Sometimes, Even When You Win...

For a personal account of how and why the Michigan primary being held today is so screwy, The Common Man urges you to check out Rainster's blog. It's rife with the same disappointment and bitterness The Common Man often feels toward the democratic party that he wants to embrace, but is having trouble with. Awesome.

That said, what will be particularly interesting, coming out of Michigan, is how Hilary chooses to promote her inevitable "victory". Certainly, great deal will depend on how much of the vote she actually carries. It's an interesting conundrum: how do you tout a win when your top competitors were not running the race? Congratulations, you beat all 2 foot 9 inches of Dennis Kucinich, and the carcass of Dodd to a bloody pulp, but that's hardly something to brag about.

It's a shame that Michigan's "leap" forward in the primary season will cost them their delegates. On the one hand, The Common Man is happy that the penalty brought a small amount of sanity back to the primary process. Yet, can anyone really blame Michigan for trying to increase its influence on the race? As a state in deep crisis, with the highest unemployment in the country, and little promising news on the horizon, Michigan absolutely must get a candidate that is sympathetic to its troubles in order to keep its head above water. Why the hell wouldn't they jump forward, even if it costs them their Democratic delegates? Their exposure today is huge, and it gives candidates and pundits an opportunity to talk for the better part of a week about how much trouble the state is in and how important it is to get the state working again.

What is worrisome for Democrats, however, is the lack of exposure that some viable candidates are getting in a key swing state. If voters are particularly moved by a candidate on the Republican side, he could wrap up the state for the general election before that race has even started.