Benjamin Said:

Do you think the Florida primary is really all or nothing for the two top GOP candidates?

We Answered:

I don't think so.

Romney has a pretty good delegate lead but not an insurmountable one. McCain will stay in it.

Guiliani will have some soul searching to do if he doesn't make a strong showing (read: top 3) and Huckabee is low on cash but he'll probably keep going until it runs out since he's #2 in delegates for now at least. Of course, a weak Super Tuesday and I'd say it's curtains for him.

I can't believe Alan Keyes is still around, though. He's got more debt than cash onhand...and that's only around $12,000.

Anne Said:

When the Michigan and Florida primaries took place, who were the candidates at the time? Was Edwards in?

We Answered:

Brenda,
If the race wasn't close, I'm sure Dean and company would stick to their guns and completely deny all delegates to both states. (As the GOP is doing...the results won't change the McCain nom, so they aren't going to give the other 1/2 of the delegates back to FL or MI.)

With the race being close, though, it would be a political nightmare for Dean to be on the record saying "Screw you!" to rank and file Dems in those 2 states when they might prove pivotal. And if the party continually tries to present a "we're for the common man" image, not budging on this issue will be seen as the triumph of the smoke-filled room over the true-blue lunchpail Democrat.

Like it or not, I believe a do-over WILL happen in the end if Pennsylvania doesn't settle the race. If HRC doesn't get the big win she's expecting there, she might choose to quit because then the math will probably be against her even WITH FL, MI and some of the undecided superdelegates.

Franklin Said:

Will the Michigan and Florida primary votes count?

We Answered:

Under Democratic National Committee rules, no state may hold their primaries or caucuses before February 5 with the exceptions of Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. On May 21, 2007, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) signed a bill, in violation of Democratic party rules, to up the date of his state's primary causing a chain reaction which moved many other states' primaries and caucuses to much earlier dates. Accordingly, the Democratic National Committee has ruled that Florida's delegates will not be seated, or, if seated, will not be able to vote, at the National Convention. Furthermore, the DNC has also stated that it will forbid any candidate from receiving delegates should they campaign in the primary.[2] The DNC rules committee met on August 25, 2007 and ruled that Florida would have 30 days to move its primary date at least 7 days later than the current date of January 29, or else lose all of its delegates in the Democratic primary. Florida officials said they may challenge the ruling on legal grounds and protest the 2008 convention; additionally, the actual implementation of such a decision might prove to be difficult.[3]

Michigan has moved its primary to January 15, also in violation of party rules. On December 1, the Democratic National Committee voted to deny Michigan’s request to hold its primary on January 15 and declared that Michigan's delegates will not count in the nominating contest unless Michigan moves its primary to a later date.

Neil Said:

It a fate de compli. The other Democratic candidates have given Hilliary Michigan & Florida?

We Answered:

Well, keep in mind that the DNC has told Florida that their electoral votes won't be counted if they defy the DNC and have their primary early.

So, if the DNC holds the line on that then Hillary won't get anything for a win there. plus, I'm pretty sure that at least Obama is still on the ballot there.

However, I think the DNC will have a "backbone malfunction" and count the Florida delegates anyway, which will create a real mess because then candidates will scream that they didn't campaign there because the DNC told them not to.

I'm betting that the DNC is praying that Hillary is a run-away candidate so the whole thing will become a mute point and they won't get burned.

I don't know much about the Michegan situation.

Mark Said:

Does the 2025 delegates needed to win the Democratic primary include Florida and Michigan having none?

We Answered:

The 2025 number does not include Michigan and Florida in the calculation. That boneheaded bafoon who wrote the article stating that Hillary has a math problem, well, he calculated in Michigan and Florida into Obama's total pledged delegate lead in his hypothetical scenarios and then compaired it to the the 2025 measuring stick. Wow that does look impressive, Obama can break the 2025 bar with no additional superdelegates. The problem is, if that propoganda filled moron would have even bothered to calculate Clinton's total in his own scenario he would have noticed that she too could also break the 2025 bar with no additional superdelegates if Michigan and Florida are seated. Sounds impossible. But only if you don't know how to do math. This is because, with the 366 delegates from Michigan and Florida seated 2025 is now only about 45 percent majority. With the correct bar set at 2208 for a correct 50 percent majority, minus the 26 electoral votes that have been awarded to Edwards, this race is much closer and much more complicated and much more favorable to Hillary Clinton. If you don't believe me, add the delegate numbers from every state up along with the superdelegates yourself. Apparently people who are supposed to be political experts don't know how to type in numbers and push the plus sign on a calculator 53 times.