What Stood Out This Week - 3/2-3/8

Well, then. We had the second Super Tuesday of the primary season. So let's see What Stood Out This Week...

The Republicans

Mike Huckabee finally called it quits, which really, madly, truly, deeply clinched the Republican nomination for John McCain.

John McCain got an endorsement from our current Lame Duck. It's awesome how complicated an endorsement from this sitting president is. Dubya might actually hurt McCain, and both men seem fully aware of that fact. McCain showed up late, which gave Bushie a chance to show off his awkward dancing skills. Seriously, B&E readers, our president is a fucking goober.

But Dubya said he'd do whatever Johnny wants him to do to help him get elected. If that means staying away, he'll stay away. What it will mean is that Bushie's gonna help John raise boatloads of cash. But I suspect that he'll stay far, far away from the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, John McCain attacks and preps for the real race, while the Democratic candidates duke it out to the finish.

Ron Paul Stood Out again this week because he won the primary for his congressional seat. All that money he raised online from the libertarians out there staved off a pretty healthy challenge from some other, more typical Texas Pube. Paul said he was still running, but admitted that his candidacy was over.

The Democrats

All that talk of "do or die" for Hillary Clinton leading up to the Ohio and Texas (and Rhode Island and Vermont) primaries, and it turns out that she did.

How did she "did"? She threw "everything and the kitchen sink" at Obama. Between eight years of Bill in office and the eight years of Hillary in Senate, The Clinton Machine is well oiled for defending and attacking.

Barack Obama's campaign may have made its first misstep in Ohio. The economy is in the shitter there. Hillary's husband wrote NAFTA, which is a large reason for the shitter economy. John Edwards still hasn't endorsed a candidate, but it was his message that would've resonated there. Obama didn't denounce NAFTA as strongly as he could have (which may mean that he's more pro-free-trade than I'd like).

So when neither candidate was as populist as the Ohioans would've liked, Hillary's ads of fear ruled the day. Plus, even with Bill shoving NAFTA through Congress, people still hold onto this idea that the Clinton days were better. Well, that's largely because the fallout of NAFTA was only finally felt during the Bush Administration. And Bushie turned around and made it a hell of a lot worse. For everyone except his rich buddies.

Anyway, it's when the Clinton Machine has its back against the wall that it gets particularly ugly, and I think Hillary's campaign was unconscionably nasty this week. One specific example: When Hillary was asked if Obama was a Muslim, she said, "Not as far as I know." He's not a Muslim, and you fucking know it. And both you and Obama should denounce the premise of the question as bigoted.

Meanwhile, an adviser to Obama called Hillary a "monster," and within 24 hours she'd resigned from the campaign. One thing Obama's been very good at is dealing with potentially damaging issues immediately.

And yet, come on, deep down don't we sort of agree with the monster assessment? I don't hate Hillary the way most people do (although if she keeps campaigning this way I will), but I think the Clinton Machine is a monster.

So Hillary won Ohio, Texas (although the caucuses may yet catch Obama up), and Rhode Island. Obama won Vermont. Then Obama won the Wyoming caucuses on 3/8.

It's almost mathematically impossible for Hillary to catch Obama at this point. But what her victories did was stop the superdelegates that were John-McCaining her and flocking over to Obama.

And now this thing we call an election goes on and fucking on.

Dennis Kucinich also Stood Out again this week because he too staved off a challenge from a well-funded conservative Democrat. The people of his Ohio district, however, gave Dennis a solid victory with a healthy margin.

That's What Stood Out This Week, dear B&E readers.