Super Tuesday Observations

I will never claim to be smart about politics. This is my observation, take it or leave it.

I'll stick with my prediction, Clinton will win the Dem nominee regardless how many delegates Obama has come convention, the system was never designed to be fair. I hope I'm wrong.

Conservatives and Progressives eat each other and eat their own. Example, the way DailyKos deals with those out of step (Lieberman) or the way talk radio does the same (Schwarzenegger) are both good examples. Both groups have sharp teeth, chew every bite, and clean the plate. The perception of perfection matters to partisans, which is why partisans defend presidents like Bill Clinton or George Bush, even though both are moderates with records that aren't as good as advertised by their respective partisans.

Despite what partisans think, moderates in both parties have the same passion as partisans, but moderates will weigh advantages and disadvantages, and will accept a bloody trail with less than perfection to get the outcome they desire. Moderates are not not troubled by political chaos. Example, both Lieberman and Schwarzenegger still get elected despite their own partisans, who ultimately can't do anything but accept it.

Clinton and McCain both claim to be partisans, but are in fact moderates, the records of both prove this. I believe Progressives should get ready to see what the bloody trail looks like when the moderate, in this case Clinton, pushes back within her own party. If progressives are looking for a preview of the near future, they should take a look at the conservatives right now.

BTW, personally, I think all of it is very healthy for both our nation and politics, although the media calls it turmoil. The MSM is mostly partisan, which explains their line of thought as they search for the perception of perfection. I'm not a partisan, I'm a moderate, so I observe all this internal chaos within political parties as a sign of progress.

At the end of the day, I've weighed advantages and disadvantages, which is what moderates do. I'm rooting for McCain and Obama for the primary. In my book of disadvantages, I basically disagree with both on various policy positions, but I also disagree with all of their contenders on policy as well, so policy has become a wash as a metric. The advantages from my POV of these two men is that both are statesmen, both are men of character, and both are exactly what they say they are. Given the choices in the field, with no clear leader on policy alone, I'll take the people who are the real thing over the people who will be anything.

I think I represent the thinking of most GenX moderates voters in both parties.

Another thought, the reason Democrats are outvoting Republicans almost 2 to 1 is simple. Conservatives aren't voting. In our blame centric society, McCain is taking the blame, but in reality the fault is more due to the lack of clear choices for conservatives, after all, Romney, Huckabee, Rudy, Thompson, Ron Paul, ... they are all moderates. The conservatives are complaining because they presume their guy isn't getting votes. I would argue they are blinded by their desire for the perception of perfection. If they want to blame someone, they should blame themselves, conservatives fielded a single conservative candidate, Duncan Hunter, of which no conservatives gave any money or support to.