POLITICAL ROUNDUP
Does Kerry have Clinton problems?
The Internet has been abuzz with allegations that Democratic frontrunner John Kerry had a two-year affair with an AP reporter. Strangely, there has been little mention in the mainstream press. No mention on "Hardball." No mention on "The Factor" or "Hannity & Colmes." WCVB Channel 5 did a short blurb on Kerry's denial, as did ABC News' "World News Tonight." But this should have gotten more play. The only one who seemed to notice was Men's News Daily: ["John Kerry Sex Scandal: U.S. Media Blackout?"].
According to the Drudge Report, where the story broke, the European and some American metropolitan press, has been all over the story: ["Kerry faces big test in internet storm about mystery woman"]. One newspaper, the Sun, even contacted the woman's parents. Her father called Kerry a "sleazeball": ["New JFK hit by scandal"].
And then there is the typical reaction, like this piece from Joe Conason in Salon, who blames the Republicans for the Kerry intern story: ["There he goes again!"]. Is he clueless? This didn't come from the GOP. This was leaked by Wesley Clark in an off-the-record discussion with reporters saying that Kerry would implode due to "an intern problem." Further, Clark probably got it from Clintonista Chris Lehane, a former operative of Kerry's who was part of the Shaheen-November purge and later went to Clark. A day after the allegations, at the height of the Clark amateur hour, he endorsed Kerry.
Lastly, this probably won't be Kerry's only "bimbo eruption." Which is why Howard Dean is reportedly not going to drop out after Wisconsin.

Nader on the horizon ...
No word from the Ralph Nader front. The silence is eerie. Word is he will wait until the end of the month. But time is running out. If Nader doesn't decide soon, will he be able to get on state ballots? I did a quick search about ballot requirements and even went to Ballot Access News but couldn't find any information. For the 2000 race, Nader started organizing in November and still missed six state ballots.
Some people have come out saying Ralph should run again. Here's one from an odd source, CBS News: ["Run, Ralph, Run"].

"I say: Go for it, Ralph.
Why? Because Nader is not to blame for the fact that Al Gore is not president. Because I believe vigorous, high profile third-party candidacies (as high profile as third parties get in this country, that is) are good, even crucial for the political system. Because skilled political mischief-makers capable of occasionally piercing the homogenized, focus group tested, corporate sponsored claptrap of the two big parties are a rare godsend. Because more voices are better than fewer voices."

But there is this from Norman Solomon: ["An Odd Accusation From Ralph Nader"].

"While Nader is 100 percent correct that he has a right to run for president, that's not in dispute. The debate is over the wisdom of running this year. Like many other people who voted for Nader in 2000, I agree with The Nation's editorial. But that's not the point. Agree with it or not, there's no basis for Nader's canard about 'censorship.'"

Whether or not Nader runs, there are some suing for inclusion: ["Third-party hopefuls sue for inclusion"].

Want to run for president?
Here's how: ["American Candidate"]. I was joking with my wife that I might apply, especially since I qualify, and she nixed the idea. :-)

Delegate counts
According to AP:
Kerry 540
Dean 182
Edwards 166
Clark 85 [CNN: 68]
Sharpton 12
Lieberman 9
Gephardt 3
Kucinich 2 [Actual: 8]
Other 1
Uncommitted 0

Needed to nominate 2,162
Total Delegate Votes 4,322
Chosen thus far 1,000
Yet to be chosen 3,321

Vanity Fair and a hot bath ...
There is just nothing like enjoying a hot bath while reading Vanity Fair. The new - and huge - Hollywood issue came out this week and it is massive - over 400 pages although, disappointingly, it is mostly ads. Where are the stories? The last Hollywood issue had a bunch of pretty good book excerpts and the magazine regularly has at least two good stories worth reading, sometimes more. This month, however, there wasn't much of interest to me. There is a brilliant feature on these three kids who filmed their own version of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in their backyard over an eight year period and have now become the hottest thing in Hollywood. There is also a pathetic rant by the otherwise hilarious Christopher Hitchens attacking Mel Gibson's latest supposedly breathtaking epic "The Passion of the Christ." Note to Hitchens: Go back to writing about Kissinger the war criminal and leave Gibson - who is a brilliant filmmaker, regardless of his loose interpretation of history - alone. Frankly, the world needs to see - and understand - a lot more about Christ.

Virginia Primary results:
Kerry - 203,773 - 51.5 percent
Edwards - 105,333 - 26.6 percent
Clark - 36,542 - 9.2 percent
Dean - 27,595 - 7 percent
Sharpton - 12,829 - 3.2 percent
Kucinich - 5,009 - 1.3 percent
Lieberman - 2,859 - 0.7 percent
LaRouche - 1,038 - 0.3 percent
Gephardt - 585 - 0.2 percent

Tennessee Primary results
Democrat:
Kerry - 150,905 - 41 percent
Edwards - 97,385 - 26.5 percent
Clark - 84,874 - 23 percent
Dean - 16,035 - 4.4 percent
Sharpton - 6,084 - 1.7 percent
Lieberman - 3,690 - 1 percent
Uncommitted - 2,485 - 0.7 percent
Moseley Braun - 2,453 - 0.7 percent
Kucinich - 2,271 - 0.6 percent
Gephardt - 1,388 - 0.4 percent
LaRouche - 279 - 0.1 percent

Republican
George Bush - 94,238 - 95.5 percent
Other - 4,483 - 4.5 percent

MSNBC reported last night that Wesley Clark spent three times as much money in Tennessee than John Kerry did.

Delegate Counts:
Kerry 516 [CNN: 517]
Dean 182 [CNN: 186]
Edwards 165 [CNN: 166]
Clark 102
Lieberman 13
Sharpton 12
Gephardt 4
Kucinich 2 [Actual: 8]
Other 1
Uncommitted 0

Needed to nominate 2,162
Total Delegate Votes 4,322
Chosen thus far 997
Yet to be chosen 3,325

Source: Associated Press

Note: It should be noted that Kucinich has more than two delegates. According to many reports, Kucinich received one delegate from the Washington Caucuses and five delegates from the Maine Caucuses, bringing his total to eight. I don't know why the AP and other sources are not awarding these delegates to Kucinich.

Kerry wins in Virginia, Tennessee; Clark out
I am busy doing work this morning. But I will update with results and analysis tomorrow - as well as some other good political dirt.

Overseas Caucuses
On Monday, American residents living overseas were allowed to caucus the Democratic candidates, awarding five delegates to John Kerry and two delegates to Howard Dean.

Maine Caucuses
80 percent
Kerry - 6,842 - 45.1 percent
Dean - 3,960 - 26.1 percent
Kucinich - 2,383 - 15.7 percent
Edwards - 1,187 - 7.8 percent
Clark - 564 - 3.7 percent
Uncommitted - 191 - 1.3 percent
Sharpton - 26 - 0.2 percent
Lieberman - 4
Write-ins - 2

OCTOBER SURPRISE!
Here it is: ["'Al-Qaida has nukes'"].

VP?
More on the speculation of a Kerry/Edwards ticket: ["Kerry-Edwards?"]. And then, there is the Hillary spin too. Why can't the media just stop all this about Hillary?

Can Bubba at least try to keep it in his pants?
Speaking of Hillary, supposedly, she is a bit peeved with her husband's "close relationship" with a Canadian woman: ["Hillary burns in Bill, Belinda tab shocker"]. Here are some pictures of her: ["Belinda Stronach"].

Another primary idea
During a discussion on Daily Kos over the weekend, a woman posted this as an idea for future Democratic primaries:

"How about a completely re-vamped primary process? Here's an idea...The four weekends starting with January 15: 4 primaries in small states -- picked by random drawing -- with NO official results announced until the end of the election in all 4 states. Then each weekend in March: 4 Primaries in medium sized states each -- again picked by random drawing -- with NO official results announced until the end of the election in all 4 states. Then in April: a 50 state vote between the 2 top vote getters which overrides any previous individual state vote and determines the nominee."

The media
A couple of pretty good pieces on the media's influence on the campaign: ["How the media choose a president"] ["Fallout from Dean's scream on news networks: Get used to it"] ["The Media Disappeared Howard Dean"].

Hangin' on
The round up from the Sunday shows. Why give up now? Keep going. Make Kerry earn it: ["Clark, Edwards say they'll stay in Democratic presidential race"].

More polls from future states
American Research Group shows the Feb. 10 and Feb. 17 states:
In Tennesse, John Kerry has 32 percent, John Edwards has 21 percent, Wesley Clark has 20 percent, with Howard Dean has 8 percent. Dennis Kucinich and the Rev. Al Sharpton have 1 percent each. The undecideds make up 17 percent.
In Virginia, Kerry has 35 percent, Edwards 22 percent, Clark 17 percent, Dean at 9, with Kucinich and Sharpton at 1 percent. Undecideds are at 15 percent.
In Wisconsin, the Dean must-win state, Kerry has 41, Clark has 15, Edwards at 10, and Dean at 9 percent. Both Kucinich and Sharpton have 2 percent, with undecideds making up 21 percent.

Delegate Count
John Kerry 409
Howard Dean 174
John Edwards 116
Wesley Clark 82
Joe Lieberman 19
Al Sharpton 13
Dick Gephardt 5
Dennis Kucinich 2
Other 1
Uncommitted 0

Needed to nominate 2,162
Total Delegate Votes 4,322

Editor's Note: An earlier edition of this post had incorrect information in it which has since been corrected.

Michigan Caucuses
Kerry - 84,214 - 51.7 percent [91 delegates]
Dean - 26,994 - 16.6 percent [24]
Edwards - 21,919 - 13.5 percent [6]
Sharpton - 11,270 - 6.9 percent [7]
Clark - 10,986 - 6.7 percent
Kucinich - 5,183 - 3.2 percent
Gephardt - 944 - 0.6 percent
Lieberman - 682 - 0.4 percent
Uncommitted - 476 - 0.3 percent
Carol Moseley Braun - 163 - 0.1 percent
Other/write-ins - 98 - 0.1 percent

Over 148,000 turned out according to the state's Lt. Gov. Over 123,000 applied for Internet ballots. Over 110,00 qualified for ballots. Over 46,000 ballots filed over the Internet, with 24,000 ballots via mail.

Washington Caucuses
Kerry - 10,578- 48.6 percent [46 delegates]
Dean - 6,583 - 30.2 percent [29]
Kucinich - 1,695 - 7.8 percent [1]
Edwards - 1,386 - 6.6 percent
Clark - 692 - 3.3 percent
Uncommitted - 598 - 2.9 percent
Sharpton - 12 - 0.1 percent

[Six weeks ago, Dean had a 31-point lead in the polls.]

Preview of Maine
Here's a very good preview of the Maine Caucus by Lance Tapley in the Portland Phoenix: ["Symbolic leaders
The Democratic campaign: Drama, melodrama, or tragedy?"]. I have never read this guy before but he nails a lot on the head. Check this section out:

Personally, I couldn't understand the controversy when I saw the tape of that moment, which was available the next day on the Internet. Dean was just cheerleading his troops. Why the big deal? Craig Brown, founder of commondreams.org, the popular, Portland-based progressive-politics Web site, explained it to me. Brown, a legendary Maine political operative, was manager of Tom Andrews's winning congressional (and his losing US Senate) campaigns, as well as of several referendum contests.
"You had to have seen it live on TV," he maintains. "The context was that Dean had been declared the third-placer loser. In the protocol of election night, the losers speak first. The networks were setting it up as a concession speech. You’d expect a classy speech to the country and a graceful concession. The networks all went live. He was speaking to a national, prime-time audience. What he did wasn’t expected at all. It was so out of context for what the moment was supposed to be. It’s a ritualized business. It backfired. The press overplayed it, but he gave it to them."
In other words, Dean and his people didn’t have the experience to know that he was not really performing for the 3500 emotionally charged young people in that Iowa
auditorium. His real audience was the tens of millions watching on TV.
Howard Dean, the Washington outsider, the former governor of a small, quirky state, was — extremely literally — not ready for prime time. For a presidential candidate in our society, what, indeed, could be more tragic?

Delegate Count
John Kerry 399
Howard Dean 172
John Edwards 112
Wesley Clark 82
Joe Lieberman 19
Al Sharpton 13
Dick Gephardt 5
Dennis Kucinich 2
Other 1
Uncommitted 0

Needed to nominate 2,162
Total Delegate Votes 4,322

Fraud?!
There are a lot of unhappy people in Michigan: ["Detroit caucus sites stay open extra two hours; black leaders call for new election"].

Turncoats!
FoxNews is reporting that AFSCME, a governmental union, of withdrawing its support of Howard Dean! Here is the AP's report: ["Big union that endorsed Dean will withdraw support: sources"]. What a bunch of pathetic little weasels. Oh, you aren't winning so we're gone. The guy hasn't even dropped out yet. Be loyal. Go down with the ship you little governmental weasels.

POLITICAL ROUNDUP: Weekend Caucuses

According to Friday's posting of ABCNews' The Note, caucus results in Michigan and Washington should be posted sometime around 7 or 8 p.m. tonight. Kerry is expected to win both handily with Gephardt and the unions helping out in Michigan. However, for months, residents have been able to vote over the Internet ["Michigan caucus provides Internet voting test"] so there is a good chance that Dean may do better than polls suggest, since over 21,000 people have already voted.
The results from the Maine Caucus will be in around 7 or 8 p.m. tomorrow night.
Watching the Michigan newspaper coverage of the caucus the last few days has been amazing. They have all but coronated Kerry the winner. The Detroit Free Press - yeah, the union-busting newspaper - had this headline on Thursday: "Kerry all but owns Michigan." The media's spin prompted a letter from Denise Wilmarth of Ann Arbor: ["Let people, not media, decide state vote"].

Since Dean tumbled so far so fast, the media have latched onto Kerry. Exclusive coverage of one candidate unfairly influences the people into thinking there is only one candidate. There are three candidates at the present time. Sen. John Edwards has gotten quite a bit of press, and the news media seem to indicate he will give Kerry some competition. The press, however, continually ignores Wesley Clark.

Actually, there are at least nine candidates on the ballot, according to the Michigan Democratic Party's Web site: ["Democratic candidates"]. I don't know if there are any of the "fringe" candidates involved in the caucuses but you get her point anyway.
A similar letter appeared on Thursday in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer from Michael Tamayo of Seattle: ["Don't let media make your decision for you"].

"When you go to your caucus, please vote your conviction and not what has been crowned in the media."

Back to Friday's Free Press, black columnist Rochelle Riley endorses Sharpton: ["The choice is clear: Vote for Sharpton"]. I have read a couple of Riley's columns over the last year and she is really great. Check out these lines:

"We need to vote for a candidate who cares about children and about America's dying cities and about the lack of health care and a poor education system. We need to go out on a limb one more time, as Michigan tends to do, and vote for an underdog ... The sad truth is that Dean might have made a good president. He still might. But he's not sure who he is. He began his campaign as a self-assured outsider who knows how to run a government. He captured the Internet and connected with young voters. But then he turned into Al Gore. He lost his passion and let the skewering about a rousing speech make him mute. You don't become Al Gore if you want to be president."

And that is the problem here: Kerry is so much like Gore, so much like President Bush, do the Democrats really want to risk nominating him?
Also, what is going on with the Dean campaign? Why the hell isn't he in Maine for the caucus tomorrow? Maine has a history of voting for mavericks and insurgents. In 1992 Democratic primaries, Jerry Brown beat Paul Tsongas there by less than 1 percent although the media kept saying that Tsongas won [after all the results came in from the woods, there was a shift in votes giving the win to Brown. Newspapers like the Boston Globe failed to run corrections and the damage was done]. In both 1992 and 1996, Maine gave Ross Perot his best results in the general election, with a second-place finish for Perot in 1992 against home state candidate Bush 41. Maine also elected independent Angus King for governor and Greens have been able to garner as much as 10 percent in state-wide races and even win state rep. seats. The Kucinich campaign is predicting a third-place finish, behind Kerry and Dean. But Dean should be there - at least for a few hours - canvassing a city or two, getting footage on the local news stations the night before, showing the voters that he cares enough about winning the state to actually show up before the caucus.

Polls
Tennessee is Feb. 10. Mason-Dixon Polling & Research says John Kerry has 31 percent, Wesley Clark comes in at 22,
John Edwards has 13, and Howard Dean has 7 percent.
Mason-Dixon says Virginia [Feb. 10] is a little closer: Kerry at 34, Edwards at 25, Clark at 14 percent, Dean at 8 percent, with undecided making up 13 percent.
In Wisconsin [Feb. 17], according to The Polling Report, Dean's do-or-die state looks like death: Kerry 35, Clark 11, Edwards 9, and Dean at 8 percent.
Survey USA says Maryland [March 2] is also going to Kerry: 47 percent, Edwards 15, Dean 12, the Rev. Al Sharpton 10, and Clark 6 percent.

Delegate Count
John Kerry 270
Howard Dean 121
John Edwards 109
Wesley Clark 82
Joe Lieberman 19
Al Sharpton 6
Dick Gephardt 5
Dennis Kucinich 2
Other 1
Uncommitted 0

Needed to nominate 2,162
Total Delegate Votes 4,322

Source: Associated Press

Gephardt endorses Kerry
Everyone knew this was coming: ["Gephardt To Endorse Kerry"]. This is a pretty huge thing because John Kerry has no credibility on labor issues. Dick Gephardt does help his campaign a bit. Kerry has had every opportunity to build relationships with labor but instead he has voted for every trade deal that has come down the pike, no matter how bad. Gephardt is definitely on the short list for the VP slot and Kerry would be smart to pick him.

Dean: The End?
Dean admits, the end is near: ["Dean Says He Must Win Wisconsin or Be 'Out of Race'"]. This is really sad to watch. Personally, I would advise not to quit. Kerry is going to stumble. It may happen tomorrow. It may happen next month. But it will happen. Dean shouldn't give up so easily after building so much. What are all those kids going to do? They will be so disillusioned by the process. This just can't happen yet.

Latest polls
Survey USA has some new polls:
In Tennessee, next week, John Kerry 31 percent [up from 4 percent a month ago], Wesley Clark steady at 26 percent, John Edwards [up from 6] at 20, Dean [down from 27] at 15 percent, others get 6 while 3 percent remain undecided.
In California, next month, Kerry has 49 percent [up from 31], Dean with 18 [down from 26], Edwards has 12, Clark at 8, others with 9 and 5 percent are undecided.
In Ohio, next month, Kerry has 44, Dean has 15, Edwards at 14, Clark at 6, others have 7 percent and 4 percent are undecided.
In Georgia, next month, Kerry has 30 percent, Dean and Edwards at 15, Clark with 9, others at 11 with 5 percent are undecided.
Zogby has new numbers out of Michigan: Kerry 47, Dean 10, Edwards 8, Clark 4, Sharpton 2, and Kucinich at 1 percent.

Other stuff:
Worst corporations of last year: ["Top 10 Worst Corporations of 2003"].

GROUNDHOG DAY PRIMARIES
Arizona
John Kerry - 99,154 - 42.6 percent [30 delegates]
Wesley Clark - 61,936 - 26.6 percent
Howard Dean - 32,398 - 13.9 percent
John Edwards - 16,208 - 7 percent
Joe Lieberman - 15,633 - 6.7 percent
Dennis Kucinich - 3,749 - 1.6 percent
Al Sharpton - 1,165 - 0.5 percent
Dick Gephardt - 747 - 0.3 percent
Carol Moseley Braun - 320 - 0.1 percent
Lyndon LaRouche - 291 - 0.1 percent
Dianne Barker - 256 - 0.1 percent
Bill Wyatt - 232 - 0.1 percent
Keith Brand - 220 - 0.1 percent
Fern Penna - 206 - 0.1 percent
William Barchilon - 134 - 0.1 percent
Huda Muhammad - 119 - 0.1 percent
Evelynn Vitullo - 116 - 0.1 percent
Ray Caplette - 77

Delaware
John Kerry - 16,729 - 50.5 percent
Joe Lieberman - 3,683 - 11.1 percent
John Edwards - 3,657 - 11 percent
Howard Dean - 3,439 - 10.4 percent
Wesley Clark - 3,145 - 9.5 percent
Al Sharpton - 1,885 - 5.7 percent
Dennis Kucinich - 343 - 1 percent
Dick Gephardt - 187 - 0.6 percent
Lyndon LaRouche - 78 - 0.2 percent

Missouri
Democrat
John Kerry - 211,737 - 50.6 percent
John Edwards - 103,188 - 24.7 percent
Howard Dean - 36,305 - 8.7 percent
Wesley Clark - 18,328 - 4.4 percent
Joe Lieberman - 14,726 - 3.5 percent
Al Sharpton - 14,312 - 3.4 percent
Dick Gephardt - 8,306 - 2 percent
Dennis Kucinich - 4,876 - 1.2 percent
Uncommitted - 4,316 - 1 percent
Carol Moseley Braun - 1,804 - 0.3 percent
Lyndon LaRouche - 1,027 - 0.2 percent
Fern Penna - 342 - 0.1 percent
Republican
George Bush - 117,124 - 95.1 percent
Uncommitted - 3,834 - 3.1 percent
Bill Wyatt - 1,273 - 1 percent
Blake Ashby - 986 - 0.8 percent
Libertarian
Gary Nolan - 874 - 45.2 percent
Uncommitted - 744 - 38.5 percent
Ruben Perez - 164 - 8.5 percent
Jeffrey Diket - 152 - 7.9 percent

New Mexico
John Kerry - 40,964 - 39 percent
Wesley Clark - 19,838 - 19 percent
Howard Dean - 15,854 - 15 percent
John Edwards - 10,953 - 10 percent
Dennis Kucinich - 5,365 - 5 percent
Joe Lieberman - 2,520 - 2 percent
Dick Gephardt - 683 - 1 percent
Uncommitted - 460 - 1 percent
Fern Penna - 77

North Dakota
John Kerry - 5,366 - 51 percent
Wesley Clark - 2,502 - 24 percent
Howard Dean - 1,231 - 12 percent
John Edwards - 1,025 - 10 percent
Dennis Kucinich - 308 - 3 percent
Joe Lieberman - 98 - 1 percent
Al Sharpton - 28 - 0 percent

Oklahoma
Democrat
Wesley Clark - 90,453 - 29.9 percent
John Edwards - 89,234 - 29.5 percent
John Kerry - 81,015 - 26.8 percent
Joe Lieberman - 19,678 - 6.5 percent
Howard Dean - 12,728 - 4.2 percent
Al Sharpton - 3,939 - 1.3 percent
Dennis Kucinich - 2,544 - 0.8 percent
Dick Gephardt - 1,890 - 0.6 percent
Lyndon LaRouche - 688 0.2 percent
Republican
George W. Bush - 59,562 - 90 percent
Bill Wyatt - 6,622 - 10 percent

South Carolina 70 percent:
John Edwards - 82,589 - 45 percent
John Kerry - 55,411 - 30 percent
Sharpton - 18,179 - 10 percent
Clark - 13,643 - 7 percent
Dean - 8,908 - 5 percent
Lieberman - 4,773 - 3 percent
Kucinich - 867

Delegate count
John Kerry - 260
Howard Dean - 121
John Edwards - 107
Wesley Clark - 81
Al Sharpton - 6
Dennis Kucinich - 2

Lieberman quits
MSNBC is reporting that Joe Lieberman will drop out of the presidential race.
John Kerry wins Missouri, Arizona, North Dakota, and Delaware.
John Edwards wins South Carolina.
Oklahoma too close to call. New Mexico has no results yet.

Groundhog Day primary predictions

My predictions so far have been way off but here are a few more:

Delaware: Lieberman 24, Kerry 23, Edwards 19, Dean 14, Clark 12, Sharpton 7, Kucinich 1

South Carolina: Edwards 34, Kerry 25, Sharpton 18, Clark 12, Dean 6, Lieberman 3, Kucinich 1, Others 1

Missouri: Kerry 40, Edwards 27, Dean 9, Clark 8, Sharpton 7, Lieberman6, Kucinich 3

North Dakota: Clark 31, Kerry 29, Dean 20, Edwards 10, Lieberman 6, Kucinich 2, Sharpton 1, Others 1

Oklahoma: Clark 29, Kerry 28, Lieberman 19, Edwards 17, Dean 5, Kucinich 1, Sharpton 1

New Mexico: Dean 29, Kerry 27, Clark 19, Edwards 10, Lieberman 8, Kucinich 5, Sharpton 1, Others 1

Arizona: Kerry 30, Clark 25, Dean 20, Edwards 29, Lieberman 14, Kucinich 1 Sharpton 1

POLITICAL ROUNDUP
Kerry-Edwards 2004?
Will it be a John Kerry/John Edwards ticket? Some are speculating, including the Kerry campaign, which has strategically leaked that Edwards is on Kerry's short list: ["Kerry and Edwards are possible ticket"]. But Edwards says "no": ["Edwards rules out vice-president role"].
Oh how the paradigm shifts. It was just a month ago when Kerry's campaign was sputtering and Dean had the nomination locked up without one vote being cast. Kerry was even challenging Dean to a one-on-one debate on "Meet the Press." Dean balked. Now, it is Kerry acting all cocky, talking about the short list, even though less than 10 percent of the delegates have been chosen - and Dean agrees to a challenge on "Meet the Press."
But back to Edwards as vice president.
Riley Yates over at the Union Leader had a really good overview on the VP story yesterday, noting that over 17,000 New Hampshire voters picked Edwards for the number 2 slot: ["NH Dems like Edwards for V.P."]. Unlike other states, New Hampshire allows voters to "write-in" the VP nominee. On the Republican ballot, two candidates openly ran for the position. The complete results are posted here: ["2004 Presidential Primary"]. Other names not compiled but mentioned in Yates' article included Jimmy Carter, Ross Perot, Jesse Ventura, Bill Bradley, Tom Brady, Clint Eastwood, Dick Clark, Jerry Springer, Michael Moore, Mickey Mouse and Homer Simpson.

Lieberman gets three more
Three more newspapers have endorsed Joe Lieberman: The State of Columbia, South Carolina, the Greenville News, and The Seattle Times of Washington.

Clark gets two
The Lawton Constitution and the Norman Transcript both of Oklahoma endorsed Wesley Clark.

Other states:
In Missouri, Gephardt's support gets split while others remain neutral: [" Kerry, Edwards split up Gephardt's base"].
So much for Kerry fighting the "special interests": ["Kerry no stranger to lobbyists' donations"].
Dean finally plays hardball with Kerry: ["Dean blasts Mass. pol"].
And Kerry punches back: ["Kerry Fires Back at Dean Charges of Cronyism"].

The primaries:
New Hampshire's very high turnout might secure its "First in the Nation" status. But others think not: ["High turnout boosted N.H.'s primary status, but critics push for change"]. The Union Leader wasn't happy with McAuliffe's threat: ["Blackmail NH?"]. And yet other people have their thinking caps on for the future: ["A modest proposal to reschedule the Democratic primaries"].

Polls say it's Kerry's to lose:
American Research Group has numbers from Feb. 3 states:
In Arizona, John Kerry is up to 32 percent, Wesley Clark remains steady at 21 percent, John Edwards slips down to 11 percent, Howard Dean remains level at 10 percent, Joe Lieberman comes in at 9 and Dennis Kucinich has 1 percent. 16 percent are undecided.
In Missouri, Kerry has 46 percent, Edwards has 15 percent, Dean is at 7 percent, Clark comes in with 6 percent, Lieberman has 3 percent, with Kucinich and Sharpton both have 1 percent.
In Delaware, Lieberman loses his lead: Kerry at 27 percent, Lieberman at 16 percent, Dean with 14 percent, Edwards at 9 percent, Clark at 8 percent, with Kucinich and Sharpton at 1 percent.
The Fargo Forum in North Dakota published a poll by the Minnesota State University showing Kerry with 31 percent, Clark with 15 percent, Edwards with 6 percent, Dean with 5 percent, Lieberman with 2 percent, and Kucinich with 1 percent. A staggering 40 percent said they were undecided.
In Oklahoma, Clark is still in the lead with 25, Kerry comes in at 23, Edwards has 18 percent, with Dean and Lieberman at 8, and Kucinich and Sharpton at 1 percent. 16 percent are undecided.
In South Carolina, Edwards has a solid lead with 30, Kerry 23, Clark 12, Sharpton down to 10, Dean at 9, Lieberman 3, and at Kucinich 1 percent. Undecided are 12 percent.
Survey USA also has two new polls:
In Oklahoma, Clark has 31 percent, Kerry 25, Edwards at 23 percent, Dean with 9, and the others with 9 percent. Undecided only make up 3 percent.
In Delaware, Kerry is smokin': Kerry at 42 percent, with Dean 12, Edwards 11, Lieberman 10, and Clark and Sharpton at 9 percent. Others make up 2 percent and 4 remain undecided.