The People Have Spoken

First, let me start by saying watching these damn primaries has been like watching Lost. We don’t know what the hell is going on or where this is going. Week after week, we tune in looking for answers. Week after week, we learn very little and more questions are introduced than answered. The Democrats seem to know what they’re doing about as well as those poor schmucks marooned on the island. Both cases show groups split by a cynical pragmatist and a notional idealist. The suspense is killing us! And just as the villain on Lost warns the protagonists of impending doom, the Democrats have a mysterious, complicated disaster coming their way.

The People of Ohio and Texas had a clear choice on Tuesday, whether they realized it or not. Their choice was between Barack Obama and a Gigantic Circus at the Democratic National Convention. They have chosen the brokered convention, every journalist’s dream and the Democrats’ worst nightmare. Unless Obama rebounds quickly, a brokered convention looks very possible, which is bad for the party. If Obama still emerges victorious, Hillary's campaign can end on the same note it began and…well, really it’s kind of been a one-note campaign. See if you can identify the theme:

“Caucuses are unfair because they disenfranchise voters.” (She first realized this when Obama kicked her ass in all the caucuses)

“Nevada’s casino caucuses unfairly benefit cooks.” (After she unexpectedly lost the cullinary union’s endorsement)

“It’s a travesty that Michigan and Florida’s delegates don’t count.” (This became clear to her when she won those states, but was losing overall)

“Texas’s caucuses are unfair and I may sue.” (After Obama caught up to her in the Texas polls)

Hillary’s campaign theme is…Bitching about how unfair the system is (after it bites her in the ass). So she will save face by putting the party through an arduous ordeal in Denver.

But, what a minute! What if Hillary cuts some slimy, backdoor deal with the superdelegates and wins the nomination? Think about it. A powerful politician, on her last legs, her last shot at the presidency, and her ex-president husband calling in all their favors and using all their influence. Suddenly, things look bleak for Obama, even though he has more votes from the people.

The real problem here is that the Democrats have the dumbest primary rules you could possibly imagine. Texas had a primary and a caucus and you have to vote in the primary to participate in the caucus. Having so many superdelegates makes it impossible for anyone to win a close race before the convention. I mean, we all had extremely low expectations for the party, but this is a new low. Unfortunately, Obama needs to just suck it up. He can’t fall into Hillary’s bad habits of blaming a system she signed onto a year ago. He has to suck it up and win as many delegates as possible. If Obama wants to lead the Democratic Party, he had better get used to dealing with complete idiocy on a daily basis.