively handsome, and Southern (considered very important if the top of the ticket is a Northeaster) so he certainly has his charms from a campaign strategist's viewpoint. He is also regarded as a kickass public speaker and debater who would likely make Cheney look even more like Uncle Fester than he already does. I wouldn't count Clark out, though. He's also from the South and has national security cred out the wazoo.
The list of those with no chance to play second chair, IMO, includes Gephart (no juice beyond unions), Lieberman (neither the left nor right likes him), Dean (has perhaps unfairly become a big negative), Kucinich (far too Star Trekky), Braun (nobody's taking her seriously), and Sharpton (pleeeeease!). I wouldn't put it past them to pick somebody outside the pool of presidential candidates, though, especially if they could find a moderate, noncontroversial woman (read "not Hillary").
BTW, expect every presidential candidate asked now about being the VP candidate to say they don't want it. Don't believe it. It's obligatory PR BS at this stage of the game. I don't know why they even bother asking candidates that question. People not running for President (Hillary, Daschle, etc.) are more likely to give an honest answer.
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"And Wirthling isn't worth the paper he isn't printed on."
