Yet, [...]]]> With victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, John McCain is poised to virtually clinch the GOP nomination with wins in next week’s historically delegate rich Super Tuesday. Americans from the Pacific to the Atlantic have a chance to send Governor Romney, Governor Huckabee and Congressman Ron Paul home for good.

Yet, a much different scenario is playing out on the other side of the aisle. With the departure of Senator John Edwards from the race, the Democratic nomination has boiled down to a two way battle between the former First Lady and Senator Obama. The Democrats have a unique chance to decide if they want this country to go in a new direction or revert back to the same tired policies from a much different time in our history. Yes, a vote for Hillary is a vote for the first female President, but after catching Bill in action the past week, does anyone really believe Hillary will be the Alpha Dog in a future Clinton administration?

While it is impossible to know how that mess will play out, one thing that is for certain is that the closest thing we have ever had to a national primary (next week’s twenty-two state free for all) will not produce the required amount of delegates for either of the Democratic front runners. This essentially knocks California, New York and New Jersey down the totem pole in terms of relevance and importance, precisely the opposite effect that was intended when these large states front loaded the process this time around and significantly moved up their primary calendars (in the case of New Jersey, four months earlier).

No matter how many times the leadership in the major parties try to reform the process, we continue to learn the painful lesson that the parties are better at producing commercials and fundraising, and should leave more important matters like elections to the various Departments of State. So much of our tax dollars are mindlessly wasted on proposed bridges to nowhere and museums dedicated to the cotton mill. Why not allocate necessary resources to reforming our election process as well as a nationwide upgrade of voting and counting machines? Americans will support additional federal spending if it is done in a smart way for a worthwhile cause. Nothing should trump the importance of accurate voting. Let’s hope that Congress does the right thing and invests in our electoral infrastructure.

1.) Rudy’s ridiculous strategy of completely ignoring Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina predictably backfired. Now the Mayor will endorse Senator McCain in an attempt to freeze out the hard-to-like Romney. Today’s photo-op at the Reagan Library may propel Giuliani to a seat in McCain’s [...]]]> Last night’s Florida primary taught us several things:

1.) Rudy’s ridiculous strategy of completely ignoring Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina predictably backfired. Now the Mayor will endorse Senator McCain in an attempt to freeze out the hard-to-like Romney. Today’s photo-op at the Reagan Library may propel Giuliani to a seat in McCain’s cabinet (Homeland Security Secretary?).

2.) Mike Huckabee’s victory in Iowa appears to be a fluke, once again raising questions about why the first caucuses were so overcovered by the mainstream media.

3.) John Edwards has a great message but is not the best messenger, especially in light of the superior oratorical skills of Obama. He may have a promising future as attorney general or Supreme Court justice in the next Democratic administration.

4.) The Florida Democratic Party (among other state parties) has no regard for equity, justice or the right of its members to participate in the candidate nominating process. The rules that punish the voters because the state party leadership yearns to be a more active participant in the national picture is draconian and should be revisited. Is there anything more un-American than disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters for actions beyond their control?

5.) Seven years after the infamous ballot counting nightmare, it is inexcusable that areas in the Sunshine State (particularly Putnam County) still experience technical problems with the voting process. Whatever happened to the election reform we were all promised?

Barack Obama – 30% Hillary Clinton – 28% John Edwards – 25% Joe Biden – 12%

Republicans:

Mike Huckabee – 31% Mitt Romney – 29% John McCain – 24% Rudy Giuliani – 9%

His thinking is to let Mike Huckabee grab the [...]]]> “We’re getting down to the final days and we’re happy with the way things are going, but we’ve still got a very tough fight here in Iowa. We’re working hard and we have a very good organization but we have a very long way to go.”

His thinking is to let Mike Huckabee grab the evangelical vote and steal Mitt Romney’s thunder. John McCain should come back with a victory in New Hampshire and that is when it will really become interesting. South Carolina may hold the key to the GOP nomination.