Thursday, Mar. 13, 2008

The Page

DELEGATES

The Do-Over?

Florida's and Michigan's primaries were invalidated by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Now the Dems are looking for a way to give the states a second chance. Some proposals:

AT STAKE 366 delegates in Florida and Michigan

JON CORZINE New Primaries New Jersey governor Corzine and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, both Hillary Clinton supporters, have offered to fund-raise up to half the cost of new state primaries.

HOWARD DEAN Mail-In Ballot DNC chair Dean has expressed interest in a proposal to have voters mail in ballots, but he says that the campaigns must agree on the plan and that the DNC won't pay for it.

CHARLIE CRIST Seat the Delegates Crist, GOP governor of Florida, and Democratic Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm say the best solution is to count the delegates chosen in January.

ELECTORAL CALENDAR

As goes Montana, so goes the nation? The ongoing battle for the Democratic nomination is giving some unlikely states (and even Puerto Rico) pivotal roles.

APRIL 22

PENNSYLVANIA The Keystone State, which is similar to Ohio in terms of demographics, is the biggest remaining prize, with 158 delegates up for grabs.

MAY 6

INDIANA AND NORTH CAROLINA Clinton appeals to Indiana's blue-collar workers, while North Carolina might go for Obama, like much of the South (including Mississippi on March 11).

MAY 13

WEST VIRGINIA While longtime West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller has thrown his support behind Obama, Clinton looks likely to do well in the tiny state.

MAY 20

KENTUCKY AND OREGON Since 1998, freethinking Oregon has been the only state that conducts its elections entirely by mail. Obama has won several Pacific Northwest states.

JUNE 1

PUERTO RICO The commonwealth recently moved up its contest and switched from a caucus to a primary system. Its citizens, however, cannot vote in the general election.

JUNE 3

MONTANA AND SOUTH DAKOTA Democrats may well emerge from these two primary contests without a clear nominee. If so, superdelegates would be the deciding factor at August's convention.

SURROGATES

Ferraro Fireworks

THE NEWS Hillary Clinton supporter Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 vice-presidential candidate, said of Barack Obama's success, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position." Obama's camp went into overdrive, accusing Ferraro (and Clinton) of playing the race card.

THE RESPONSE Ferraro seemed ready to escalate the race debate, firing back with, "I really think they're attacking me because I'm white." Ultimately, though, Ferraro quit Clinton's finance committee.

GOD-O-METER

Changing Churches?

It's hardly unusual for Bill Clinton to spend Sunday mornings making the rounds at black churches in primary states. But the Sunday before Hillary Clinton's squeaker victory in Texas found her husband ensconced with daughter Chelsea at Joel Osteen's Houston megachurch, which is white, black and Latino. Why the change in venues? Polls by the progressive group Faith in Public Life show that Hillary has support among white Evangelical Democrats, winning them 57% to 35% over Barack Obama in Ohio, for example. The former President didn't address Osteen's congregation, but the preacher acknowledged him from the pulpit to a spirited round of applause.

For daily God-o-Meter readings covering all the presidential candidates, visit beliefnet.com

Politics up to the minute Mark Halperin reports from the campaign every day on thepage.time.com

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