1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Undoubtedly, the White House occupies one of the most famous and widely known property addresses in the world. Five days, one series of State Caucuses, and one State Primary into the 2008 pre-Election ritual, what do we know about the contenders to be the next quadrennial resident of the White House?

Well for starters, put the Champagne on ice, and sit back and relax. It is going to be a while. At least it is going to be a while longer, before a winner is declared, in either Party.

Conventional wisdom has consistently held that the Republican Party Primaries would need to play themselves out before a prevailing candidate emerged. Conversely, on the Democratic side, both voters and media seemed caught up in post-Iowa euphoria. Projections abounded, portending an Obama victory in New Hampshire, and subsequently, Michigan, and South Carolina. A Grand Slam of this magnitude would certainly have put Senator Obama in the enviable position of clear front runner, if not girding him with an insurmountable lead.

Even some Conservative politicians and pundits have managed to find a voice with which to praise Obama, and note something special is going on down in the trenches of Democratic Party, and indeed, on the landscape of American politics in general. Now the question remains, does this amount to a genuine epiphany, or is it merely faint praise, borne of the hope that democrats and Obama will do what republicans failed to do in 1992, and 1996…derail the Clinton Machine? At first blush, my reaction is, if you have to ask…

Prognostications aside, four races to date have produced four different winners. Of course the stakes rise as the process continues to unfold. As typically happens in these instances, when the stakes rise, so does hostility; civility declines. Inter-Campaign sparring is a regular occurrence, as each campaign is forced, or at least elects to turn up the heat by focusing somewhat less on its own strengths, and more on others’ weaknesses.

On the Republican side, a gentleman who has according to published estimates invested more than $20 million of his own fortune has yet to register a victory. After two opportunities, Republican voters awarded the Iowa victory to folksy Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas Governor, and the New Hampshire victory to septuagenarian, John McCain, senior Arizona Senator.

The Democratic side tapped upstart, and newly media-proclaimed “Darling of the Primary Season,” Barack Obama, junior Senator from Illinois, for the win in Iowa. Last night, front-runner in waiting, Hillary Rodham Clinton, junior Senator from New York, and former First Lady, broke through with a come from behind victory over Senator Obama. This latter result outcome is being called a stunning upset by some. I am not so sure that's accurate. While I have yet to hear it referenced, it's clear the "Bradley effect" may be in play in this instance. You make the call.

Just under 10 days into the New Year, with just over ten months before the election of a new Commander-in-Chief of the United States, the thing that is most clear about the looming electoral process is, very little has been settled at this point. For the political junkies among you, this is an exciting time.

If early developments offer any indication of what is to come, and I believe they do, this election will harbor historic implications. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Senator Clinton, or Senator Obama, will be the Democratic nominee for President; a woman or a black man. Just let that marinate for a moment!

Back in August, my initial blog post discussed Senator Obama’s position of discounting experience, and instead touting the virtue of change. After nearly 5 months, little has changed. Senator Clinton is attempting to leverage experience, while Senator Obama is attempting to promote and advance the concept of change and out-of-the-box, or more pointedly, out-of-the-Beltway thinking. It appears these will be two of the key themes of the Democratic nomination process.

The Republican front men will each artfully express his unique brand of conservatism, and how this differs from that of the others. Positions on Iraq, fiscal policy, Homeland Security, and sub-prime lending will all get an airing.

Both sides will try to fully vet the party’s position over the course of the Primary Season. But in spite of all the parsing, rest assured, the best stuff will be saved for the end game, when the sides re-group, and the candidates for President and Vice- President face off against each other.

Then the gloves will come off. Are you ready?

That is it for me; holla!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/ , or by Googling thesphinxofcharlotte. A new post is published each Wednesday.


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http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/08/early_voting_tradition_continues_in_2_nh_towns/