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Not sure how much Giuliani's collapse will affect the race, but what about Edwards' supporters? Does Obama get even stronger, or does Hillary get some momentum back?

I refuse to prognosticate. The pros can't do it; I shouldn't even try.

There's a hardcore Edwards supporter in my class, though, who was absolutely CRUSHED by this news.

I say Edwards' supporters will favor Obama but not enough to shake things up too much. Hillary has a significant advantage in nearly all the Super Tuesday states.

I'm less than thrilled with John McCain's recent successes, since he strikes me as far more electable than the other Republicans. Admittedly, he is also the least loathsome of the bunch, even if his "maverick" reputation is wildly overblown. I suppose it would be comforting to think that whether it's Clinton, Obama, or McCain, the next president couldn't possibly be worse than the current one.

Clinton's 11th-hour crusade to seat the Michigan and Florida delegates is shameless even by Clinton standards. I'm no Obama fan, but right now Hillary turns me off even more.

Something *might* happen this weekend to completely reshuffle the GOP race. Keep an eye on nytimes.com. (Might not happen, but if it does it could be huge.)

Rspaight wrote:Clinton's 11th-hour crusade to seat the Michigan and Florida delegates is shameless even by Clinton standards.

I've heard lots of grumbling that she would probably try that, but I hadn't actually seen anything indicating she actually was. Did I miss something?

I'm honestly not thrilled with either of them. Rolling Stone has a pretty scathing take on things.

Here's her statement from last week just before she lost in SC. Pretty cheeky, considering that she was the only one who didn't take her name off the ballot in MI, thus winning by default...

Statement by Senator Hillary Clinton on the Seating of Delegates at the Democratic National Convention

"I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee.

"I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan. I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be President of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention.

"I hope my fellow potential nominees will join me in this.

"I will of course be following the no-campaigning pledge that I signed, and expect others will as well."

Rspaight wrote:Clinton's 11th-hour crusade to seat the Michigan and Florida delegates is shameless even by Clinton standards. I'm no Obama fan, but right now Hillary turns me off even more.

Something *might* happen this weekend to completely reshuffle the GOP race. Keep an eye on nytimes.com. (Might not happen, but if it does it could be huge.)

Dish?

The NYT has been sitting for some time on a story about a GOP Senator, a female lobbyist, some legislation, and various physical activities frowned on by large numbers of the GOP base. I had it on fairly solid authority (in other words, something other than internet rumor) that they were furiously fact-checking in an attempt to get it printable over the weekend, since if they ran it after Super Tuesday they would semi-justifiably be accused of trying to throw the races to the Dems.

Obviously, it didn't happen. Whether it ever sees the light of day is anyone's guess, but if it can't be adequately corroborated, it doesn't deserve to.

Wow. Clearly, I'm very out of the loop.

It barely showed up on the nets -- I think American Spectator might have mentioned it in passing during one of their anti-McCain rants. It's *very* under the radar, and for good reason if they can't vet the damn thing.

I only learned about it via good ol' word of mouth, one step removed from someone in a position to know these things.

And here it is...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/us/po ... ccain.html

Rspaight wrote:if they ran it after Super Tuesday they would semi-justifiably be accused of trying to throw the races to the Dems.

Current headline on Drudge:

NOW THAT HE'S SECURED NOMINATION: NYT DOWNLOADS ON MCCAIN

I predict this story will sink faster than Bill O'Reilly at an ACLU gala.

Although I'd be happy to eat crow.

Olbermann picked it up:

Countdown: McCain In Bed With Lobbyist. No, Really In Bed With Lobbyist

I agree, it doesn't look like there's a whole lot of there there.

Though it does get the Keating scandal out in the light again, which a lot of people had forgotten about or never heard of.

I guess it's getting more coverage than I would have expected:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/21/ ... index.html

"He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the issues at stake in this election," campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said in a statement.