Finding meaning in Super Tuesday

February 5, 2008

With the results of Super Tuesday still (at best) a few hours away or even (at worst) not available until Wednesday morning (especially California) the focus today will stick to what the results coming in ACTUALLY MEAN...for those of you who will be glued to the results tonight but might not understand their significance.

Of course, no state means more than the nightcap in California, particularly this year to Hillary Clinton who is considered to have a personal tie there. Afterall it WAS Bill Clinton, not an Obama, that visited the state eight times during his first year of office and helped California on a number of social and economic issues.

Another state holding a lot of weight, perhaps mostly symbolically, is Clinton's home state of New York. Anything less then a convincing win in New York could hurt Clinton as
A. She's a senator there for crying out loud and
B. The media polls have shown she has a pretty tight grip there.
If Obama makes a surge in New York, it shows that Clinton is unable to command the voters even of HER state.

Lastly, obviously, the swing states (states where the two candidates are evenly matched) will be of major importance because they are the question marks on the board and, if won in large by one candidate, could give either Clinton or Obama a significant edge.

No matter how the results come in, no one expects the race to be over by the time the last votes of Super Tuesday have been counted. According to experts, this race isn't over yet.