Here and There

But somehow I’m still glad McCain was picked as the GOP nominee.

Still, Huckabee warns Republicans that they shouldn’t attack Obama to win. Might as well reteach them how to tie their shoes, governor.

My god, the campaigning has reached new lows. From The New York Times digging for gold dirt and finding only pyrite, at best, to Hillary Clinton flying off the handle, sounding like an angry friend’s mom yelling at you for putting dishes in the dishwasher the wrong way, we’ve reached a phase where the Republicans have their presumptive, eventual nominee and a challenger with no mathematical possibility refusing to cede, and Democrats tugging away at a rope that seems to keep growing.

It’s funny that the media has been hatching elegiac stories about Clinton since the end of last Thursday’s debate. Her comment (plagiarized almost directly from John Edwards, or was it he who picked it up from Bill Clinton?) about the candidates being fine no matter what happens in the nomination battle struck me as … pandering. Not capitulation — not to Obama, or to the voters. But the press went ape shit and stories followed of sober moods inside Camp Clinton.

Obama’s response to Hillary’s tantrum Saturday was … Obama-esque. No comment.

It all feels desperate to me. Desperate on the part of the candidates (Clinton and Huckabee, namely) and desperate on the part of the media. From what I’ve read, there’s no “there” there to any of these narratives. Just fillin’ inches …

That said, I’ve been posting sparingly and (get this!!!) living my life a little in the eternal two-week vacation until March 4. Nothing election-related has really interested me enough these last four days. That could all change by lunch, of course.

Sure, Senator John McCain is cleaning up delegate-wise, but here’s the breakdown of Super Tuesday states:

• McCain: Missouri, California, Arizona, Oklahoma, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois
• Romney: Alaska, Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, North Dakota, Utah, Massachusetts
• Huckabee; Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia

I really hope that Romney and Huckabee stay strong and keep challenging McCain. The GOP could use a shake-up, and the longer McCain has to raise money for the general election, the worse off the Democrats are.

Funny. This thing reminds me of a modern, web version of the fold-outs on the back page of Mad Magazine.

Humor, from The New York Times, of all places.

Another one of those oh-so-rare gems: a column by The New York Times’s David Brooks that’s not only readable, but insightful.

• Was it the almost-cry? (I’m in the “It seemed genuine even if part of a strategy” camp). The organization? The money? Obama’s Iowa bump not big enough? Either way, hats off to HC.
• “We’ve got to reverse it” is easily one of the most resonant things Clinton has said.
• I’m trying to find a total vote count (not delegates or caucus precinct captains or any other goofy antiquated metric) to compare with NH to get a total. Pretty sure Obama is still leading there.
• I’m confused about the delegate process. According to this CNN scorecard, there are many pledged delegates for states that haven’t held their primaries yet. Huh?
• I read somewhere last night from someone who was leaning toward Obama that at least there won’t be a coronation, and that that’s a good thing. I agree. It gets really interesting from here, and I hope the discussion migrates away from style and toward substance. That’s where it should’ve been all along.
• Time for Richardson to go, and maybe Edwards too, to say nothing of Kucinich and Gravel.
• On the Republican side, I’m lost. Huckabee can only do well regionally, it seems. He cancels out Fred Thompson, who should hang it up already. Romney may as well say goodnight too. McCain can do well all over, but time will tell. I have an eerie suspicion about Giuliani.

Katherine Q. Seelye and David Kirkpatrick report for The New York Times.

From the Sunday Times.

You be the judge:

It’s happening: Iowans are going Protestant over Mormon. Jon Cohen and Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post report.

From The Trail blog.

Romney gets it going on Sunday talk-show circuit.

From Wired.com’s Sarah Lai Stirland.

This blogger’s gut reaction is that, with this criticism of Bush’s foreign policy, Mike Huckabee may have just wrapped up the Republican nomination.