It’s Hillary Clinton v Donald Trump: let the real contest begin

[wyldwolf]

arring some historic and unprecedented collapse, the US presidential election will be a heavyweight slugfest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: a contest between one candidate who says she wants to see more love and kindness, and another who says he wants to punch protesters in the face.

That’s not to say the primary rhetoric won’t persist for a while. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio will still hurl mud at Trump as they indulge in the fantasy of a brokered convention that could deny a man who has built his career on hurling mud and indulging fantasies.

Bernie Sanders will continue to talk about a revolution against the selfish and corrupt super-wealthy class while Democrats increasingly revel in Clinton’s attacks on a man who embodies the selfish and corrupt super-wealthy class. And we in the beloved media will do our very best to pretend this primary is real. Because: clicks and ratings.

But in reality Super Tuesday performed its traditional role: it confirmed the results of the early voting states, and set the frontrunners on a glide path to the nomination.

Those results are clear. Republican voters are in a revolutionary mood. They want more change, not less. They want an anti-establishment candidate who (frankly, my dear) doesn’t give a damn about credibility, consistency or conventional politics. Democratic voters want less change, not more. The minorities who are the bedrock of the party love President Obama and his record, but want a stronger and fairer economy. Above all, they want to stop the Republican extremism that has deadlocked the country for the last six years.

At this stage, all that matters is the delegate count – not momentum, nor the number of states won. To overcome the delegate leads of Trump and Clinton, their rivals need landslides, and lots of them. Winning a landslide victory in the mighty state of Vermont is not a foundation for success. Especially if – like Sanders – it has been your home since the Jurassic age of politics. And winning marginal victories elsewhere doesn’t count for much. If you add up all the delegate leads for Sanders in the four states he won yesterday, you find that Clinton pocketed more of a lead in the single state of Georgia – before we start counting super-delegates, who lean heavily towards her.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/03/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-nominations-us-election

[Live and Learn]

1. Wish away! It is far from over. nt

[Albertoo]

2. That's what I posted two days ago, before a slew of articles agreeing

It's Trump vs Hillary. Done deal.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027652287

[SheilaT]

3. Woah! What did I miss?

Have all the caucuses and primaries been held? Wait, let me look at the calendar. Damn, it's still early March so far. How many states have done their thing? How many delegates have been allocated? And how early did Hillary bow out in 2008? Was it in March? No? Remind me again where we are in this election cycle?

[orpupilofnature57]

4. The Perception Management is meant to avoid the issues, it ain't workin .