Although I am disappointed with the way the Republican race is going, I am in absolute glee when I see what is happening on the Democratic side.
Obama is clearly on a roll and Clinton is getting worried. Without Michigan and Florida delegates counted, he is leading with 1,112 regular and 158 superdelegates for a total of 1,270. Clinton, on the other hand, has only 979 regular delegates and 234 superdelegates in her favor.
Everybody is getting anxious, but there are still about 1,279 delegates and 17 states remaining with votes to be cast. There are also about 400 superdelegates left, who will probably decide the eventual outcome during the Democratic convention this August.
Superdelegates are simply elected officials or party leaders who can vote any way they want, and Hillary has the edge there.
You'll soon be seeing the old tried-and-true dirty politics coming out on the "win at any cost" Clinton team.
Already, they are starting to campaign for the Florida and Michigan delegates to be counted. No wonder. She was the only one on the ticket in Michigan, and there was no campaigning in Florida.
In Florida, she only got 50 percent of the vote, and Obama received 33 percent. It was about the same in Michigan, where Hillary got 55 percent of the vote, proudly beating out the uncommitted vote, which received 40 percent.
Florida and Michigan have 27 and 17 delegates, respectively. With these tallies (and also the superdelegates that would then be allowed) included, Hillary would lead by about 63. And yes, every delegate is going to count big time in this race.
Also, the Clintons are going to go after the superdelegates aggressively. You can bet that Billy boy is going to be out there calling in favors, as will his (and her) attack dogs such as Lanny Davis and James Carville.
Originally, superdelegates were those insiders who were never pledged to one candidate and were supposed to have the power to veto what they considered to be a bad decision by the voters.
This strategy is right up the Clintons' alley. Get a minority to nix the desires of the majority when the majority's wishes aren't favorable.
As a matter of fact, I hope this happens. That will cause such an uproar in the Democratic Party, and many moderate Dems and most of the independents will vote Republican. They are tired of Slick Willy's deplorable actions and will vote accordingly.
So, that takes care of Hillary. What about Obama? You know, the Rev. Jesse Jackson without the rhyming. His speeches, although very well-presented, are all fluff and no substance.
He will get ripped apart in the debates if our nominee demands answers rather than cute lines. His oratorical skills will take him only so far. He must address the issues that people care about as well as his plans for solving them.
Finally, what about an Obama/Clinton or a Clinton/Obama ticket? First of all, Hillary will certainly not take a second seat to anyone. She has been drooling to be top dog ever since she got a taste of White House power. She will never accept the offer if one is made.
Secondly, Clinton will never select Obama as a running mate, and I doubt he would accept, anyway. He is young and knows he has another shot coming and probably doesn't want to be associated with Clinton's dirty garbage (oops, laundry).
Either way, any nominee or combination of the two will make it very easy for the Republicans to keep the White House. My only worry is Obama heading the party's ticket and who his vice presidential pick could be.
There are a lot of highly popular Dems out there, and this would help keep the moderates voting Democrat as well as draw a majority of independents. Obama will already have the ultra libs committed.
Whatever happens, we Republicans can sit back and enjoy the show. The campaigns of our candidates have been, for the most part, issue-oriented, civil and lacking the rancor of the Democrats debates.
Even though there have been disagreements on issues on our side, there is respect for each other and the other's ideas.
The Democrat primaries of today and March 4 represent six states and 565 delegates. Let's just hope that after that, the race on the Democratic side is just as muddled as it is now. I'm looking forward to the Clintons' book of dirty tricks coming out again. This time, responsible people won't put up with it.
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Tom Sears is a professor of accounting at Hartwick College in Oneonta and was a delegate candidate for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the New York primary. He can be reached at SearsT@hartwick.edu. His column appears every other week.
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