The Day After

So Tsunami Tuesday has come and gone and life, as we know it, goes on.

Little has changed following yesterday’s mega-primary when nearly half of the states held contests to choose each party’s nominee for president.

Certainly the Clinton-Obama battle for the Democratic prize remains deadlocked. The two candidates divided up the states, the votes and, most importantly, the delegates almost evenly.

Hillary Clinton is left still fighting for the nomination the day after the largest set of primaries that the nation has ever held which she hoped would drive a dagger into any opponent still standing in her way.

And Barack Obama failed to leapfrog over the Clinton machine and assert himself as the new frontrunner. We’re left with two impressive combatants slogging on with the distinct possibility that it will take the party’s convention this summer to decide their fate.

Partisans fear that such a lengthy process could do harm to the Democratic Party’s unity going into the fall campaign. But both candidates have apparently decided to stop throwing mud at each other and run reasonably respectful campaigns, at least for the time being.

I, for one, think this is a marvelous development for our Republic. It gives schnooks like us in supposedly late primary states the opportunity to cast our votes in a meaningful way. And both candidates are being scrutinized in a way that can only help define them as better qualified than whoever the Republicans nominate.

As for the Republicans, the outcome of their Super Tuesday contests provided the only real surprise in the strong showing of Mike Huckabee. As expected, John McCain ended up with the lion’s share of the states and the delegates. But Mitt Romney, who many hardline Republicans were hoping would draw support from the party’s most conservative voters, was overtaken by Huckabee who won several southern states.

Prior to Tuesday’s voting, Romney enraged Huckabee by insinuating that the former Arkansas governor had little chance to be anything other than a spoiler. Early last evening, Huckabee appeared to gleefully throw those words back at Romney when he acknowledged that the race had narrowed to two candidates but he was one of them.

McCain’s eventual nomination appears pretty close to a sure thing. Huckabee’s success seems to ensure that he will coast to the convention with political capital that may result in his selection as the vice presidential nominee. Romney, on the other hand, looks more and more like the Black Knight from Monty Python who insists he is getting stronger each time he gets one of his arms or legs lopped off.

Get over it, Mitt. The people are just not that into you.

But the Clinton-Obama contest is what has captured the attention of our nation and the world. Let’s face it, there’s an epidemic of Bush fatigue. Not even the Republicans are dumb enough to be linking themselves to the current occupant of the White House. The historymaking Obama and Clinton campaigns are engaged in an epic battle, neck and neck, or at least competitive, in polling, endorsements, positions on issues, fundraising and just about every key criteria.

So what is a Democrat to do? Isn’t this what we wish for; a choice between two qualified, competent, appealing candidates? But how are we to choose?

For the most part, most Democrats say they would be happy with either candidate. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult to remain on the sidelines and simply say, “I’ll support whichever candidate get the nomination.”

Here in Wisconsin we have less than two weeks before we have to actually make a choice. We’ll undoubtedly get several opportunities to see both candidates up close and personal before Feb. 19th. But chances are we aren’t going to get much in the way of new information.

So come back tomorrow and I’ll handicap the Obama-Clinton race for you. You don’t have to thank me but I welcome your comments.