Super Tuesday Leftovers

A collection of items gathered in the aftermath of Tuesday's primaries.

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Inside the Numbers
* 38,362 Illinoisans voted for John Edwards
* 4,068 votes for Dennis Kucinich - more votes than Bill Richardson, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd each got.
* Ron Paul received 45,042 votes from Illinoisans
* Hillary Clinton won just 14 counties in Illinois, all very far Downstate
* Mike Huckabee won just two counties, as did Mitt Romney
* Hillary Clinton actually won 14 of Chicago's 50 wards: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 22, 23, 25, 30, 31, 26, 38, 41, and 45.
* Clinton also won 8 of 30 townships: Berwyn, Cicero, Lemont, Leyden, Maine, Orland, Palos and Stickney.

(Source: Chicago Tribune)

A Voter's Tale
Beachwood reader Erika Enk writes:

So, I voted in the 1st precinct of the 47th ward. I get to the table, and the election judge asks for my name and address, and I happily complied. She had my white application in her hand, when she asked me for identification. I showed her my state ID, but I thought that was illegal for her to ask for identification unless my residency was being challenged. I didn't challenge her, however, mostly out of laziness. I wanted to vote and go home. She then hands me my application form, and asks me to sign it. I sign it. She doesn't verify my signature, just lets me proceed to the voting area. Again, I thought she was supposed to verify this? Nonetheless, I successfully cast a ballot.

I get home and my boyfriend tells me, yes indeed, what she did was illegal. I decide to call the Board of Elections to inform them of the procedure irregularities at that precinct. Perhaps a member of the board can visit that precinct to re-instruct the judges. I explain what happened, and the gentleman at the Board of Elections, obviously irritated that I am bothering him with this issue, tells me that a judge can ask for ID if my residency was being challenged. I told him that there was no indication of that. He asks me if I was able to vote.

I told him yes, but that is not the point. He then tells me, "Well, it looks like no harm, no foul." He couldn't understand why I was upset. I took his name and e-mailed the Attorney General.

For the General Election, I am bringing a Judge of Election Handbook.

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This was apparently a widespread problem in Chicago. Frankly, I've been asked for my ID in every election I've voted in. I had no idea it was illegal.

The Horse Race Problem
On the Sunday before Super Tuesday, the Tribune featured on its front page a story showing that its own poll had Obama and McCain up 2-1 in Illinois. Not really shocking news. Buried in the paper was a story that called into question the notion that Obama's "present" votes on abortion bills were part of some preconceived strategy.

Spin vs. Reality
Is John McCain a "straight talker"?

Of course he is. How do we know? Because he says so, and the media (in general) loves to repeat and recycle this part of the "narrative" instead of actually looking at the record, which shows McCain in fact to be quite pliable.

So in the Sun-Times endorsement of John McCain, for example, readers are told that "McCain is a free thinker who judges each issue on its merits, not on its political implications." Later, the editorial refers to "straight talking John McCain."

Really?

It's easy - and lazy - to just type in the same talking points that we're beat over the head with, but it's not journalism.

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Here's a classic.

McCain: You know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is . . . "

The archives are full of stuff like this. It takes about .02 seconds to find - that's the beauty of Google.

Or you could just have a journalistic memory that doesn't erase at the end of every day.

Remember the Baghdad market fiasco?

The Tribune's endorsement of McCain wasn't much better.

"To hear McCain speak of honor, of duty, is to wake up the echoes of John F. Kennedy urging Americans to ask not what their country can do for them," the paper said.

I thought Obama was JFK. Or is he Bizarro JFK? And what if they run against each other? Will the world explode?

Anti-Clinton Fatigue
The editorial cartoon in Monday's Trib (from Chip Bok of the Akron Beacon-Journal showed the Clintons sitting at the ktichen table with Bill telling Hillary: "If we can get Chelsea to live with us in the White House, she'll have 16 years experience by the end of your second term."

1. And if you can get Barack Obama to live with the Clintons in the White House, he'll have eight years of experience by the end of her second term.
2. So was she co-president or not? You can't have it both ways.
3. This is just silly. I think you'll find a pretty full career here.

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