There Will Be Blood?

By Tyler S. Clark

On the national election scene yesterday, Hillary Clinton held on to the lead she had for several weeks, despite hopes or fears—depending on your perspective—that Barack Obama would come from behind and overtake her. In the end, her ability to connect with Ohio voters over the economy and with Texas voters over national security won the day. Yet, Obama still leads by 132 delegates after these two important wins.

So, what's next in this race? There are 751 outstanding delegates to be won across Wyoming (March 8), Mississippi (March 11), Pennsylvania (April 22), Guam (May 3), Indiana and North Carolina (May 6), West Virginia (May 13), Kentucky and Oregon (May 20), Montana and South Dakota (June 3), and Puerto Rico (June 7). The problem is that none of these are nearly as decisive as yesterday's contests. So, the campaigns are going to brutalize each other for the next three months until the superdelegates hash it for good out at the convention in Denver. 

One can only hope that the candidates are still speaking to each other by that point and agree to team up on the ticket for the good of the party and the country. Party rules are in place for governing situations like this. One can complain that the candidates should be so more selfless and gracefully concede the race at some point, but really who could blame them for pursuing this with so many delegates in both camps. Truly a race to remember.

On the local election scene, a crucial levy for Youngstown Schools failed by 1,100 votes and a WRTA levy to restore night and weekend service failed as well. These are infuriating losses for the community, and at least the Youngstown Schools issue will be back in the fall with better numbers.