turnout and superdelegates.

Just a little post-Potomac Primary (ah, alliteration) number to stew on:

Of course, let’s give credit where credit is due: It’s Fenty’s Big Green Machine, coupled with the huge Obama grassroots effort, that turned out the vote big in the District for Obama. A little perspective: The reported turnout of 114,012 Democratic voters represents for than two-and-a-half times the 43,836 voters that materialized to vote for John Kerry, Howard Dean & Co. four years ago (let alone the 21,021 that voted for Al Gore et al. in 2000). It also outpaced the 106,288 that turned out for the Cropp-Fenty battle back in 2006 and nearly beat the more than 122,000 that voted in that year’s general election.

That’s just spectacular.

Now, on the down side: John King’s neato CNN drawing TV thingie told me last night that neither Democratic candidate is going to be able to win the required number of delegates needed for a majority, probably putting things in the hands of the super-delegates. This kinda defeats the whole purpose of the primary system, doesn’t it?

Thanks for voting, everyone, but we’ll let a lot of rich and privileged people take it from here!

Either make it “winner take all” or proportional division without superdelegates, Democratic Party. You can’t have it both ways – it just devalues the process.

Also, Mr. King, you really have to draw a smiley face on that screen one day. I know you want to.

exchange of the night, by far. (potomac primary edition.)

paraphrased, obviously, for simplicity’s sake:

Clinton’s former press secretary: “Well, Wolf, we did win Florida and Michigan.”

Wolf Blitzer: “Yeah, but Obama wasn’t even on the ballot in those two states.”

Press secretary: “So?”

Blitzer: “Well, that makes it kinda meaningless, no?”

Press secretary: “Umm, I guess…well, no, it means something, Wolf.”