No Escape

Less than 36 hours until we find who wins the next round of Democratic primaries: Clinton or Obama. Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont. Exciting. Who would have thought only 4 or 5 months ago that this primary campaign would still be truckin' on March 3? I sure didn't, and most pundits didn't see it coming, either.

One of the big questions now is how long can the Clinton/Obama race go on before it begins to have a negative effect on the Democratic Party? When does the fighting for votes begin to wear on the patience of voters? There is no right or wrong answer to these, only a matter of judgement. However, I contend that even if voters are beginning to lose interest in the primary season, the hotly contested Democratic race does more good than harm (at the moment) for the Democrats by keeping the party in the spotlight.

The Democratic candidates are everywhere in the media: on TV, in print, on the internet. You cannot escape them. On the other hand, you need to seek out the Republican candidates (yes, there are still 2). Where is John McCain? Where is Mike Huckabee? Certainly not getting the free media attention that a national presidential campaign needs to succeed. Is this due to the fact that most "mainstream media" has liberal bias? Perhaps, but I don't think so. I think it's simply that McCain and Huckabee aren't creating a buzz that people care about. Americans (and the media) like confrontation and challenge, so the Democrats are getting more attention. Clinton and Obama are drawing record turnout, especially from a young, multi-cultural electorate. Conversely, McCain and Huckabee are drawing an extremely low turnout, most of which comes from old, white men -- not very representative of the country. It seems like every time I watch a McCain rally, before I fall asleep from bordem, I'm able to count the number of supporters present, and I realize that I can fit more people in my car. I don't drive a school bus.

When Mitt Romney dropped out of the Republican race, he stated that if he were to continue campaigning, he would "forestall the launch of a national campaign." How has that turned out so far? Not well. The Democrats are simply dominating the news cycles.