Considering that i'm from Michigam, and this is my first year eligible to vote... I am not happy to say a make-up Democratic Party presidential primary is now less likely to happen in Michigan, after state legislatures adjourned Thursday's session without taking up the issue.
The legislature is not due to meet again for another two weeks, greatly reducing the chances that the state could organize a primary election by a June 3 deadline.
The National Democratic Party stripped Michigan of its right to send delegates to the party's nominating convention after the state violated party rules by holding its primary elections early.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has been calling for a re-vote in the state. She currently trails her rival, Senator Barack Obama, by about 150 delegates needed to win the nomination.
Clinton says it would be unfair if Obama won the nomination without counting the votes in Michigan and Florida, another state that was stripped of its delegates for violating party rules.
The next major Democratic primary is in Pennsylvania April 22, with 158 delegates at stake.
It is unlikely that either candidate will receive enough total delegates to clinch the nomination as John McCain did for the Republican Party. That means the decision could come down to the party's nominating convention, when party officials, known as "super-delegates," are free to vote as they choose.
Analysts say it is likely super-delegates will consider which candidate has more pledged delegates and a higher percentage of the popular vote when making their decision.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Make-Up Democratic Primary Unlikely in Michigan
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Obama Wins Wyoming!
Obama led rival Sen. Hillary Clinton at 59 percent to 40 percent, with 96 percent of precincts reporting.
The caucus thrust the state, which has only 12 delegates, into the spotlight because the close race between Obama and Clinton means that every delegate counts.
Although Wyoming typically is not a stop for Democrats looking for delegates to clinch the party's presidential nomination, its numbers could make a difference this year because of the delegate deadlock.
With slightly more than 600 delegates left at stake, every remaining contest is crucial to both candidates. The two are separated by fewer than 100 delegates, with Obama leading Clinton 1,527 to 1,428.
"We are thrilled with this near split in delegates and are grateful to the people of Wyoming for their support," Clinton's campaign manager, Maggie Williams, said in a statement.
"Although the Obama campaign predicted victory in Wyoming weeks ago, we worked hard to present Sen. Clinton's vision to the caucus-goers, and we thank them for turning out today."
On Friday, both senators were in Wyoming to lure last-minute votes. Clinton held town hall meetings in Cheyenne and Casper, and also dispatched former President Clinton to help drum up support.
Obama spoke at a town hall meeting in Casper, using the opportunity to criticize Clinton's 2002 vote on the war in Iraq.
"I will bring this war to an end in 2009, so don't be confused ... when Senator Clinton is not willing to acknowledge that she voted for war," he said. "I don't want to play politics on this issue, because she doesn't have standing to question my position on this issue."
The state's Democratic governor, Dave Freudenthal, said he has endorsed neither candidate because, in his view, they have mostly neglected "Western issues" like the environment, water and energy. However, he said he was lobbied hard by both campaigns in the weeks leading up to the caucus.
Former Gov. Mike Sullivan backed Clinton some time ago. State Democratic Party chief John Millin has endorsed Obama.
"Seriously, I never imagined when I took this job that we would see the day when the two front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination would hold events in Wyoming on the eve of our county caucuses," state Democratic Party spokesman Bill Luckett wrote on the state party's Web site this week.
"I think there's a reasonable chance we'll get our 15 minutes in the national spotlight when the deal goes down on Saturday."
Obama's Grandma Rips Campaign Tactics
Barack Obama's Kenyan grandmother is upset by what she sees as dirty campaign tricks, including the distribution of a photo showing her grandson in a turban and robe. "Bringing such pictures that are trying to imply that not only is he a foreigner, he is a Muslim, is wrong, because that is not what he is," Sarah Hussein Obama, 86, said Wednesday.
A frown replaces the dimpled beam of Sarah Hussein Obama, grandmother of Barack Obama, when asked on Wednesday about recent attacks on her grandson that include the spreading of rumors that he is secretly a Muslim and the repeated use of his middle name -- Hussein -- by a radio host at a rally for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain."Untruths are told that don't have anything to do with what Barack is about," she said in the local Luo language, her gray hair smoothed neatly under a headwrap. "I am very against it."Hillary Rodham Clinton won primaries Tuesday in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, halting Obama's winning streak. Obama won in Vermont.Each twist and turn of the race is closely scrutinized, said Barack Obama's half-sister, Auma Obama. The family gathered in his grandmother's house on Tuesday night to watch the results come in on a television donated by a family friend, she said - the grandmother's own simple house does not have one of its own."Barack's done extremely well and we're very proud of him," Auma Obama said when asked for a reaction to the losses on Tuesday. "This is like a football match. The game continues."In recent weeks, two Clinton volunteers in Iowa resigned after forwarding false e-mails falsely saying he was a Muslim and a threat to national security. Matt Drudge, said his Web site, The Drudge Report, that he was e-mailed a picture of Obama in a turban and robe by the Clinton campaign.
