Quiet Reflections on Politics
Well, it’s two days until the South Carolina and Nevada primaries, so we have time to catch our breath and reflect on the Primary season. While the candidates and their campaign entourages frantically work to get their messages out, there’s little to do for voters except study the issues and the candidates.
On the Democratic side, the frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are heavily campaigning for Nevada delegates, while John Edwards continues his push in South Carolina hoping for a win there, or at least a three-way tie. Obama has already swung through South Carolina on his tour with Oprah. It just may be that race is an issue in these two primaries, as half the registered voters in Nevada are Hispanic or African-American and almost one half of the registered voters in South Carolina are non-white. Illegal immigration is a really volatile issue among South Carolina voters. So, though no one wants to talk about it, race may be a factor.
For the Republicans, John McCain and Mike Huckabee have joined Fred Thompson and Ron Paul in South Carolina, while Mitt Romney made a short stop there and headed to Nevada, where there are more delegates to be had. Meanwhile, Rudy Guiliani is staying in Florida and campaigning heavily, especially since polls show his lead there has dropped dramatically. South Carolina is the make-or-break state for Thompson, while Guiliani really needs the win in Florida on the 29th if he doesn’t want to see New Jersey and New York give up on him. I’m pretty certain that Ron Paul will continue his internet and mailing campaigns no matter which way the primaries go in any of these three states.
While the Democratic field has at least narrowed to three candidates - with two frontrunners, the Republican field is still as widespread as ever. Any candidate who can manage to win two primaries just might have an advantage, but Fred Thompson seems determined to take South Carolina. If he wins there, that will make four different primaries with four different winners. What the Republicans really need is a candidate who can appeal to Republican voters across the board, as well as Independents, not just a narrow niche of ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal followers. It remains to be seen whether any of the candidates can create that mass appeal.
So for most of us, this is a time to study the candidates and the issues while we wait to see what happens on Saturday.
Tags: Barack Obama, delegates, Democrats, Fred Thompson, Hillary Clinton, illegal immigration, John Edwards, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Nevada, Nevada Primary, Politics, Presidential, Presidential primary, Ron Paul, Rudi Guiliani, South Carolina PrimaryLeave a Reply
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