TresSugar

What Counts as a Clinton "Win?"

LibertySugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:00:37 -0800

Super Tuesday, on February 5th, was supposed to be the day the Democratic nominee emerged. Instead, absolutely nothing changed. Today could be decisive, but I still get the feeling neither candidate is ready to call it quits.

Today, Hillary has a chance to break her 11-state losing streak. If she does well, and closes in on the delegate count, Obama's momentum could be irrelevant.

But Obama doesn't see it that way. On Monday, his campaign manager, David Plouffe, wrote in a memo to reporters: "While the Clintons gamely continue to try to move the goal posts, at some point there has to be a reckoning."

How far can the goal posts be pushed back and where does the field end? In such a tight race, under what circumstances (if any) should Clinton, now the underdog, exit the race?

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Lighten Up: The Case of the Invisible Ink

LibertySugar — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:00:22 -0800

Amid tales of Floridians showing up to vote on Super Tuesday - a full week late for their state's primary - and Obama's "girl" not showing up at all, there's this invisible ink voting snafu out of Chicago.

Election officials in Chicago investigated the claims of "magic" invisible ink pens to mark ballots, and concluded that it was "just utter stupidity." It's quite the Super Tuesday fiasco . . .

Super Tuesday Ballot: Your Results!

LibertySugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:00:59 -0800

Many of you played pundit, and took a guess as to who would win six of the biggest contests on Tuesday. Here's how the Sugar predictions* matched up to the actual results.

Massachusetts:

Sugar Prediction: Obama and McCain
Actual Winner: Clinton and Romney

California:

Sugar Prediction: Obama and McCain*
Actual Winner: Clinton and McCain*

For the rest of the results, read more.

New York:

Sugar Prediction: Clinton* and McCain*
Actual Winner: Clinton* and McCain*

Arizona:

Sugar Prediction: Obama and McCain*
Actual Winner: Clinton and McCain*

Utah:

Sugar Prediction: Obama* and Romney*
Actual Winner: Obama* and Romney*

Tennessee:

Sugar Prediction: Obama* and McCain
Actual Winner: Clinton and Huckabee

*Sugar voters picked winner!!

How did your predictions hold up?

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Headline: Democratic Race Not Over, Plus Republican Surprises!

CitizenSugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:25:40 -0800

Now that the dust has settled from yesterday's primaries, the real work can begin - figuring out what to make of all results! Here's what I'm noticing so far:

In what I'm calling the "Wild West Stampede to the Center," it looks like states that usually vote Blue in the general election went for McCain last night (California, Illinois, New York) while Obama nabbed Red States (Alabama, Georgia, North Dakota). Does this mean that Democrats are more liberal in conservative states and vice versa? Or does it mean that we're hungrier for a middle ground than we think?
Obama took more total states, while Hillary grabbed more delegates. In a race of numbers, which counts more toward momentum? Are people so glad that their vote has an impact in this primary that they're eager to keep the race alive? If the decision does go all the way to convention, how will the sharply divided Democratic party gather strongly behind the eventual candidate?
Huckabee? Huckabee! Regardless of the perceived popularity of his campaign, he's running a wildly successful campaign against those in the media who were too quick to declare him DOA. Mitt Romney's bottomless campaign wallet and Huckabee's shoestring fueled talk of a two-man race between Romney and McCain, dismissing Huckabee altogether. Huckabee claimed about as many states as Romney did last night, sending Romney into intense discussions about the future of his campaign. As Huck said last night, "You know, over the past few days, people have been trying to say this is a two-man race. You know what? It is. And we're in it!" Was the biggest loser last night the media? Are conservative voters not sold on Mitt Romney?

However your candidate fared yesterday, it was a big victory for voters! Turnout was up - and we've got a lot of campaign left!

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Super Tuesday by the Numbers

LibertySugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:00:52 -0800

So the nominations aren't exactly decided, even after Super-Duper Tsunami-rageous Tuesday Extravaganza-palooza! But, here's a simple delegate projection:

Democrats 2,025 Needed:

Hillary Clinton 845

Barack Obama 765

Republicans 1,191 Needed:

John McCain 613
Mitt Romney 269
Mike Huckabee 190

Check out the New York Times interactive election guide for an extensive breakdown of who won what.

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Awaiting Results: We're Beyond Excited

CitizenSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:04:49 -0800

Okay, the polls will be closing momentarily and the results will be pouring (or trickling?) in. We'll be updating our exclusive results chart as the night goes on, so check back here and see how your candidates do.

In the meantime, longhorn_sugar tipped us off to this: Google Maps will be updating and mapping the results combined with Twitter text messages from across the country all night!

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Where I'm Clicking Now: VoicesWithoutVotes.org

CitizenSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:15:34 -0800

With all of the stories pouring in about people voting in the US, I was delighted to find this site: VoicesWithoutVotes.org. A project of Global Voices in association with Reuters, the goal of this awesome site is to "open a window on what non-Americans are saying in blogs and citizen media about US foreign policy and the 2008 presidential elections."

Gathering up and featuring blog entries from India to Algeria to Iraq, the global perspective is a crucial and dynamic part of our political discourse. I'm going to start reading this post from India about Super Tuesday and explore the rest of the global bazaar of ideas while we wait for results to come in!

Super-Duper Tsunami-rageous Tuesday Extravaganza-palooza - Update

LibertySugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:30:22 -0800

Mike Huckabee is projected to win all 18 West Virginia delegates at the state's GOP Convention. The former Arkansas governor beat his Massachusetts counterpart after delegates for John McCain defected to his side. Huckabee is Super Tuesday's first winner. - Washington Post
Both the Clinton and Obama campaigns are playing down expectations today. Clinton's strategist, Mark Penn, said that because none of today's races are winner take all, the fight will continue past Tuesday. - The Washington Times
In the last week, John McCain has surpassed even Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the amount of news coverage he has received. The media effectively anointed McCain as the Republican frontrunner after he won Florida. - The New York Times
Super Tuesday apparently caused confusion for many voters in Texas. More than 1,000 calls poured into the Bexar County Elections Department on Monday from voters wanting to know where they could vote in Tuesday's primary. Problem is - Texas isn't holding a primary today. - KSAT
Increased voter registration and some long lines early Tuesday pointed to a record turnout for presidential primary contests. - CNN

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Wanna See McCain Sing? Obama Dance? Amazing.

CitizenSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:02:48 -0800

So you read our serious opinions this morning . . . now here's the real reason we're voting for our candidates. They're hot, hot, not-to-be-believed singer/dancers. Behold. It's glorious.

"Papa can you hear me?" Nope. Laughing too hard.

My Missouri Exit Poll

LibertySugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:34:06 -0800

I keep hearing about how Missouri is a bellwether state, almost always choosing the winning presidential candidate. The state combines Southern and Midwestern culture and has both rural and urban populations. So, I decided to do some sophisticated polling and call my grandparents who live in Saint Louis.

My grandma (Nana, 81) voted for Hillary. She says that Hillary would "hit the road running" as president and change things instantly. Nana thinks that Hillary knows the ropes and the right people, and after "eight years of bad influence" that's what we need. My grandpa (Papa, 87), a World War II veteran, really wants Hillary to win, too!

My polling data also indicates that John Edwards's late exit may influence the Missouri election. My grandma's sister voted absentee for Edwards a while back, and wishes she could change her vote to Hillary! What a bummer.

And finally, the weather is not so great in the bellwether state. My grandma says there are thunderstorms in Saint Louis, which may keep people away from the polls. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

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