The Sunshine Primary

Outstanding news: Rudy G is out! His campaign strategy was as dumb as most of what he does, and now he’s paying the price. That’s not all: Mitt the Family (Values) Guy lost, not just delegates but also his own money, which he spent in vain. Couldn’t have happened to a bigger phony! He lost by only some 5% of the vote, but Florida is a winner take all state, so he got absolutely zilch for all he spent. The bad news is that somebody had to win. It was John McCain, of course -- the most vicious of the “security” hawks (after Rudy G) and the living embodiment of the imperialist dream. The geezers and gusanos came through for him; they beat back the Christian and quasi-Christian Taliban. It’s a close call which is worse. But there’s a silver lining in McCain’s new “front runner” status. Because he’s the least risible and most reliable of the pathetic crew running for the Republican nomination, it makes it less likely that the plutocrats, who’ve all but turned their favorite party over to their useful idiots, will decide that there is no need for Michael Bloomberg or anyone else to carry their banner forward as an “independent.” It seems that Bloomberg has all but decided that as well, and that’s probably good news for the Democrats. Minds could still change after Super Tuesday, but they probably won’t.

McCain is the most formidable opponent the Republicans can muster against Hillary Clinton, who could well be made to seem a war monger too, albeit a more timid and less consistent one. The Christian Taliban and other “conservatives” will have a harder time getting behind McCain than, say, Romney and that could save the day. Still, should McCain become the inevitable Republican choice, as could happen next week, it might just move a few benighted Democrats to rethink their position on a Clinton Restoration. Needless to say, that would be good news as well.

On the Democratic side, Clinton won in Florida, but it was only a straw pole. Evidently, geezers and gusanos like her better than Obama (or the marginalized, but still fighting and still significant John Edwards). Clinton’s victory probably won’t block Obama’s “momentum” – especially now that his campaign can play the Kennedy card. Obama has become a Rorschach test; voters see what they want in him. It only shows how utterly apolitical most voters are: “change” (for what?), “unity” (with whom?). Still, the Devil we don’t know is better than the one we do. But it’s looking more and more like even if Obama finally does defeat the Clintons, that it will once again be time to think about “third” (actually second) party alternatives. Plutocrats may no longer see a need to breach the duopoly that serves them so well but, if only to enlighten the clueless, “progressive” activists should think seriously about again taking the burden on.