Aftermath

The mere fact this is being written means we made it through the storms. Many residents will probably question the local TV media's non-stop coverage (one weatherman called the event 'cataclysmic') but we really won't know the extent of the damage until the morning light. Whenever a tornado hits a metro area there is bound to be extensive damage but so far, only a handful of reported deaths. It was a little disappointing to see some blogs cover the twisters insofar as how they might have affected turnout. It's a cruel world.

As to Super Tuesday, not many surprises. Obama's speech last night (saw it on Fox) was unbelievable from a political standpoint. He even mentioned the storms here in left Tennessee, saying he hoped Bush doesn't stiff us like he did with New Orleans. Of course he didn't use those exact words, but hopefully you'll appreciate the translation. The man has a scary sense of the moment.

Matter of fact, Barockstar was so good one of his fans was actually crying (seems to be going around lately), which was pointed out by Fox's political analyst Fred Barnes, who opined that such could not occur with a Republican candidate. He's right. Even though Hannity proved on Monday that Obama's supporters love him for his attitude and oratory not his accomplishments, such qualities are far more important than any old issues. Just scream change and it doesn't matter. Change! The only right wing candidate that comes close is Huckabee, but not very. And he was a former preacher.

Speaking of the right, McCain took the states he needed, Huckabee stole the south and pinched Romney, who might be toast. A few comments about Huck. In a way he's the last vestige of the Christian coalition. Dobson came out recently and claimed he couldn't fathom voting for McAmnesty and would pull the lever for the Mormon. Can we take that as a sign of the apocalypse? After all, Huck is the one on a mission from God to take back America for Christ (personally it's a lot better than taking back America for Satan or Usama, but wearing religion on the sleeve creeps some people out).

He can't possibly win (unless McCain develops health issues) but he can make a statement by showing the GOP hierarchy there's some gas left in the Christian coalition tank. Truthfully, the main reason he won anything is because he's the only candidate not perceived as wishy-washy on the social con issues. He's also the only one paying any attention to ole Joe Sixpack, ie, the Reagan Democrats. The GOP seems to be fine with ejecting those folks--the ones who left their party because their party left them. Now their party is trying to leave them again.

Meanwhile McCain is trying take the GOP towards the center. He must figure the future Gen X and younger voters will care more about social equality (gay rights, abortion), global climate change, amnesty and kind treatment of illegal aliens (even the terrorists) with health care for all. Maybe it's something his daughter is telling him? Anyway, every time gas prices rise, the rich become more hated, which doesn't leave Romney in a good light. Thing is, this grand centerizing strategy has left many of us homeless with no hope of any bailouts. Change, as they say.

MORE 2/6/08

What does it say? It says nothing. The states Huck won might have been split with Thompson anyway. These are Reagan Democrats in the Bible Belt. Rush Limbaugh didn't endorse Romney and Sean Hannity is a New Yorker. The point is, they didn't vote for McCain.

MORE 2/6/08

Mark Steyn is a great writer, but this is pretty shaky:

I think John O'Sullivan is right. There was an explicit anti-Romney vote in the South. A mere month ago, in the wake of Iowa and New Hampshire, I received a ton of e-mails from southern readers saying these pansy northern states weren't the "real" conservative heartland, and things would look different once the contest moved to the South. Well, the heartland spoke last night and about the only message it sent was that, no matter what the talk radio guys say, they're not voting for a Mormon; no way, no how.

OK, first off, this is Huck's backyard. Would Steyn characterize voters who gave Romney decisive wins in Utah and Massachusetts as "anti-Baptist"? Second, it's not like Mitt was the paragon of conservatism or charm anyway. He was variously accused of flip-flopping on core issues all along until Rudy and Fred dropped out, whereupon he somehow defaulted into Reagan-lite. Truth is, ALL the remaining candidates are RINOs anyway so it's just as likely the southerners voted for a southerner.

But this notion that Romney was robbed due to religious bigotry is almost insulting without any hard evidence to support it. Had Thompson caught any fire at all Huck's victory total would probably have been cut in half. There was just as likely a religious bigotry backlash vote due to Huck's repeated attempts to paint himself as a victim of such, or just a religious vote in general via the various network of churches as Bryan at Hot Air pointed out last night.