Super Tuesday

Started by , Wed 06/02/2008 01:25:12

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m0ds

Why is it "super"? It's not like we have "Amazing Monday" when we all go and vote. Can someone please explain? I'm also a little confused. I read the news daily and there hasn't been much coverage about all this until the last day or so. Is this it? Is this Bush out, and if so, when???

Evil

#1
They call it Super Tuesday because a bunch of states (24 of 52) have primaries and caucuses today. The rest of the states do theirs on different days. They call it that because it's a major turning point for the candidates.

Bush is out January 20, 2009.

Edit: Um, I guess there are 51 groups in the electoral college, but for some reason I thought the 52nd was Puerto Rico. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Snarky

To add to that, for those not familiar with the American system, the primaries and caucuses are when the Republicans and Democrats choose whom to run as their candidate in the general election. These primaries are run state-by-state, and then the final results are tallied up and the nominees announced at the big National Conventions in the summer.

States that have early primaries (or caucuses, which are pretty much the same thing, but with more arguing), like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, tend to have a big influence on who eventually gets nominated, because candidates that don't do well in the first few races usually drop out, and candidates that do well get a boost. Then comes Super Tuesday, when a bunch of states all have their primaries on the same day. That makes it critically important, and it can determine the whole nomination.

Usually, Super Tuesday gives one of the candidates a big enough lead that the race is essentially over. However, this year the Democrats are so closely split between Obama and Clinton that the two might have to go on fighting for every last vote, continuing to campaign in late-voting states. We'll know that by tomorrow. On the Republican side, McCain is likely to grab enough votes to make it very difficult for anyone else to get the nomination.

One of the fascinating things about the nomination process this particular year is that it has been a genuine race, with a lot of interesting and different candidates on both sides and no foregone conclusions. (The Democrats are generally very pleased with their options, while Republicans, at least conservative Republicans, are less thrilled with the candidates they have to choose from.) Consequently, interest and participation in the primary elections are way up, and Americans seem to be feeling a lot more cheerful about their democracy than they have for a long time.

m0ds

Thanks! Now it's all clear. So it was really just a day in which a clear lead in the votes would normally occur. Cool! Not long before Bush it out either, which is great. And the candidates all seem like real people this time, and hopefully have no corrupt background like the Bush family. I hope you get the guy/girl you want to lead! Now, watch this drive...

ildu

I was really looking forward to Super Tuesday, but nothing decisive really emerged. McCain, Clinton and Obama are all great candidates, so I'll be happy if one of them gets it (which is most likely). I'm still rooting for Obama, though. Obama got more states than Clinton, but less delegates on Super Tuesday, so they're currently at (O) 34% and (C) 41%.

One fear is that Clinton is potentially a worse opponent against McCain than Obama is. The advantages Obama has over McCain are youth, dynamism, freshness, multiculturality, change, etc. Clinton and McCain are both moderates and have similar policies, so that might backfire, when people will be willing to vote past party lines rather than voting for a woman (yes, it still happens). While McCain is certainly a great dude, I'd hesitate about his elephantism in the Casa Blanca.

Evil

Republicans who aren't happy with their candidates, are really breaking their shell and voting for Obama and Edwards. But if it comes down to McCain and Clinton, those Republicans who would otherwise voted for Obama or Edwards, won't vote for Clinton.

But, though I would rather not have Hilary as our president, I guess I can't complain as long as Bush is gone.

Emerald

Quote from: m0ds on Wed 06/02/2008 14:40:32
Now, watch this drive...

Thought that reference deserved a kudos ;)


Anyway, I don't like any of the candidates. Clinton's a battleaxe. And then she tries to overcompensate for it by bursting into tears (I bet she had to remind herself of her sexlife in order to bring those tears)

Obama is just... white. It's stupid for him to call himself 'multicultural' because a) that doesn't REALLY prove that he'd make a good leader of the free world and b) he's not, really.

And the Republicans, well, they're just evil to begin with...

Pumaman

I'd vote for John McClain just to see him do this at his inauguration:



Yippee kayaay, motherfuckers!

Raggit

I'm proud to say I was present at my state's Democractic caucus last night.  The group was divided into the Obamas on one side and the Clintons on the other.  I was in the Obama group, and we greatly outnumbered them.  The race between Obama and Clinton here isn't even close.  He's got her beat by a long shot, which is surprising considering I live in the midwest. 

It was a really energized and exciting evening, and people had the opportunity to go up to the mic and speak out on why they were voting for their candidate, and gave reasons on why those who were in the undecided section should give them consideration.  It's refreshing to see people taking part in their government.

I have a feeling that the majority of the country will have their calendars marked and will be watching the clock in anticipation of the end of the Bush administration.  A shame he'll be walking away from office scot free without as much as a fine or penalty for all he's done to us and the rest of the world.
--- BARACK OBAMA '08 ---
www.barackobama.com

RickJ

Quote
Republicans who aren't happy with their candidates, are really breaking their shell and voting for Obama and Edwards. But if it comes down to McCain and Clinton, those Republicans who would otherwise voted for Obama or Edwards, won't vote for Clinton.
I kind of agree but would say it like this:  Republicans who aren't happy with their candidates especially John McCain.   McCain is counting on the fact that his base dislike Clinton more than they dislike him and that will be enough to get them out to vote for him.  What he is no counting on is the possibility of Obama winning the Democrat nomination.   If it ends up Obama vs McCain, those who dislike McCain will either stay home or vote for Obama out of protest.  Those who like McCain afre likely to like Obama better and so they will likely vote Obama.   So in this scenario Obama wins in a huge landslide, IMHO.   

Evil

Which is good for those of us who like Obama!  ;D

Gregjazz

Quote from: RickJ on Thu 07/02/2008 02:48:49
I kind of agree but would say it like this:  Republicans who aren't happy with their candidates especially John McCain.   McCain is counting on the fact that his base dislike Clinton more than they dislike him and that will be enough to get them out to vote for him.  What he is no counting on is the possibility of Obama winning the Democrat nomination.   If it ends up Obama vs McCain, those who dislike McCain will either stay home or vote for Obama out of protest.  Those who like McCain afre likely to like Obama better and so they will likely vote Obama.   So in this scenario Obama wins in a huge landslide, IMHO.   

I think you're right on. If it's between McCain and Obama, I'm voting for Obama no question about it... actually I wouldn't vote for Romney or Huckabee either.

Snarky

Quote from: Emerald on Wed 06/02/2008 22:03:54
Obama is just... white. It's stupid for him to call himself 'multicultural' because a) that doesn't REALLY prove that he'd make a good leader of the free world and b) he's not, really.

You're so wrong, my friend. (And isn't it just as stupid to reject a candidate because he's "white" as to do so because he's black?) I don't feel like arguing about it, but have a look at this article.

Quote from: Raggit on Wed 06/02/2008 23:30:50
The race between Obama and Clinton here isn't even close.  He's got her beat by a long shot, which is surprising considering I live in the midwest.

Well, Obama has deep roots in the midwest, with his family in Kansas and his background in Chicago and Illinois politics. Local boy made good, that kind of thing.

Like apparently most people here, I'm an Obama supporter (though as a visiting alien I don't get to vote). He's not a perfect candidate, but I have a number of issues with Hillary Clinton as President. First of all, it's pretty clear that she is only a serious candidate because she's married to a certain ex-president. There's a sense that a lot of her appeal is really support for Bill by proxy. I tend to think that a candidate should get to the White House on his or her own merit. Secondly, I think people here are way to nonchalant about political dynasties. For the last twenty years, the President has come from one of two families. Some of the people who are voting in the primaries now have never experienced a President whose last name isn't Bush or Clinton. Four, possibly eight, more years of that? That is not a healthy thing for a democracy. Finally, the notion of a Clinton-McCain race somewhat depresses me. It's so backward-looking. It's a matchup you could have predicted eight years ago. I liked the nineties just fine, but I have no wish to go back there now, at this point in time.

Those are problems I have with Hillary in principle, disregarding her actual qualities as a politician and leader. Not to say that there aren't criticisms of those as well. But I actually think that if she somehow won the general election, she would be a solid though not stellar President.

Emerald

Quote from: Snarky on Thu 07/02/2008 07:58:58
Quote from: Emerald on Wed 06/02/2008 22:03:54
Obama is just... white. It's stupid for him to call himself 'multicultural' because a) that doesn't REALLY prove that he'd make a good leader of the free world and b) he's not, really.

You're so wrong, my friend. (And isn't it just as stupid to reject a candidate because he's "white" as to do so because he's black?) I don't feel like arguing about it, but have a look at this article.

Yeah, see, I really don't understand how race can come into it at all. Or gender. Or anything, for that matter. Being a good president is about two things: political savvy, and camera presence - and neither is stored in either skin pigments, or testicles.

Almost half our ministers (and our last two presidents) are female, and our country has neither fallen apart, nor gotten much better (most improvements - if any - being mostly due to EU influence)
And, quite frankly, my experience of racial/national/cultural differences is that they're skin-deep. "Blackness" or "Britishness" is really an abstract concept with no real meaning beyond what people give it on an individual basis.

Huw Dawson

Thing is, whichever Democrat candidate gets a nomination will most likely who us Brits will end up supporting. We barely know anything about the Republic party. I think there is going to be a LOT more press coverage in the coming months of Obama and Clinton, meaning people are going to see more of them... Awfully convenient for the Democrats, no?

- Huw
Post created from the twisted mind of Huw Dawson.
Not suitible for under-3's due to small parts.
Contents may vary.

RickJ

Quote
Thing is, whichever Democrat candidate gets a nomination will most likely who us Brits will end up supporting. We barely know anything about the Republic party
Just out of curiosity, why is that?  Can you elaborate?

Quote
I think there is going to be a LOT more press coverage in the coming months of Obama and Clinton, meaning people are going to see more of them... Awfully convenient for the Democrats, no?
It's not necessarily good for Clinton.  People already know who they are and already either love or hate them and having more exposure in the media only intensifies pre-existing feelings.  It's very unlikely anyone would be persuaded to adopt another opinion at this late date. 

Obama on the other hand is not well known and the more people see him the more they seem to prefer him over Clinton.  However, in the general election this can work the other way as well.  From what I understand he is very left leaning. more so the the US public, so the more he is in the public eye the more they will be aware of this.

Quote
Yeah, see, I really don't understand how race can come into it at all. Or gender. Or anything, for that matter.
Race has been an integral part of democrat party political strategy since the mid 1960's and has been exploited by them at every opportunity.   There is an unholy alliance between the democrat party and the so called civil rights establishment.  Both are big on promises but seldom do anything of substance.  Neither have an interest in making real improvements because that would result in a reduction in their own power and influence.   Now that there is a serious candidate who is also black (non-white) all the propaganda and racial politics are working against Clinton.     Obama seems to have enough political savvy to know how to take advantage of the situation and enough camera presence to pull it off.   

Quote
Being a good president is about two things: political savvy, and camera presence - and neither is stored in either skin pigments, or testicles.
I would agree that this is required to be elected president.  However, I think being president requires additional skills such as leadership, vision, determination, etc.  Most importantly a good president would put the needs of the country before his own.

Ponch

#16
Quote from: Emerald on Thu 07/02/2008 14:30:26
Being a good president is about two things: political savvy, and camera presence - and neither is stored in either skin pigments, or testicles.

It seems to me you're making some rather rash assumptions about what I'm capable of keeping in my testicles.

That said, at this point I'm in the "anybody but Hillary" group. Unfortunately, I don't like McCain (for more reasons than I care to go into here) but I don't care for Obama either. Saw him speak publicly and it was at once both electrifying and completely devoid of substance. That's my beef with him. He doesn't really offer any policies (which may be a large part of his appeal -- gives him that blank slate that allows any voter to project their ideal candidate upon). Still, he's better than another run of the Clinton Dynasty.

I guess my point is that to me this election year is extremely interesting, but bereft of any interesting candidates... if that makes any sense.

Or maybe my point was that one should never underestimate my testicles. Ever.

- Ponch

deadsuperhero

I've been in the "Anyone but Hillary" group as well. I personally don't see the Republican candidates as super-amazing, but they're okay.
Personally, though, I've come to really admire Obama. I read his life story on Wikipedia (Maybe it's not the best first source for everything, but it sums up things pretty well.)
Also, Obama supports ODF (OpenDocument Format), and by extension, he's an open-source advocate. But he's also done a ridiculously large amount of reforms, much more than Hillary (I always hated the "she's qualified to be president because she's in the senate" arguement)
But yeah, for the Dems, Obama is my man. For the Republicans, I don't really care. (Though, it'd be kinda neat to have Mitt Romney win the candidacy, as he's been in the big business sector for quite some time. Also, he's Mormon, so that's kind of neat. And yeah, I know he "suspended" his campaign for now, but to me that's tantamount to just "taking a nap on the campaign trail.")
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