George,

With all the hype about Tsunami Tuesday (Feb. 5), we should be aware that almost as many delegates will remain to be chosen in subsequent primaries and caucuses spread out over the next several months. On February 5th there will be 2,075 delegates chosen; after that 1,797 remain to be chosen. Washington, Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina, Kentucky, for example, obeyed the rules and kept their places further back in line. And, of course, there is Virginia (101 delegates) on Feb. 12.

This is a highly unusual election year. In the past, a clear frontrunner with the “Big Mo” was evident by this time in the primary season. This year, it is going to go on until May unless either Hillary or Barack get the “Big Mo” with a sweep of the Tsunami – an unlikely occurrence.

And remember, Democrats are democratic. They have proportional delegate selection, not winner take all. A Democratic candidate who wins in a big state may get only, say, 10 more delegates than the loser if the vote percentages are close.

Hang on. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

David RePass (Electronic Mail, January 31, 2008)