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The Democratic playing field is a tad less attractive now that pretty boy John Edwards has officially suspended his run for President. Why "suspend" and not "end"? It's simply legal speak meaning he can continue to receive federal matching funds for his campaign donations AND he can still control 16 of the 26 delegates he won in the Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. The remaining 10 delegates were split according to party rules, 6 to Obama and 4 to Clinton. Edwards has yet to endorse either of his former rivals. I can just imagine him hoisting up those delegates while doing his best He-Man impersonation proclaiming, "By the power of Grayskull, I have the POWER!!"
In this hotly contested election year, it's all about those precious delegates, which means Obama and Clinton will be working hard to make Edwards and his supporters their new BFF's! There's no love lost between Edwards and Clinton, so an Obama endorsement seems likely. We shall see... One thing's for sure, his impeccably styled coif will be missed.
In the quintessential "What was he thinking?!" moment of the 2008 election thus far, Rudy Giuliani went ALL IN when it came to the Republican Florida primary and lost. He endorsed his good friend and Florida primary winner, John McCain, today in California, where Republicans are poised to debate at the Reagan Presidential Library. How did Giuliani go from front runner to has been in just a few short months? I think former Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said it best: "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11." Goodbye, Rudy. At the very least, you will always have this...
The Republican field has dwindled down to McCain, Huckabee, Romney and Ron Paul. The candidates will shift their focus to Super Tsunami Tuesday, less than a week away, when 21 states with 1023 delegates will be up for grabs. My man Huckabee is 1st or tied for 1st in Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma. McCain is expected to do well in Arizona, California {big prize!}, Massachusetts, Illinois and Delaware. With the exit and subsequent backing of Giuliani, McCain should also secure the Northeast. For Romney, it will be a last ditch effort to convince voters he's their guy. He has polled well in the Western states of Montana, Colorado, Alaska and, of course, Utah. Most pundits agree the Republican nominee will emerge from votes cast on February 5.
Unfortunately for the Dems, the Super Tuesday result is NOT expected to be so cut and dry. They do not adhere to a winner-take-all system, in which the candidate who gets the most votes in a state claims all the delegates; Delegates are awarded proportionately, according to each candidate's share of the vote. Obama and Clinton are predicted to possess very close delegate counts at the end of the day.
