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So, the Democratic National Committee has bent the rules for Senator Clinton and effectively given her 87 delegates and Senator Obama 63 from two states that were not supposed to be counted. That gives Clinton a grand total of 1,580 pledged (more or less) delegates, and Obama 1,711. While, technically that still leaves Obama with "the lead," there are 86 pledged delegates remaining to be awarded in Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota. This means that Clinton can still pull it out if she picks up 153 percent of the remaining delegates, an improvement on the 181 percent she would have needed to pick up if not for the Michigan-Florida deal. Clinton clearly has the momentum. In addition, the backroom deal on Michigan and Florida's "pledged" delegates helps to blur the line between pledged delegates (awarded by actual voters and caucus goers, except in Florida and Michigan) and super delegates (awarded by Party control freaks). The distinction is, of course, blurred to virtual nonexistence by any media story covering the election, as over 80 percent of media stories now do. The above calculation doesn't count the 19 delegates whom John Edwards has encouraged to back Obama, or the delegates pledged to Clinton who have begun flipping for Obama. It also doesn't count the super delegates, with whom Obama holds a substantial lead, but whom Clinton fully expects to win over en masse any day now. Experts agree that Clinton stands a good and improving chance of pulling out a victory in the end, given her momentum, determination, and appeal to dumb people. Like soccer moms and Jews for Buchanan before them, dumb people are shaking up this election and coming into their own as an identity group with ever rising "self pride." The group intentionally avoids the term "self esteem" as being too difficult to spell. "Dumb People for Hilary" [sic] bumper stickers are showing up across the country and being shipped by the truck load to South Dakota, Montana, and Puerto Rico. (The trucks to Puerto Rico have been driving off bridges in the Florida Keys.) The stickers and other "dumb people" paraphernalia are being paid for by the Clinton campaign, even while the campaign's supporters have organized to stop making contributions and instead buy lottery tickets in all 50 states. While her husband's campaign headquarters in 1992 famously posted a sign reading "It's the economy, stupid," Hillary Clinton's now boasts a three-foot high quote from H.L. Mencken: "As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." Senator Obama has faltered in trying to portray himself as one of the dumb people too, but Senator McCain has taken advantage of the latest election trend in a major way by inviting President Bush to join him on the campaign trail.
http://www.davidswanson.org DAVID SWANSON is a co-founder of After Downing Street, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson obtained a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997.
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