[Drew]

Any projections?

I don't know even where to begin at this point. All I'll go on the record saying at this point, is shy of an unexpected landslide this race will NOT be decided on the Democratic side come Wednesday morning. I'm really curious to see how Edwards dropping out will impact the spread, and the timing (after the race directly before Super Tuesday) means it's going to be a complete wildcard tomorrow.

Though, McCain is in pretty good shape...

[ohio_eric]

Now with Edwards gone it will be a bit interesting to see how it plays out. Do Edwards supporters go with Obama, Clinton or just stay home?

That being said I really think Hillary is benefiting from these early primaries. Has Super Tuesday been in March as is usual I think she would have been in worse shape. Obama is really surging in a lot of polls as he gets out and campaigns more. People really seem to gravitate towards him. So the sooner the better for the Clintons. The less time Barrack has to get people behind him the more likely she is to get nominated.

As far as the GOP is concerned, McCain won't win it Tuesday but he'll move significantly closer.

[Drew]

Well, I figured Edwards was an open-and-closed boon for Obama, as Clinton's so polar that I assumed either people were already supporting her, or had no intention of doing so.

However, prelim figures state that a the time he dropped out, 4 in 10 Edwards supporters list Clinton as their second choice, as opposed to 2.5 in 10 (one quarter) for Obama. Sure, that leaves 3.5 up in the air and Obama's got a much better shot with them than Clinton, I think, but the numbers as they stand aren't as nice as I'd hoped...

Either way, short of a landslide from either candidate, I'm guessing this race will remain close for some time, so if Obama continues to surge, then he just may carry it in the last couple states.

If this goes all the way to the convention, I'm wondering if Clinton's decicion to campaign in Michigan and Florida will pay off, if she suceeds in getting her deligates seated. If it comes to that I'll be a little disgusted, frankly, but it's good politics...

[ohio_eric]

What sucks about the Democrats is those goofy "super delegates" who aren't voted on at all. So if it stays close it's conceivable that barrack could win more delegates but not get the nomination. That's why I'm hoping and praying Obama starts to pull away.

[noodles]

Originally Posted by ohio_eric

What sucks about the Democrats is those goofy "super delegates" who aren't voted on at all. So if it stays close it's conceivable that barrack could win more delegates but not get the nomination. That's why I'm hoping and praying Obama starts to pull away.

That is exactly what I'm predicting will happen: Obama is going to edge out Hillary, and the super delegates are going to give it right back to her. It is the biggest pile of bullshit the DNC has ever come up with.

[ohio_eric]

Originally Posted by noodles

That is exactly what I'm predicting will happen: Obama is going to edge out Hillary, and the super delegates are going to give it right back to her. It is the biggest pile of bullshit the DNC has ever come up with.

And it would be suicide for the Democrats. I can only imagine how fast Obama supporters would run away from Clinton if this did happen.

[noodles]

Originally Posted by ohio_eric

And it would be suicide for the Democrats. I can only imagine how fast Obama supporters would run away from Clinton if this did happen.

Since when has the DNC done things that make sense?

[Drew]

How many "super delegates" are there, anyway? This is new to me, I'm not really sure what their deal is...

[noodles]

~800

Super delegates are named by the DNC, and carry the weight of a regular delegate. They were created after Jimmy Carter won the nomination, to prevent the common people from running away with a candidate that the power behind the party didn't want to support. Considering you need 2000 to win, and one delegate represents roughly 20,000 voters, the super delegates equal about 1,600,000 extra votes.

[ohio_eric]

2008 Democratic National Convention - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There will be 3,253 pledged delegates (committed to vote for a particular Democratic Presidential candidate), who will be selected by primary voters and caucus participants, and 796 unpledged delegates (free to vote for any Democratic Presidential candidate), colloquially known as superdelegates, which consist of DNC members, Democratic members of Congress and Governors, and other prominent figures in the party.[4] The final number of superdelegates will not be known until March 1, 2008.

Originally Posted by noodles

They were created after Jimmy Carter won the nomination, to prevent the common people from running away with a ca

Actually it was earlier. After McGovern got torched by Nixon the DNC decided they needed a larger hand in picking the candidate.