*I'm gonna be live blogging the primary throughout the night. Feel free to follow along and leave your comments. Click "refresh" to stay updated.
9:39pm: I'm signing off for the night. I'll be very interested to see how the California delegate pie slices up tomorrow. The fight for the headlines now begins for all the campaigns. Obama certainly proved his viability for the night, but neither Dem had a slam dunk. Remember, Obama's got the momentum. Tonight won't stop it and wherever Obama's run, he's continued to grow his supporters, while Hillary's base doesn't really move. Personally, I think Obama will now win the nomination. The movement is on his side and the inevitability of Clinton has been shattered.
9:32pm: CNN's Larry King says, "If someone's a loser tonight, It's Mitt Romeny." They're forgetting Rush Limbaugh, who doesn't have the pull he thinks he has. They're speculating about Huckabee as the Veep choice, which I think would be suicide for McCain.
9:28pm: If you're keeping score of state wins (which by now you shouldn't-- it's no longer a talking point that this is really a race for the delegates):
Clinton: New York, Massachusetts, Arkansas, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Tennesse, Arizona, California
Obama: Delaware, Illinois, Georgia, Connecticut, Kansas, Alabama, North Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and
maybe Missouri.
9:20pm: The L.A. Times has a great map of Cali returns
here. Interestingly, Edwards is getting 10% of the vote. You can see why MSNBC called it. The only county where Obama is leading is Marin County. On the other hand, in the ultimate swing state- Missouri, Obama's taken the lead. This is gonna go on and on.
9:15pm: McCain wins Missouri according to MSNBC--- using the term "apparent winner".
9:14pm: McCain wins CA. Dude's the Republican nominee.
9:13pm: Clinton wins CA.
9:12pm: Clinton wants a debate a week to which Obermann sighs, "Oh God. I think we've all moderated a debate at this point, even the people watching this at home." I think a debate a week is a terrible idea, personally. No matter how exciting this election is, voter fatigue is gonna set in.
9:06pm: Obama's just finished speaking. He's really my guy through and through. There's a real difference between him and Clinton-- it's not in issues, but in an approach to government. Meanwhile, there's only a 3,000 vote difference between Clinton and Obama in Missouri. Chris Matthews: "It is the Show Me State-- and it's waiting to be shown." WhhhAhh!?
8:42pm: McCain's talking. He salutes Huckabee and Romney, but says he's the frontrunner. But what's got my attention is his wife's 'do: It's Jackie O's pillbox hat in hair form. Can't. Look. Away. Obama is at the podium! He's gonna knock McCain off the airwaves!
8:29pm: The
L.A. Times has an article up on
the large number of election irregularities in CA. All day long, the Obama boards have been buzzing with trouble with "decline to state" independent voters, including an unverified report of flyers being handed out telling DTS voters they can't vote.
8:26pm: Keith asks Russert: "With Obama winning 10 of the 17 called states, how can this be momentum for Hillary?" Russert's answer: Expectations-- then ads that the DelMarVa primaries are a week away.
8:12pm: Some California info. CNN exit polls have Obama winning the white and black vote. Clinton is getting Latinos and Asians by a wide margin. A note on Cali-- based on the way the rest of the country has been breaking, it's very unlikely we'll have the answer to who wins California anytime soon. My gut says that Clinton will take it by a very small margin. This is great news for Obama.
8:12pm: Mitt should have held off on his speech. He's racked up Minnesota. Jeffrey Toobin of CNN doesn't care. He thinks it's impossible for anyone but McCain to take the nomination "mathematically".
8:10pm: Lou Dobbs: "In the Republican race it's now a three-way race"..."Senator Clinton and Barrack Obama are in a dogfight."
8:07pm: Why hasn't MO been called? CNN's SuperWall explains it- Clinton's wining everywhere, but Obama's winning St. Louis, where most of the population is and there's only 19% of the vote in there.
8:03pm: Hillary's speech is strong on health care (her best issue) and audio feedback. She also congratulates Obama and "looks forward to more debates". Expect her to make an issue of it if Obama refuses to debate with her on Fox. Meanwhile, Obama takes Idaho. Keith Obermann, "The results of the night do not mirror her optimism." Romney takes North Dakota. CA polls close.
7:45pm: By 2% Huck is ahead in MO. If Huckleberry Finn (Eric wants me to make a connection-- see, Mark Twain is from MO) wins the Show Me State, um, anything is possible.
7:41pm: Romney's speech is all about hating Washington. Read Washington as "McCain". Also, his supporters all have signs that read "Change." Every time this guy talks, my ears bleed.
7:31pm: Obama takes Minnesota. He's racking up the purple states. The Audioanimatronic that is Mitt Romney is talking, some bad jokes, some jealousy that his brother is better looking than him and "the one thing is clear is this campaign is going on!"
7:30pm: CNN calls Alabama for Huck. He's done really well tonight.
7:27pm: Mike Huckabee to Soledad O'Brian: "We won West Virginia and you'll just have to deal with it."
7:25pm: CNN calls CT for Obama. Again, this is great, but the reality is the delegates will split pretty evenly. Good for him to show in the Northeast, though.
7:18pm: One thing's clear: this is a terrible night for the Republican party. Brokaw just said, "they've developed multiple personalities." Huck's strong showing (he's won as many states as Romney at this point) means he's not going away any time soon. I don't have a clue how that's going to work. On the plus side, keeping the Republican nominating process going is good for Dems. The party that takes the longest to pick a nominee historically lose.
7:18pm: MSNBC calls Kansas for Obama with a big margin: 72 to 27.
7:15pm: Not sure where he's getting this from, but Kos is calling CO, AZ, NM and Utah for Obama. If true, this is huge.
7:12pm: AP calls Utah for Obama.
7:10pm: Huck-o-mania! Huck's on--"The widows might has more effectiveness than all the gold in the world!" What the hell is Huck's plan? I know he's part of the 'I Hate Mitt' camp, but he's talking like he's planning on continuing, but as what?
7:06pm: Barack take North Dakota. Expect to hear the Obama people make the case that while Clinton wins in places where Democrats always win, Obama pulls in voters in the places Republicans have dominated.
7:00pm: Romney wins Utah! Fighting urge to make polygamy jokes. A lot of states that have been closed for a while have yet to be called for the Republicans. Tight races all around.
6:56pm: Eating a meatball sub. Getting a lot of comments about Clinton "taking" states. Remember these primaries are proportional. The pundits are right for once based on what we've seen so far-- tonight looks to be a muddle, which is good for Obama, but bad for Clinton. Obama's momentum will continue and the DelMarVa primaries next week are likely to go his way. We're really seeing that crazy "what if" scenario where the nomination goes to the convention. Of course, until we hear about CA, all bets are off.
6:33pm: Am starving. Running to Subway!
6:30pm: Obama wins AL. Racking up the South.
6:17pm: The Romney haters may have inspired people to vote for Romney. McCain is losing in all the Republican base states. First WAAAH?!? moment of the night-- Tom Brokaw: "Rush Limbaugh is an American original."
6:13pm: McCain gets NJ & DE according to MSNBC. In contrast, the NYTimes only calls Georgia & Illinois for Obama and CT for McCain.
6:06pm: MSNBC is calling like crazy. Obama gets Delaware.
6:03pm: SuperWall fun! CNN has not projected MA, noting that Boston is still out. Of course they show it in awesome zooms.
6:00pm: Clinton takes NY.
5:57pm: Clinton takes MA.
5:55pm: Huck wins Alabama. Richardsein is trying to thread the needle in his commentary without tipping his hat. That's three metaphors in a row, if you're counting.
5:54pm: I asked my Dad why he'd support Obama over McCain. His reply: "I think he has a shot at it. I look forward to learning more about him. It’s a clear choice for me if McCain becomes the republican nominee (old time politician (calculating), maverick (loner), and a moderate vs. Obama (moderate, new blood, inspiring, seems to desire to build bridges). He’ll have my endorsement and support. Have fun and give me a call."
5:52pm: From an L.A. Obama supporter via Blackberry: "I just came from getting my nails done and using my blackberry, I found polling locations for all of the nail technicians and customers whom hadn't voted yet. Some were still undecided but after I went "out of my way" to help them, they all said they were either likely or most likely to vote for Obama over Clinton!!!! On my way to The Avalon! Barack The Vote!!!"
5:49pm: Bill Richardson briefly appears on MSNBC. He's gone all Al and grown some facial hair. Sort of looks like Saddam Hussein.
5:31pm: Clinton and Huck take AK. Weirdly, MSNBC shows a graphic of Clinton vs. John Edwards for a second. Tom Brokaw says "the electorate is scrambled."
My (Republican)Dad emails me: "If the general election choices are McCain vs. Obama....I will vote for Obama. Good luck tonight. "
5:16pm: Clinton takes TN.
5:15pm: Keith Obermann: "Tenessee is too early to call?, too early to call!"
5:02pm: CNN calls
McCain for CT, IL
Romney for MA
Obama for IL
Clinton for OK
4:46pm: Just a quick note- There's a rally happening at Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood. LAist is having a viewing party at Seven Grand and Obama supporters will gather at the Avalon starting at 8pm.
4:39pm: Chris Matthews: I really think New Jersey is a bellweather for tonight and how Jersey goes, so goes the nation." NJ Sen. Bob Menendez: "It's a national race." Matthews: "If NJ goes for Obama, as a super-delegate, will you follow the wishes of your state or stay with the candidate you pledged too?." Menendez: "I think New Jersey respects commitment."
4:32pm: On the Republican side, it's almost a three way heat, with McCain holding a slight lead. Huck could very well take second in this state....and the "Head On" commercial is back!
4:20pm: Obamentum hits Georgia. MSNBC is reporting that Obama's lead in Georgia is far higher than either the Clinton or Obama camp expected.
4:12pm: By the way, the Romney people are vicious tonight. Every spokesperson for the campaign is in an all out assault on McCain. I'll try to grab a quote next time they're on.
4:07pm: Seems like the Republican race is likely to be interesting tonight, with Huckabee making a strong showing and the divisions between Romney supporters and McCain supporters running deep. CNN pulls out the "Magic Wall" to show Georgia-- and there's nothing there! Because the polls just closed. Show the magic! And like that, on comes Candy Crowley.
4:00pm: Barack is the projected winner for Georgia.
3:50pm: On the Republican side, Pat Buchanan thinks McCain is letting Romney get under his skin, pointing to McCain's "rant" against Romney, who disparaged Bob Dole for supporting Romney. Buchanan: "He needs to act like the front-runner". First polls close in Georgia in moments.
2:54pm: HuffPo reports that
Hillary accepted a debate request from FoxNews. The Dem candidates have previously refused to debate on the partisan cable news channel. Obama's people say they have no debates scheduled as of yet.
2:42pm: I've just heard my 12th "Head On" commercial on MSNBC this hour. Probably the only commercial which gives you the symptoms it claims to cure. I need to apply it directly to the forehead, stat.
2:24pm: My friend Roderick (who's originally from Mexico) sent this:
2:12pm: Chris Matthews is trying to get Howard Dean to say something contentious. First, he tries to get him to take a stand on Hillary trying to have the MI & FL ballots count. Dean doesn't take the bait. Then Matthews pushes Dean to speculate whether he would broker a Clinton/Obama ticket. Dean smiles and stays on message: Democracy at work! Our candidates are the face of the future. Matthews: "It's my job to get you to say something you regret in the morning!" Then, Matthews pays Dean a big compliment, saying he's responsible for getting young people involved in politics, telling Dean how proud he was when he saw his son on television at a Dean rally. Matthews marvels that "kids" are pushing their parents to vote.
Labels: politics
