IT'S A DRAW!!!

[If you were waitlisted this year, what's the current status of each of your WLs? (10 max)]

If you were waitlisted this year, what's the current status of each of your WLs? (10 max)

Still WLed

 45 (70.3%)

Accepted off WL

 10 (15.6%)

Rejected off WL

 9 (14.1%)

Total Members Voted: 49

[hackabee]

[dot]

Both Clinton and Obama were lawyers.

good enough then, lol

And so am I!

You mean you too are good enough, or you too are a lawyer?

[basha]

IT'S A DRAW!!!

Not For Too Long Buy Now!!!

Indeed, by now the next two contests in the state-by-state nomination battle in the Democratic race are the Nevada caucuses on Saturday and the South Carolina primary a week later. South Carolina will be a major test of the Democratic candidate's abilities to win the support of African-American voters, who make up nearly half the primary electorate in that state. Some African-American leaders have complained about comments Hillary Clinton made to Fox news last week about the legacy of the late civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Junior.

"Doctor King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964," she said. Some black political leaders felt the comment diminished Dr. King's role in the U.S. struggle for civil rights. Senator Clinton accused the Obama campaign of trying to insert racial politics into the contest for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Clinton was interviewed on NBC's Meet the Press. "Clearly, we know from media reports that the Obama campaign is deliberately distorting this," said Clinton. "I do not think either of us want to inject race or gender in this campaign."

South Carolina is looming as a major contest in the Democratic race between Clinton and Obama, a battle many experts believe will go on for some time. "They both have plenty of resources. They both have plenty of endorsements," said Stuart Rothenberg, who publishes a political newsletter in Washington. "Each has a base [of support], a committed base. They each have slightly different messages, both of which appeal to the broad spectrum of the Democratic electorate. This Democratic race is really competitive and is up for grabs."

Senator Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have often drawn strong support in their political campaigns from African-American voters. While Obama seeks an edge with African-American voters, Clinton continues to shore up her support among women. Rutgers University Professor Ross Baker says Clinton's surprise win in last week's New Hampshire primary was largely a result of a last-minute shift in support for Clinton by women voters. "I think that she carries considerable advantages with her into the remaining primaries. She has lots of money and she obviously has gotten the support of women even more strongly, I think, than anybody had imagined," said Baker.

Clinton is seeking to become the first woman president, while Obama hopes to become the first African-American president. One new national poll shows Obama gaining on Clinton among Democrats, following his win in the Iowa caucuses and close second-place finish to Clinton in the New Hampshire primary. The Washington Post-ABC News poll has Clinton at 42%, followed by Obama at 37% and Edwards at 11%. Obama's share is up 14% since the same poll last month. A second poll by New York Times and CBS News showed Clinton with 42%, Obama with 27% and Edwards 11%.

[a l i n d]

Both Clinton and Obama were lawyers.

Pithy enough, Ariel!

[L i n d a]

Both Clinton and Obama were lawyers.

Pithy enough, Ariel!

[hismet]

This whole thing became like the following:

Daisy Daisy,
Give me your answer do!
I'm half crazy,
All for the love of you!
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage,
But you'll look sweet on the seat
Of a bicycle built for two!

That'd be the case had Mr. Obama won!

[episio]

This whole thing became like the following:

Daisy Daisy,
Give me your answer do!
I'm half crazy,
All for the love of you!
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage,
But you'll look sweet on the seat
Of a bicycle built for two!

That'd be the case had Mr. Obama won!

Did he not?

[resume]

Ordinarily, the sheer volume of delegates in play on Super Tuesday is enough to push a candidate over the top, making the remaining primaries pretty meaningless. But this is no ordinary year. An accelerated primary schedule, complex new delegate rules (which confusingly vary between the parties and from state to state), combined with extremely tight two-way races in both parties, are giving odds-makers and pundits fits. This isn't like Sunday's Super Bowl, where one team wins all the spoils.

The process is particularly challenging for the candidates, who must now shift from a series of inconclusive one-off contests in half a dozen states to full-blown - and costly - national campaigns. What worked for a candidate in Iowa or Nevada may have little relevance in New York or California, two of the big states in play next week. Many of the leading candidates announced major national TV ad blitzes this week. Republican Mitt Romney said he expects to spend as much as $7-million (U.S.) before Tuesday. And Clinton is running 3 new ads that tout her as the safe choice for the Democrats in unsettling economic times. Her rival, Obama, is advertising in all Feb. 5 states except Oklahoma and his home state of Illinois. He also announced yesterday that he will start advertising in states that hold primaries after Feb. 5, including Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska, Maine, Maryland, Virginia and also in Washington, D.C.

The race for the Republican nomination is much closer to the finish line, particularly with former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani out of the hunt. And it could be all but over next week, perhaps leaving the crown to Arizona Senator John McCain, who polls suggest is ahead of Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, in most states. All the money in the world can't save Mr. Romney now, argued Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. "I think he knows what's coming," he said. "We'll see what he actually spends." The race is far from done on the Democratic side, where Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama continue to battle for delegates in virtually every state. During a debate last night at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, home of the Academy Awards, the two candidates agreed on one thing: One of them will become president in 2009.

Ms. Clinton drew laughter from the crowd when asked about the decades-long Bush-Clinton family control of the White House. "It did take a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush and I think it might take another one to clean up after the second Bush," she said. Befitting a Hollywood audience, among the stars in the crowd were Diane Keaton, Jason Alexander, Pierce Brosnan, Rob Reiner and Stevie Wonder. "The prospect that we come out of the week with a de facto nominee on the Democratic side is very slim," said Stephen Hess, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has been watching U.S. elections for more than 50 years. Even the two Democratic camps acknowledge Super Tuesday likely won't be the end of the road. "My guess is one of us will be ahead, but not decisively, and one of us will be behind, but not decisively," David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, told The New York Times this week. "And this will go on for some time." So, even if Mr. Obama is behind in Ms. Clinton's home state of New York or in California, he'll target districts where he knows he can score some delegates, according to Mr. Sabato. Likewise, Ms. Clinton can't afford to give entirely up on Mr. Obama's home state of Illinois. You can blame the intricacies of a primary voting system that's controlled by the parties, and more specifically, by the party organizations within states. Generally speaking, the Democrats apportion their delegates proportionately. That means that if Ms. Clinton wins 63% of the vote in a state, she gets the same percentage of delegates. But in some states (including California), the apportioning is done district by district, not state-wide. So theoretically, Ms. Clinton could win the California popular vote on Tuesday but emerge with fewer delegates. Then, factor in the impact of so-called super delegates (members of Congress, state governors and the like), and the potential outcomes are varied and unpredictable. Super delegates may be publicly committed to a candidate. But they aren't obliged to stay committed.

They're just dating, not yet married.

This isn't just theoretical nonsense. The party had a preview in the Nevada caucuses, where Ms. Clinton won the popular vote, but Mr. Obama wound up with one more delegate (13 to 12). That means that Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton can't afford to abandon any state, even if they're behind in the polls somewhere. The ground war, as much as the air war, could determine who wins on the Democratic side, according to the Brookings Institution's Mr. Hess. He said the winner could be the one who's best at old-style campaigning. The Republicans have a very different system in most, but not all states. In their contests, it's generally winner take all, as it was in Florida. Mr. McCain captured the state, so he captured all the delegates. That's why Super Tuesday is likely make or break for Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney. And the candidate with the clear edge is Mr. McCain, who this week picked up endorsements that could help him in the two states with the most delegates - New York (Mr. Giuliani) and California (Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger).

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080201.wprimarystrategy01/BNStory/usElection2008/home

[al so]

Noting that former President Bill Clinton is often called the "first black president," Obama was asked if he shared that opinion.

First, said Obama, he would have to investigate Bill Clinton's "dance abilities" to more accurately judge "if he is a brother." Clinton said that could be arranged.

[A T P]

I'm sorry but I've a feeling the "diversity" strategy of the Dems this year is going to backfire with McCain easily getting the presidency..