Isn't it fun when the game actually lives up to the hype? Congratulations to the NY Giants for their thrilling 17-14 Super Bowl victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
We'll get to politics and Super Tuesday in a second but here's my take on one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever: this was a tale of two coaches. There were ferocious hits, amazing individual plays, and players leaving it all out on the field. But this game was won on December 29th, when Tom Coughlin decided to play all his starters in a "meaningless" final game against the Patriots (standings and playoff seeds were unaffected by the outcome). There was speculation that he would rest his starters and heal the injured; instead, Coughlin upheld the integrity of the game and played to win. The Giants lost a nail-biter by three points, but they gained confidence, as well as a game plan to beat the vaunted Patriots. At the time, no one, and I mean no one, could have predicted that the G-Men would meet the Pats again in the Super Bowl. Coughlin just did the right thing and his team was rewarded in the end.
And for those of us who believe in hubrus, Bill Belicheck got was coming to him. After a season of classless behavior--running up scores, taping opponents for an edge, surliness with everyone outside his fiefdom--he was denied positive face time on the biggest sports stage of all. Unbelievably, not one national sports commentator called out Belicheck for his adolescent post game behavior. Actually, that's being unkind to teenagers, who usually handle themselves much better than Belicheck after a loss. Pouty one word answers and not one public "congratulations" to his former colleague (Coughlin) set a new standard for churlishness. Inexecusable.
Ok, let's take a look at Super Tuesday, the closest we have to a national primary election.
First: the different rules of delegate apportionment in the Republican and Democratic primaries (and caucuses). Democratic delegates are awarded to each candidate "proportionally". That is, candidates get delegates based on the percentage of the vote in each congressional district (assuming they get at least 30% of the vote). With this formula, "conventional wisdom" suggests that this very close primary race between Obama and Clinton will not be settled tomorrow. For example, California, New York, and Illinois have a total of 755 delegates to award. If Hillary wins Cali in a close race, New York more easily and loses Illinois, she could wind up with only half of the total delegates from all three states. Extrapolate that out to all 22 states and you're talking a continuation of the festivities beyond tomorrow.
Complicating the matter, especially for the Dems, are the "super delegates". These are politicos around the country who have pre-ordained "seats" (meaning votes) at the convention. Their support is often crucial in the event of a "brokered" convention--a convention that has to decide the nominee on the floor because the primaries didn't do it. "Conventional wisdom" indicates that a "machine" candidate like Hillary would have the edge with super delegates because she can call in old chits based on her long time involvement in the party's establishment. But super delegates often go with a perceived front runner and Obama's mo' is suggesting that it's a toss-up on that front. Stay tuned.
The Repubs, on the other hand, use a combo-pack of formulae. In some states (New York, Missouri and New Jersey, for example) it's winner-take-all, awarding all of a state's delegates to the candidate who wins the statewide vote. In other states, it's winner-take-all per congressional district, and in still others, a proportional formula like the Dems. What this gobbledy-gook means is that McCain has a good chance of putting a strangle-hold on the nomination if he wins most of the 23 contests (Montana is a Repub only primary).
Here are the states involved, in descending order of delegates awarded: California, New York, Illinois,New Jersey,Massachusettes, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Colorado, Arizona, Alabama, Connecticut, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico,Utah, Delaware, Idaho, North Dakota, Alaska and (for Repubs) Montana.
In one final bit of campaign news, Oprah, Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver and Michelle Obama held a campaign rally yesterday at Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA. I bring this up because if you thought Barack was a good public speaker, you should hear his wife.
http://www.c-span.org/ Video of the Rally is on this site. Listen to her speech. No matter whom you support, it's great.
Ok. So that's a brief preview. I'm going to rest up tomorrow and provide a massive report on Wednesday.
Please talk about anything you'd like, though I'd love to get a feel for how you're going to vote. Click on "comment", bypass the Google id sign-up, and make your voice heard with a nickname or anonymously.
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2 comments:
First...Go Pats! Great game but the wrong team won. The Pats are a great team with players that portray the best aspects of the game. There are still "heros" out there for our youth to worship. Then there is Bill Belicheck. Incredible coach...not so great a person. Enough said. The Giants showed up to play football - and did just that.
What can I say about Obama? There is little else to say other than what we already know. The man is genuine. Not perfect but a far cry from the status quo. The outcry from the American people wanting honesty and integrity is touching.
We should feel strength in the fact that Michelle Obama would not only make a fantastic First Lady, she may very well turn out to be a dominating figure in world leadership. She is a very strong, motivated person that one can only like.
I love the fact that Maria Shriver can seperate her personal life from her political. Lets hope she's not "terminated" :)
Seriously though, there seems to be a common thread to the growing Obama legacy. NICE. Has anyone else noticed that the majority of people that are jumping on the "Barrack Bandwagon" are...to put it simply...nice?!
Vote well tomorrow.
Tuesday should prove to be an entertaining day. I would be happy with any of the Democrats in the White House. I will get more invloved in helping a candidate after he/she is chosen.
I must say that, lately, I have been absolutely dismayed in the link between running for office and either being very rich or being a lawyer. Though Michelle Obama is a good speaker...she just adds to the list. Some of the most well-spoken and grounded people I have ever met do not necessarily desire to be rich and would not touch the legal profession with a ten-foot pole. Though a Democrat in the Oval Office is a good start, the longevity of the United States as a Federation must be linked with getting non-typical candidates involved in politics at a high level. Public-funded elections might start this trend and would probably scare the bejesus out of the very wealthy and rising star lawyers.
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