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January 2008

Will GOP rally around McCain?

John McCain has scored an impressive victory in a closed (GOP only) primary.

What does Rush Limbaugh — who has mocked McCain viciously — have to say about that? Will the GOP establishment rally around McCain now?

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Now the fun begins

Now the fun begins.

Obama has regained momentum going into Super Tuesday. He may win Deep South states with a significant black population, but can he tear any of the big states - California, Florida or even New York - away from Sen. Clinton?

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Do or die for Obama

It was do-or-die time for Barack Obama. If he hadn’t won South Carolina, as now projected, his momentum would have slowed to a crawl and he’d have been quite unlikely to win any other states.

Conversely, since he has won S.C., he has a few days to try to regain the trust of some white voters, who were either chased off in S.C. by Bill Clinton’s race talk or dispirited by the ugliness between Obama and Hillary Clinton and turned to Edwards.

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Long primary battle a good thing?

With Mitt Romney projected the winner of the Michigan primary voters in three states have now indicated a preference for three different GOP candidates seeking the presidential nomination. The Democratic race for the nomination is also far from decided. Do you like the idea that the primary battle may be long, and could just possibly extend all the way to the summer conventions?

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A chance for Obama to prove his mettle

Now Barack Obama has a chance to prove his mettle. Though he is 46 years old, the same age Bill Clinton was when he ran for the presidency in 1992, Obama is derided as too young, too inexperienced, too untested.

Now that he’s been thrown for a loop by poll predictions that were WAY off, he must be feeling a bit stressed. If he stays optimistic and continues to campaign with enthusiasm, he can regain the edge and get newfound respect. and votes

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Why they play the game…

As they say in football, this is why they play the game. The early BCS poll didn’t mean much. Neither did polls going into today’s primary showing Obama with a runaway lead.

With Clinton the projected winner, what happened with the pollsters’ predictions?

Blog with Jim Wooten on the primary

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If Obama wins, talk radio will need new text

If Barack Obama wins the New Hampshire primary, the dynamic of the entire presidential race will change — not just on the Democratic side but on the Republican side, as well.

For one thing, Rush Limbaugh and Neal Boortz will have to throw out their Hillary-bashing text and come up with some new lines. So, we’ll know how this comes out in a few hours.

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Don’t count Hillary (and Bill) out

Shed no tears for Hillary Clinton (or, if you’re a Hillaryphobe, don’t start cheering yet). She had one bad night in Iowa, but she and the “comeback kid” are often at their best when their backs are to the wall. Watch for her to show her mettle in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

But this could be the end of the line for John Edwards.

Blog with Jim Wooten on the GOP caucus

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Will Obama strategy carry him to nomination?

Many longtime caucus-goers have said that attendance tonight was higher than usual. If so, that may vindicate Obama’s strategy of going after those who don’t usually turn out, especially young adults.

If he can sustain that strategy of luring young adults to the polls — a demographic that seems enthusiastic about his campaign — he could win the nomination.

Blog with Jim Wooten on GOP caucus

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Will GOP establishment sleep tonight?

Wow! If Mike Huckabee has won Iowa, the Republican establishment won’t sleep well tonight. They can’t imagine being represented by an Arkansas Baptist preacher.

Anna Gramberg, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University, is in Iowa with a group of Auburn political scientists. A native of Germany, she described the Democratic caucus she attended in Des Moines as “chaotic. I’ve never seen anything so chaotic. All that counting and then re-counting. ” The Americans there told her that was part of the fun, she said. She also said that there was a much higher turnout of caucus-goers than expected.

Blog with Jim Wooten on GOP caucus

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Caucusing: A peculiar process

The Iowa caucuses are the loya jirga of American politics — interminable gatherings of civically active types determined to keep talking and voting until they reach consensus.

What an odd way to pick a presidential nominee! Join me tonight as I try to make sense of this peculiar process, where anything could happen.

Blog with Jim Wooten on GOP caucus

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