LA Weekly

It's too bad, in a way -- in a big way, that Obama didnt' score a knockout blow this evening. In fact, he so didn't score a knockout blow that the whole thing is now wide open even though Clinton doesn't have a mathematical chance of clinching enough delegates to put her over the top even is she sweeps the remaining primaries. Her net gain from winning Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island is going to be just a handful of delegates. And, in the end, Obama will still be ahead in delegates and, most likely, popular vote. What sucks is that Obama couldn't put a spike through the Clinton vampire and now she's going to suck the blood of all the newly engaged voters who want change over fear. (And if you doubt fear is the fuel, revisit her ludicrous "3 a.m. who do you want to answer the phone" ad. Me? I want Ghostbusters).

But still, it's hard to argue that she should get out of the race having just won Texas and Ohio. If she wins the upcoming Democrats-only primary in Pennsylvania, the party is going to be even further than it is now, which is pretty damn far, from any clarity on who should be the nominee. Obama will have more elected delegates, but maybe not enough more, and Clinton will have won the key big states -- New York, California, Texas, Ohio (possibly Pennsylvania), etc. Clinton also won, previously, Arizona and Massachusetts. With Florida and Michigan basically being null and void as they weren't contested states (Obama wasn't on the ballot in Michigan), though Clinton claims victory in both, the picture is muddier than ever.

What seems most clear in this murky scenario is that the voters might not end up choosing the nominee. Both candidates will have good arguments as to why they should be it. Clinton can rightfully claim she won the most important states, including some key swing states, and especially Ohio, and Obama will likely have a slight advantage in delegates and popular vote.

So, what happens next? The argument will probably come down to an intangible -- who has a better chance to beat McCain in the general election. The problem with that is that it's strictly conjecture. And the conjecturing is going to be done by the amorphous entities known as the superdelegates and the party leaders. Nobody really knows who either of these entities are. The super delegates are supposedly party elites, but their makeup is a strange brew, and the party itself doesn't really have a transcendent figure. Except possibly Al Gore, possibly, and the two candidates left in the race.

I have no idea what will happen, but I'm pretty sure the fight dragging on isn't good for the Democratic party. McCain will sit back collecting money and fodder, the Dems will look like a squabbling bunch of unruly children, and the thing that we need the most, a Democratic victory, will be put in increasing jeopardy.

As Charlie Brown would say, good grief.

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