Blogtrek

Maybe it's not over

The Virginia and Tennessee primary results are in. Kerry again wins by huge margins over Edwards, Clark, Dean and the others. So is Kerry a foregone conclusion for the Democratic nomination? Probably, but not certain. There is one last-ditch strategy the others can do, and that is to combine forces. Edwards and Clark could agree to an Edwards-Clark ticket and pool their votes; Clark looks like he is at the end of his line anyway. Then when Dean loses in Wisconsin, try to get his supporters to go for Edwards-Clark, and maybe pick up the support of Kucinich and Sharpton as well. Such a combination would have overwhelmed Kerry in Tennessee, for instance. Even this may not work: in many states, including Virginia, Kerry would still win. Further, this combining together would inhibit Kerry from selecting any of them as his vice presidential running mate, and would force him to go for someone who might not work as well, such as John Warner of Virginia or Evin Bayh of Indiana. These two people could put Virginia or Indiana in the Democratic column, but would not have the South-sweeping potential that I believe Edwards would have. So it looks like Kerry for President, and I would advise him to select Edwards for his running mate to shoot for taking both Carolinas and maybe several other southern states as well. And I wish Kerry the best of luck in defeating Bush this autumn.