Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[ice grillin you]

just wait till the obama/lieberman train gets a rollin in the fall

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Sounds more like a train wreck than a rolling anything.

[Geowhizzer]

^^more proof that Blacks and Jews just don't get along^^


except for Rod Carew

[phattymatty]

i actually don't really understand the importance of the iowa and new hampshire caucuses either.  they don't represent the country demographically or socioeconomically.  who gives a shtein about what people in iowa think.

[ice grillin you]

mostly because they are the firsts...it can make or break people...fred thompson is already considering dropping out because of his anticipated poor showing in iowa and throwing his support to mccain

also it legitimizes candidates...whether by winning or by doing better than expected...it gives them tons of press and momentum...theres lots of people who wanna vote for a winner and by winning iowa it gives you a huge push

[phattymatty]

i guess that makes sense in that they are first, but anyone who changes their opinion because of what people from iowa think is an idiot.

[Phanatic]

I kind of blame the media's treatment of the whole thing but they get revenue to talk and need stuff to talk about. Better then talking about Brittany I suppose...

[ice grillin you]

i guess that makes sense in that they are first, but anyone who changes their opinion because of what people from iowa think is an idiot.

well this is the same country that elected w twice...

but its not just about changing your opinion...maybe youre a john edwards supporter and he gets steamrolled in iowa and new hampshire...now all of a sudden in upcoming primaries you may have people who once supported edwards whos votes are up for grabs

I kind of blame the media's treatment of the whole thing but they get revenue to talk and need stuff to talk about. Better then talking about Brittany I suppose...

no doubt the media plays a role in the popularity of these first two contests but theres a chicken or egg argument about whether they cover it so much because its important or because its importatnt  they cover it so much...probably a little of both....

either way if youre into politics its definitely exciting times

[Geowhizzer]

mostly because they are the firsts...it can make or break people...fred thompson is already considering dropping out because of his anticipated poor showing in iowa and throwing his support to mccain

also it legitimizes candidates...whether by winning or by doing better than expected...it gives them tons of press and momentum...theres lots of people who wanna vote for a winner and by winning iowa it gives you a huge push

This, and those who get a big showing in Iowa and NH usually get a large influx of cash from supporters, while the fringe candidates usually run out of money not long afterwards.

Even the ones like Edwards will be limping along if they don't get some money after these two caucuses.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

The one exception is Romney, unfortunately.

[Cerevant]

It would be a lot more interesting and useful if the results of the primaries were kept secret until they were all finished.  Instead of each state deciding who it wants to nominate, we end up with each state refining the pool.  What if (for example) Edwards drops out because of Iowa and New Hampshire, but would have won in PA and CA?  The whole process is just stupid.

[Phanatic]

There is a change this year with a whole lot of primaries happening at once. Rudy is focusing on the bigger states for the big day of primaries and wasn't even in Iowa.

[Geowhizzer]

Yeah, Florida and another state (Michigan) are supposedly being "punished" by the parties by not having their delegates recognized at the convention for moving their primaries too early.

That will probably be reversed after a symbolic show, but that's where it stand right now.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

A majority of eligible voters have never voted for one guy.

Of late, it's extremely rare for any guy to get 50% of the people who bother to vote.

And the guy who gets the most votes doesn't always win.



So, this process is super.

[Geowhizzer]

A majority of eligible voters have never voted for one guy.

Of late, it's extremely rare for any guy to get 50% of the people who bother to vote.

And the guy who gets the most votes doesn't always win.



So, this process is super.

And if no one gets the majority of Electoral College votes, the House of Representative gets to pick the winner.  Then even the person who gets the most EC votes doesn't win (see the Election of 1824:  Andrew Jackson v. John Quincy Adams).