Breath deep people, can you smell the Democracy? Democratic voters in Kentucky and Oregon go to the polls today to cast their ballots in the Endless Primary (OK, Oregon votes by mail but – shut up). After today’s primary Senator Obama is expected to have the majority of pledged delegates but Senator Clinton is arguing that if you count Florida and Michigan, she has won the popular vote. The Obama campaign has been toying with overtly declaring victory tonight but has since backpedaled on that idea because, well, it is kind of douchey. Have fun arguing with your coworkers over when the primary will end. Heck, start a betting poll for which day one of the candidates (Clinton) drops out. It will be like March madness, but nerdier.
Apparently, the US military is only now starting to separate the detainees they have in custody in Iraq into separate groups like “terrorists” and “Poor bastards we snatched off the street.” The US is also started to let go more people it has realized are clearly not enemy combatants – hopefully a trend we will see continue.
Wednesday is a pretty weak night – there is not much out there for those of us without Tivo from the glut that is Monday and Tuesday.
10:00 pm EST – Boston Legal (ABC)
After seeing William Shatner speak Monday about his new autobiography, I find myself very much excited to get back into Boston Legal. Tonight’s episode, where politicians try to convince Denny to run for President, promises lots of Shatnery goodness.
10:00 pm EST – Top Chef (Bravo)
Tonight’s episode features the contestants in a challenge to make salads cool and to make an unhealthy dish healthier. The producers of this show have finally found a way to keep me from getting hungry while watching.
??? – John Edwards Endorsing Barack Obama (CNN/MSNBC/Fox News)
Even when we trade off, I still manage to squeeze in some current events. That’s right, dreamboat and former Presidential candidate John Edwards will be endorsing Senator Barack Obama at a rally in Michigan tonight. I don’t know when the big show will be (probably around 9 pm EST so that it can hit prime time in most of the country), but there will be a lot of chattering all night for those who like that sort of thing.
Late Night
Leno is hosting a debate between Howard Dean and newly announced Republican Vice Presidential candidate Rainn Wilson. Letterman has Jack Hanna. Conan has Leighton Meester. Stewart has John Harwood and Colbert has Laura Dern.
This week went by FAR to slowly, perhaps because I spent the whole time counting down to this Monday, when a new season of American Gladiators comes back. It will have new events, new gladiators and the same rampant fanboyism from Jeff and me. Expect a more complete preview tomorrow.
But how else did we spend our time this week?
A little more than a week ago we were enjoying the Kentucky Derby – and then spent most of Monday feeling bad for enjoying it.
Are you sick of Hillary Clinton? The media finally is. All of today’s papers highlight Senator Clinton’s pledge yesterday to “keep fighting” for the Democratic nomination despite the fact that it is almost statistically impossible for her to win the nomination at this point (Slate gives her a 2.5% chance). Clinton campaigned across West Virginia Wednesday, taking her case to the citizens there (where she is expected to win overwhelmingly) while at the same time ignoring calls from Democratic Party officials for her to drop out. Time will tell how much longer Clinton stays in the race.
For those that are following the Democratic Primary campaign, turnout among Indiana 2.0somethings was record-setting. Way to go Hoosiers!
Young Voters: No age group has been more ridiculed for their lack of participation than those under 30. But in Indiana that age group comprised 16 percent of the overall vote while those 65 or older comprised 15 percent. Under 30s went for Obama 61 percent to 39 percent, a margin that all but neutralized Clinton’s 44 percent margin among older Hoosiers.
In North Carolina, those over 65 outnumbered those under 30 by 2:1. That is a big discrepancy, but political insiders know that 90% of people over 65 in Indiana are nuns, who are not allowed to vote.
