So who won Super Tuesday?

So who won Super Tuesday?

For the GOP, obviously McCain won big, and will almost certainly take the nomination. Huckabee is staying in, running surprisingly strong, and may have a shot at the VP slot on the GOP ticket.

For the Democrats, it depends on how you count. The Obama campain claims victory yesterday and a lead in the total delegate count. But look at the New York Times results, and they say Clinton's ahead. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Part of the confusion comes from the Democrat's use of "superdelagates", party bigwigs and insiders who get to go to the convention and vote for whoever they want. Clinton has more connections and a probable advantage there. On the other hand, if Obama gets a lead in the "popular" vote, many superdelagates may jump to her.

But the both Obama's and the NYT's numbers claim to count only commited delegates, and get different results. So something's wacky. Look for instance at the Times' numbers for Alabama - Obama wins the state handily, yet the Times says Obama only gets 10 delegates, while Clinton gets 19. But what about the other 13 delegates? The Time's math doesn't add up. I can only guess that they're not yet counting some of the delegates who are pledged based on the results in individual Congressional districts. Highly misleading reporting.

CNN more correctly shows Obama up on the committed delegate counts, Clinton projected ahead on total delegates with "superdelegates" factored in.

Just to keep it interesing, independent voters (not to be confused with Independent voters) in California who wanted to vote in the Democratic race there may have been screwed by bad ballot design, or incorrectly told they couldn't vote, probably costing Obama votes in that key state.

Here's something to consider: if we get a Clinton v. McCain contest, two moderate conservatives, McCain will beat Clinton like a drum. In a Obama v. McCain fight, it could go either way.

And if Huckabee is his number two, as some are starting to speculate...knowing how well former VPs tend to do in elections, we could easily be looking at a President Huckabee come 2012 (in McCain retires after one term - or heck, just passes away in office) or 2016. A kinder, gentler fundamentalist religious zealot in the White House. Sleep tight, America.