How DO Candidates Get Chosen?

I have a vague understanding of this...but not a full understanding. So I'm going to consult Google for you.



In essence, it's a smaller version of the Electoral College. While the primaries for each party ARE held in the year leading up to the Presidential Election, those really don't officially decide anything. Delegates are chosen from each state, and then THEY select the candidate at the party convention, typically held the summer before Election Day.



The delegate selection process is rather...complicated. It varies by state, and by Party. One of my Google Finds, ThisNation.com, had a pretty solid answer for you. That article also links to a CNN.com report on how the GOP and Democrats did their process in 2004...which is a good read.



For the sake of brevity, the short and simple answer is the primaries serve to pledge some delegates for a particular candidate. They're typically only about half of the delegates that will go to the Convention...there are elected officials (think Governors), Party officials, and others with influence who will be chosen for the state at large.



Most delegates will be pledged, meaning they have to declare for a particular candidate before the convention. It's for this reason winning the primaries is such a key element...although in theory, with a scattered enough race (like this one!) it could be anyone's ball game, on account of unpledged delegates being able to weigh in on just one of three otherwise equal candidates.



So, to recap: The primaries elect some of the delegates to the Convention, and these set of district level delegates will vote for the winner of said primary. PLEO's, or Party Leaders and Elected Officials, will also have a say and are typically unpledged. This allows state delegations to be flexible under changing political conditions. Other delegates are chosen as well, with an at-large distinction, and depending on state rules are pledge or unpledged.



Then they all get together, and have a big party, and somewhere along the way vote for whoever they were pledged to vote for. Or whoever their delegation decides on, if they aren't pledged.



That gets important, because...what about those delegates pledged to Bill Richardson? They're up for grabs at the convention. If Huckabee drops out, all his delegates ALSO become fair game. That's why it may not seem important to vote your conscience in a primary, but...really, it is. Even if your candidate drops out later, a delegate from your district could play a key role in choosing the right candidate, instead of just going to support a media darling.

Now For Some News...

Bush to Announce a Stiumulous Package (Put Together With Congress???), from NPR.

Iran is Not an Immediate Military Threat, says Gates, from NPR.

Bobby Fischer Dies at 64, from BBC.

CIA Names Bhutto Killer, from BBC.

Reds Spring Training Tickets On Sale, from WVXU.

Delta, Northwest Merger Likely, from WVXU.

Ohio Supreme Court Rules on Multiple Sentences, from WVXU.

Wednesday Wednesday Wednesday

I'm listening to Mike Huckabee tell me he has more voters than Evangelicals. *shrugs* Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. But if he does by a chance end up in the White House, I may consider Canada.

At any rate, I'm trying to get this blog (and a couple others) under better control. The general format is going to stay the same...a political or in-depth lil article up here, and some news links below the break. I think the posting will be cut back to M-W-F schedule, to give me some time to research posts better.

Personally, I'm a little fed up with the Democratic Party (see my last post), so the fact Romney won Michigan and opened the race on the GOP side back up makes me pretty happy. Now I'm awfully interested in Saturday's South Carolina primary.

Now For Some News...

Romney Wins in Michigan, from NPR

After 5 Years, D.H.S. Hasn't Won Everyone Over, from NPR

Militants Overrun Pakistan Army Post, from BBC

US Economic Slowdown Lowers Price of Oil, from BBC

Senator Brown Working to Get Federal Food Bank Funding, from WVXU

Freedom Center, County and City Working Out Land Dispute, from WVXU

Displeasure 3x!

Three things have really, really disturbed me today:

1. Bush, making a tour of the Middle East with an apparant aim of starting World War Three
2. Obama, Clinton, and Edwards wasting time on a ridiculous point of history
3. Blogger not letting me into my account all day for unknown reasons.

First of all, I had to shut off NPR's Morning Edition this morning because of a speech the President made while on his Middle East tour. I couldn't listen to it. He was saying bad things about Iran, and calling on our allies in the area to help stop Iran from doing bad things. Sounds a lot like the run up to a recent unnecessary war. Does Iran sponsor terrorism? Yes. Why? Who cares; it's unacceptable. Is the proper way to deal with it by pissing them off more and instigating war? No. I'd love to see our country try to use actual diplomacy, instead of justifying war in advance. I'll be writing letters over this.

I again killed the radio a couple hours later after listening to coverage on the tiff between Obama and Clinton over who deserves credit for the Civil Rights Act. As soon as I realized Obama was accusing Clinton of downplaying MLK's role in the civil rights act, I shut the radio off. The clip I heard of Hillary's statement praised LBJ, yes. For passing a piece of legislation, which . I didn't hear praise for being the father of the whole movement. Even if she HAD said words to that effect...why would Obama debate such a ridiculous point? Dr. King is the undisputed father of that Act, of the whole movement no less.

I learned in high school that when someone made a ludicrous statement, you ignored it. This would have served both candidates well.

As for Edwards trying to put in his two cents on the issue, I'm not going to touch that. Politicians...really do disgust me.

At this rate, I'll be voting for John McCain.

Blogger? Whatever. I got in at last, and really...it's small potatoes compared to the rest of this.