BEFORE IOWA

Prior to Iowa, Howard Dean was the front-runner in the Democratic
race for the White House. During the final weeks leading up to
the Iowa Caucuses, Dean was considered the shoe-in for the 
nomination, and as such, Dean had implored all of his opponents
to cede from the race.

In fact, many pundits were asking why the other candidates even
bothered hanging in the race with Dean so far ahead in the polls.

The funny thing about the pre-Iowa race and the Dean lead was
that not a single vote had been cast, yet everyone was so very
confident that Dean would take the nomination, that they felt
the other candidates should pull of the race.


BEFORE SUPER-TUESDAY

It is funny how this race has taken such a startling turn in
events. 

Seventeen states into the competition, Dean has shot 0 for 17.
In the aftermath of Wisconsin, the former front-runner Howard 
Dean has thrown in the towel.

Clark pulled out of the race last week.

Now Kerry and the pundits are encouraging the remaining 
candidates to withdraw from the race. After all, it would 
seem that Kerry has the nomination wrapped up.


LET'S EXAMINE THE FACTS

In order to secure the Democratic nomination, one must secure
2162 of the 4322 available delegates.

At this point in the race, there really is no clear-cut winner
in the Democratic race for the Presidency. Kerry holds fewer
than 23% of the delegates required to secure the nomination.

Here is the number of delegates each candidate has earned as
of 2-18-04:

  Kerry    - 494.5
  Edwards  - 171
  Dean     - 112.5
  Clark    -  44
  Sharpton -  12
  Kucinich -   0

While it is true that John Kerry has earned two-and-a-half 
times more delegates than John Edwards, it cannot and should 
not be assumed that Kerry has a lock. 

After all, Kerry only beat Edwards by two percentage points in
Wisconsin.


SHORT MEMORY SPANS?

Don't you remember the proclamation in 1946, "Dewey Wins!"?

What about 1976 when the Wisconsin news proclaimed, "Morris 
Udall Wins"? As we know now, Jimmy Carter won Wisconsin in
1976 and then won the Presidency later that year.

In 1992, Bill Clinton was dubbed the "Comeback Kid" because
in the early days of the race, his race was given little
chance for success. We all know how that turned out.


HERE IS THE CROCK

John Kerry has won fewer than 23% of the required delegates
to win the Democratic nomination, but the pundits and Kerry
want the other candidates to step aside so that the real
winner can soak up the spotlight. 

Many in the press seem to want the underdog candidates to quit 
the race before the people have spoken. Why is that? 

Is it because the press fears the voice of the people? Perhaps.


DO THE RIGHT THING

America has always held the promise of government by the people
for the people. It is this promise that has helped to make the
United States the greatest nation on the planet. 

This is why I implore the Democratic candidates to remain in 
the race until the people have had the opportunity to cast 
their votes. 

Let the people of the Democratic Party speak as to whom they 
wish to be the next President of the United States.

Then let the people of the United States choose between George
W. Bush and the Democratic nominee. 

I have faith that in the end Bush will prevail, but I find 
this race for the Democratic nomination to be disturbing in
that the pundits seem to wish to take the voice away from the
American people. 

This is a message for John Edwards. John, don't quit the 
race until ALL of the votes have been counted. You owe it
to the Democrats to let their voices be heard. Although
you will never see the White House from inside the Oval 
Office, you do stand a good chance of pulling out the 
Democratic nomination. Keep up the good fight, John.