Returns

Since nothing I can say about the returns last night would be more insightful that whatever has been or is being written (and since, frankly, I'd be ok with either candidate), I'll just comment briefly on my experience watching the returns at the Obama office in Palo Alto, where people have been volunteering since it opened January 13th. One thing I didn't realize: rent for the office was about $2000 a month, and it was paid for (directly, I believe) by volunteers. Not sure how it worked exactly, but I liked the idea that someone could see the results of their donation so tangibly. Makes me wonder whether the next step in political fundraising is to show people exactly where their money goes. The problem with that is that some things are going to be less sexy but just as necessary, and it could be harder to raise money for those things (or for a "general fund" that would cover them). Nonprofits deal with that trade-off all the time, though, so maybe some nonprofit fundraisers would have good advice about how to make this a successful strategy.

I also noticed that people really didn't seem to be walking away dejected, despite the outcome. In part this may have been because we left before Texas was called, but he was behind by that time. I think partly it was the math that kept people's hopes up, as well as Obama's speech. I'm not usually a huge Chris Matthews fan, but I believe he was the one who commented that Obama had not mentioned Hillary in his speech, which he said was appropriate given that she can't really catch up to him. Superdelegates plus Florida and Michigan, or some really serious landslides, may keep this open for her, but it seems to be leaning his way, despite her hinting at a dream ticket. (I doubt she'd take VP, so if anything I think this is more a strategy to get people to see her as the front runner, though I guess you never know.) I will say I don't think the fact that the campaign is taking so long is necessarily so bad for Democrats, because it does seem to be increasing turnout. Let's hope that doesn't lead to burnout, but I'm optimistic.

Ok, so maybe I did add my two cents on the race itself. What can I say? It's been exciting.

Any thoughts on the Bush endorsement? Last night I didn't feel so great about Obama's attempts to compare McCain to Bush, but maybe this does make it easier.