Monday, 02.04.08 Posted By: Millie
Goodday all.
It’s Monday, the start of a new week. But not just any week! Super-Duper Tuesday is finally upon us tomorrow!
It has been an amazing time to be blogging about the election here at Johnthenewsking – the past posts written over the last several months are now history, but they still contain references to people and events associated with this historical campaign. It is a neat look back.
But now, we are looking forward, not backward… forward to tomorrow night’s results as they come in.
John of course has been on the trail the last few days. Here he is recently in LA:
For a little more perspective and personal insight on the eve of tomorrow’s historic day who could tell us better than John? So… surprise, surprise, I have a little something to share that he wrote on Saturday, especially for Johnthenewsking!
Here is what he had to say:
“It has been a long week after a long week after a long month. As for Super Tuesday, it is numbing in its scope and importance. It won’t be decisive in the sense of anyone getting over the finish line in the delegate chase, but it could be almost decisive if Senator Mccain can have a big night. The flipside is if Romney can get 400 delegates or so Tuesday night, he will have enough encouragement to soldier on.
There will be a new poll out Sunday showing a dead heat on the Democratic side in giant California… which is to say fasten your seat belts! Senator Clinton enters with a decent advantage state by state, but Senator Obama is in for the long haul and just needs to prove Tuesday night he is viable coast to coast. A 60-40 split in her favor would be enough for him to say he is closing in — and then there is more time between the later contests and when he has time he generally closes on her. So she is hoping to do better and build a delegate lead big enough to be both a mathematic and psychological edge.
They are all exhausted. You have to respect them regardless of whether you agree with their politics. Sure, there is ambition and ego and all that… but the process is inhumane, and for the candidates with all the pressure and stress to keep going and stay in good humor for the most part is remarkable in its own right.We have never had anything this big in one day – literally from coast to coast and as far north and south just about as you can go in the country. So everyone gets a chance to weigh in — farmers and fisherman, rich and poor, every ethnic persuasion.
I cannot tell you how excited people seem to be. Remember, most of the time it is over by now, and these states don’t get a voice in the nominating process.A man approached me in Birmingham, Alabama today who had rushed from a Bill Clinton event to see John Mccain. He said he was a Democrat but a conservative Democrat, and could conceivably vote for Mccain. People were so polite and welcoming in Birmingham – and clearly happy to have a vote that matters. It has been the same elsewhere – in California, Illinois, Georgia tonight… and that part to me is refreshing.
You get pretty tired and cynical sometimes in my line of work. A liberal blogger took after me recently when he decided a portion of a Mccain interview I did wasn’t tough enough in his view. I read it on 2 hours sleep over three days and, while I think he was wrong, I lost my temper in a way that didn’t serve any purpose but to make me look thin skinned.
I still am not sleeping but I am trying to remember that what matters so much more is whether we are helping to inform people – encouraging them to go out and get more information on their own. It is heartwarming to meet people who say they are excited about the campaign – Democrats and Republicans – and who stop to say hello or just welcome to their city or town, which is a long way of saying it is exhausting but fun and fascinating and I sometimes need to remind myself how lucky I am to get to see it and experience it and not worry about the rest of the grief that comes with the territory.
We’re about to see if Obama can keep close enough to make it a marathon, or even surprise us more, and about to see if Mccain can put Romney away, or if the Republican race will go a longer distance. Governor Huckabee is struggling some but has some opportunities Tuesday to have an impact.
Two more crazy campaign days and then a little history… the biggest primary day ever.”
Many thanks to John for taking a moment out of his busy schedule to share his Super Tuesday observations and reflections.
We look forward to watching his coverage and analysis tomorrow night as the election results come in!
johnthenewsking 
