New Mexico Still Up For Grabs

With 98% of the precincts reporting by noon today, Obama leads Clinton by just 71 votes.

Obama: 65,036
Clinton: 64,965
Edwards: 2,002
Richardson: 1,164
Uncommitted: 398

Obama & Clinton Trade Victories...

...reports the New York Times.

...It was a night of drama as millions of Democrats cleaved sharply between two candidates offering them a historic first: The opportunity to nominate a woman or an African-American to lead their party’s effort to reclaim the White House. Yet it was also a night when neither Mr. Obama nor Mrs. Clinton could decisively lay claim — or even secure an edge — to the nomination, assuring an electoral fight that will unfold for weeks to come.

Mrs. Clinton won 584 delegates in Tuesday’s vote, bringing her total to 845, according to a count by The Associated Press. Mr. Obama won 569 delegates for a total of 765, The A.P. reported. A candidate needs 2,025 votes to win the nomination.

Super Tuesday Results

Trying a little live blogging here. Sort of a futile excercise when no one but me is reading. I'll do as much as I can until dinner time... you gotta love take out.

7pm - NBC projects Obama wins Georgia. Exit polls show Obama getting 43% of the white vote and 49% of voters aged 40-59.

7:20pm - Early delegate estimates: 35 for Obama. This number is off - 103 total in the state.

7:25pm - Republicans too close to call in GA. Three way race: with 3 precincts reporting, McCain 38%, Romney 28%, Huckabee 27%

7:37pm - The MSNBC ticker is reading the GOP caucus in West Virginia as 100% reporting and Huckabee wins with 52%, Romney coming with 47%. Eight states close their polls at 8pm EST. Much more then.

8pm - Obama projected winner in Illinois. Clinton projected winner in Oklahoma. Romney takes Massachusetts, McCain takes New Jersey and Connecticut.

8:04pm- McCain takes Illinois.

8:13pm - Too close to call in NJ, CT, TN, too early to call in AL for the Dems.
Too close to call in MO, OK, TN and too early to call for the GOP.

Taking a break. More later.

9:15pm - Obama takes Delaware. Clinton wins Tennessee and Massachusetts! This after the Kennedy endorsements... perhaps a few days too late? Two trains of thought: Speculation is that the message of change that Obama touts was possibly hampered by the Kerry and Kennedy establishment. Point two is that Obama was only polling at 22% an MA before Kennedy's endorsement so anything more than a 22% return is a boost.
Delegates won so far: Clinton 93, Obama 43.

Chuck Todd trying to figure out the delegate math.
MSNBC predicts New Jersey for Clinton at 9:20pm. McCain projected winner in NY. Looks like McCain is picking up speed.

9:25pm - Obama is the projected winner in Alabama.

10:28pm - NBC projects Obama to win Connecticut! That's big. It's almost a 50/50 split.

10:33pm - Romney's speechifying in Massachusetts about a run to the convention and predicting a victory. He has fallen down the rabbit hole.

Here are the results so far:
Democrats-
Clinton: MA, NY, NJ, TN, OK, AR
Obama: CT, IL, DE, AL, GA, MN, ND, KS

Republicans-
McCain: NY, NJ, CT, IL, OK , DE
Romney: MA, UT
Huckabee: GA, WV, AR, AL

Severe weather in Tennessee caused polls to close early. Possible tornadoes. Two fatalities reported so far. Arkansas was hit as well.

10:50pm - Hillary Clinton speaking about the little people. The Republicans want more of the same.

10:54pm - Obama is ahead in Idaho 75% to 23% and ahead in Minnesota with 64% of the vote after 40% of the precincts have reported in both states.

11:02pm - California too close to call for both parties. AZ goes to McCain (duh...). Romney wins ND. Obama wins MN and ID.

11:06pm - Huckabee's being interviewed by Chris Matthews and claims he's not dropping out until someone wins the 1191 delegates needed for the GOP. He's staying in until St. Paul unless the trip is meaningless.

Recap:

Democrats-

Clinton: MA, NY, NJ, TN, OK, AR

Obama: CT, IL, DE, AL, GA, ND, KS, MN, ID, UT

Republicans-

McCain: NY, NJ, CT, IL, OK , DE, AZ

Romney: MA, UT, ND

Huckabee: GA, WV, AR, AL

11:15pm - David Axelrod thinks the Obama camaign will have trouble in CA because of early voting. Most of Obama's surge has come within the last two weeks. Hillary wins AZ. With 2% of CA reporting, Hillary is up with 57% of the vote but according to CNN, Obama is capturing not only the black vote, but the white vote!

11:25pm - Delegate count: Clinton 170, Obama 128. 2025 needed to win the nomination.

Tim Russert: "It's far from over." The Clinton campaign thought Super Tuesday would be the definitive night to propel them to the nomination.

11:32pm - Romney projected winner in MN.

11:37pm - John "My friends" McCain speaking in Arizona...zzz... "We must get used to the idea that we are the Republican frontrunner for the nomination of President of the United States... and I don't mind it one bit."

11:43pm - Obama speaking now in Chicago. Huckabee wins Tennessee! California still too close to call. Obama: "There's one thing on this February night, that we don't need the final results to know: our time has come."

11:49pm - Obama wins Colorado! With 93% of the precincts reporting, Missouri is still too close to call. Hillary leads 49-48.

11:58pm - Romney wins Montana... what is that? Three delegates?

12:04am - Obama has finished another stirring speech. I'm signing off now but will try to stay up for the California result.

Goodnight.

12:12am - I'm back. Hilllary Clinton and John McCain are projected to win California. Looks like Romney might be out considering he needed it badly.... Apparent winner in MO is McCain. Still waiting for the Democratic winner.

12:22am - Obama leads Clinton in MO by 4600 votes with 98% reporting.

12:26am - Obama leads by 4926 votes in MO.

12:30am - MSNBC: Tomorrow will be a day of "frank discussions" in the Romney camp after big blows in California and Missouri.

12:38am - The spin begins. Clinton campaign spokesman Jay Carson says they always thought this race would be tight and they withstood this massive surge by the Obama camp. In actuality, Obama has overcome double digit deficits in a just a few weeks and Clinton was lucky to win as much as she did in my opinion. Had Super Tuesday been next week or had California not vored early, the outcome would be completely different. And we'll find out over the course of the next week with more primaries and caucuses to go.

12:40am - Barack Obama is the apparent winner in MO! Carson still spouting the "ready to lead on day one" talking point. Claire McCaskill speaking for the Obama camaign retorted that we need someone with the right judgement to lead on day one.

12:43am - Obama wins Alaska.

Okay, now I'm going to bed even though Chris Matthews just asked me not to. Maybe he likes my musk and has a man crush on me.

Super Tuesday - Note To Dems: Don't Panic!

Go out and vote today.

There's this strange idea out there that has seemingly come out of nowhere overnight, that if the Democratic nominee isn't decided upon fairly soon, the appearance of a fractured party going into the convention will shift the tectonic plates, cause the earth to rotate off its axis, followed by disatrous earthquakes and cataclysmal tsunamis and give John McCain a victory in the general election in November.

Paul Krugman: Via Duncan Black, Clinton’s people think this might go to the convention. I hate this thought. I feel obliged to write about the Dem horserace because there are real policy issues at stake, and I think it’s important to highlight those issues. But I hate doing it; I hate the whole nastiness between people who should be able to realize that they’re fundamentally on the same side. I really really want this thing to be over.

Calm down, Paul. Nastiness? Yes, there are substantive policy issues between Barack and Hillary, but they were playing pattycake at the California Debate compared to the McCain-Romney slugfest on the other side.

Call me naïve, but wasn't this the the original intent of primaries and caucuses? Now that the ordinary people, the plebians, are speaking out and making this a real horse race between Clinton and Obama, the pundits are getting all nervous about it. Isn't this the way it's supposed work?

I don't remember ever being engaged enough in previous primaries to care to vote because our candidates were basically chosen for us ahead of time, so why bother? But now the unfounded threat of a Democratic Party with no candidate by February 5, nine months before the general election, is supposed to propel McCain? I don't buy it.

The Greatest Upset Ever

I'm in shock. The underdog New York Giants have beaten the heavily favored and undefeated (until this game) New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII (that's 42 for you non-Romans) 17-14. The Pats were favored by 13 points.

As I was driving to work this morning, I flipped on WFAN, the all sports station in New York and all I heard was the following (paraphrasing): "Let's face facts. After all the hype of the last two weeks, and after everyone has calmed down and faced reality, the Giants really have no shot at winning this thing." And I thought, "Well, hell. Why don't they just forget all about playing the game and just give the trophy to the Patriots? After all, why play? Someone could get injured and if there's no sense in trying to win the game, if indeed it's a foregone conclusion, then just give up now."

Now as I've said before, I'm not a Giants fan. But I am a fan of the underdog. Just as I'm a fan of Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards. They didn't make it, but the Giants did. JumpyPants, a guest blogger over at Bob Cesca is equating what happened tonight to what may happen on Super Tuesday.

I'm sticking with my predictions for Obama on Tuesday night. And I'm sticking with the parallels I drew: that the Giants had the heart to win this Super Bowl, just as Obama has the heart - and skills and determination - to carry this nomination...and the general election.

Do I think the fix is in? No. Do I believe Obama has major hurdles to climb in a racist United States? Absolutely. Do I believe Barack Obama can pull out Super Tuesday and make a run at the nomination? After a $32 million month and watching the California debate, I'm a believer now.

Congratulations to the New York Giants and all Giants fans!

SUPER BOWL FUCKIN' CHAMPS!

And just a reminder: 12 days until pitchers and catchers.