Moving

No offense to blogger, but I wanted a new look for my blog and I'm going to head over to WordPress for a bit. I've already ported the contents of this site over there, so you can read my going forward at my new address:
michaelppreston.wordpress.com

Thanks for reading!

Fret Not

Two good takes on last night. Below some excerpts. First up, Josh Marshall:

But I think all these competing scenarios make one point clear. The only arguments for one side or the other being a winner here come down to airy and finally meaningless arguments about expectations. And the result tells a different tale. It's about delegates. It's dead even. You've got two well-funded candidates who've demonstrated an ability to power back from defeats. And neither is going anywhere.

The flip side of the proportional representation in delegates is that not only does it allow a challenger like Obama not to get put away early, it also makes it difficult to put away an opponent late. The conventional wisdom is that Obama will do well in this weekend's and next Tuesday's contests. But if he does, proportionality will reign there too. It's hard to see where this doesn't go all the way to the convention.

And John Cole:

Obama won more states, won more delegates, improved his numbers with key groups, widened his lead among minority voters, and over-all, outperformed Hillary. Period. The fact that the Clinton established machine has not been able to pull ahead should be a real clear sign of how much trouble they are in right now. This race was Hillary’s to lose, and last night she may have started doing just that. You will hear the Clinton camp talking repeatedly about winning the big prize- California. Winning California is irrelevant, as a Democrat is going to win Cali in the general regardless who it is.

Obama now has a clear financial lead, momentum, and the delegate lead, and we are heading in to a number of states where he can compete. I am not drinking the kool-aid, folks, I think I have a pretty clear grasp of where we are right now. Obama is surging and the Hillary camp is worried. You will be able to see it in their faces over the next few days.

Standoff

Regardless of the spin that comes out of the campaigns tomorrow, Super Tuesday, at least for the Democrats, was a draw. Yes, Clinton got the big ones (NY, CA, and, in a sharp rebuke of John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, Mass), but Obama got crushing wins in all parts of the country, stole a state in Clinton's back yard (Conn.) and scored a come from behind win in Missouri.

This thing is going to keep going for awhile. I had a bad feeling when the early numbers started rolling in, but things didn't get out of hand. With some states coming up for Obama that look good, I think he's got to be happy with tonight's results.

On the Republican side...can we call it already? McCain is going to be the nominee. He got big wins in NY, CA, and Missouri and Mike Huckabee cut Mitt Romney's legs out from under him.

Super Tuesday

It's like Christmas Eve for political junkies. 22 states go to the polls tomorrow on a day that might end with the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees basically decided. Since my preferred candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, is still behind Sen. Hillary Clinton in most of the polling, I am just hoping for the equivalent of a draw tomorrow. Clinton's vast name recognition, her long standing in Democratic politics, her formidable campaign machine and, yes, Bill, have helped her maintain a strong lead in most of the big states voting tomorrow (the biggest prizes being California and her home state of New York). Obama has been riding a huge wave that started last weekend with the Kennedy family endorsements, and continued into this week with endorsements from the Los Angeles Times and La Opinion, an influential Latino newspaper. The Obama family was all over California with a star-studded this past weekend, as John Kerry and Ted Kennedy rallied in Nor Cal while Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy, and Maria Shriver spread the message in Southern California. There was this viral ad that is still burning up the interwebs. And if visible canvassing the day before an election means anything, I saw LOTS of Obama folks out after work today in Palo Alto and back in San Francisco.

And yet I fear it's all too little, too late. If Obama comes out of the day down by 100 delegates or less, I'd consider it a victory. But the polls have been off so much so far and I think the closing of the gap might prove to be an illusion. We'll see. I would hate to see the dream fade tomorrow, but I'm worried.

Back From Nowhere

Loyal (all three) readers...here, an update!

Journalism grad school applications: They're done! In the end, I applied to Berkeley, City University of New York, Columbia, Texas and Medill (Northwestern). I suspect that I'll start to get "yea" or "nay" letters in late March/early April. As I've said throughout the process, I've got no expectations about what will happen here; I could end up being rejected by all five (or six if I apply to either American or Maryland) or I could get into all of them (not bloody likely), or I could end up getting into one or two and then end up with a decision to make. All that is down the road, though, so, as this point, I'm just glad I actually went through the process. I should also thank the wonderful and beautiful REF (and her dad), Rubes, a certain Miami Hurricane and mom (hi mom!) for proofing the many versions of my admissions essays and for their support and advice.

Professionally: Things are in a (mostly) positive state of flux. Due to some personnel shifts, starting in early February, I'll be the acting Alumni Relations Officer handling Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. It's going to be quite the boost to my work load, but it should give me some great opportunity for growth. Faculty speaker events in Boston and Washington, D.C. are on the agenda for the spring, so some travel might be on the docket.

Politically: Can I just say fuck it and get it over with? I've grown increasingly disappointed with the race to the bottom that the Democratic primary has become. Like a great many people, I'm quite enamored with Barack Obama's campaign, but I am worried. The last few weeks have been, in a word, dispiriting. The increasingly nasty racial attacks being hurled at Obama by Clinton surrogates, the twisting of words by the Clinton campaign...it sickens me, doubly because I used to have a pretty deep reservoir of support for Bill and Hillary. I should also say Obama hasn't been completely clean in this, and I am equally disturbed by that.

Update:
I started writing this post originally on January 24, and obviously a lot's changed since then. Obama trounced Clinton in South Carolina last Saturday, and followed up on Sunday by getting a strong endorsement from Caroline Kennedy (JFK's daughter). He kicked this week of with a big coup, securing the endorsement of liberal icon (and JFK's brother), Ted. The race and gender phase of the campaign seems to have died down, but this kind of dirty pool from the Clinton's isn't going to help should Hillary win the nomination and she is in a position where she has to court Obama's supporters.

So, while my mood is much improved from last week, it's still an uphill battle for the Obama campaign. A week from today is "Super Tuesday". 22 states will either hold a primary or caucus. Clinton holds sizable leads in delegate rich states (including my adopted home of California) but maybe Obama can ride out the big wave that he's caught. The excitement around his campaign, no, movement, is palpable. Like Buffalo Springfield sang, "something's happening here". Or, since I already was heading toward a surfing reference, I'll let the immortal Bodhi say it best:



"But look at it Johnny. Look at it! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, man. Just let me out there, let me get one wave before you take me. One wave".

How Did Obama Win in Iowa?

Contrary to popular belief, independents didn't push him over the top. Liberals did.

Fired Up! Ready to Go!

Yes!