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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
April 8, 2008
/ 3 Nissan 5768
John McCain Was One Lucky Guy in Primary Race With Romney
By
Michael Barone
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
John McCain was one lucky guy. That has been my conclusion as we watched him beat Mike Huckabee in South Carolina January 19 by 33 percent to 30 percent, beat Mitt Romney in Florida January 29 by 36 percent to 31 percent, and then make a huge delegate sweep by winning all the winner-take-all states on Super Tuesday, February 5, including Missouri by a 33 percent-to-32 percent-to-29 percent margin over Huckabee and Romney. In California, which awarded 11 delegates to the statewide winner and three each to the winner in each congressional district, McCain beat Romney statewide 42 percent to 35 percent and carried 48 of 53 congressional districts (it appeared to be 50 of 53 before California finally counted all the votes).
Using Dave Leip's Election Atlas and the Green Papers, I calculated the delegate count if McCain's share of the vote had been exactly 3 percent less in each primary on January 19 and 26 and February 5 and if Romney's share of the vote had been exactly 3 percent more. After all, those results would have been just about as plausible, given the way the campaign and polling were going, as the actual results.
This 3 percent switch wouldn't have affected the delegate count in South Carolina, where McCain would still have beaten Huckabee 30.15 percent to 29.84 percent. And it wouldn't have affected it in most of the Super Tuesday primaries. It might have moved a couple of delegates in Massachusetts and Tennessee. (In Massachusetts, Leip has McCain carrying and winning 2-to-1 delegate advantages in the First, Fourth, Eighth, and Ninth Congressional Districts; the official state report to which he links has McCain carrying only the Eighth District, and by a margin that vanishes if you switch 3 percent of the vote from McCain to Romney. I can't find the Tennessee results by congressional district.)
But the 3 percent switch has a huge effect on the delegate count in four states. A 3 percent switch would have left Romney leading Huckabee by 33.92 percent to 33.17 percent and ahead of McCain in Georgia. This would have given him 33 additional delegates for winning statewide, yet (astonishingly) no additional delegates from any congressional district, at least as I read the two websites cited. In Florida, a 3 percent switch transforms McCain's 36 percent-to-31 percent victory to a 34 percent-to-33 percent victory for Romney. Florida was allotted 57 delegates on a winner-take-all basis, and that would have switched all 57 from McCain to Romney. Missouri on Super Tuesday was the closest three-way race, with Romney by a narrow margin in third place. But the 3 percent switch puts Romney in the lead, with 32.27 percent of the votes to 31.53 percent for Huckabee and 29.95 percent for McCain. In this scenario, Missouri's 58 winner-take-all delegation would have gone to Romney rather than to McCain.
Then there's California. A 3 percent switch wouldn't have given Romney the statewide lead and the 11 delegates awarded to the statewide winner. But it would have increased the number of congressional districts he carried from five to 18. Instead of 15 delegates, he would have had 54.
Let's put the results down in a table.
From a 255-delegate lead for McCain in these states to a 77-delegate lead for Romney. A 3 percent switch can make a big difference in winner-take-all systems.
After Super Tuesday, McCain had 516 delegates by one delegate count, with 207 to Romney and 142 for Huckabee. (I don't regard these numbers as definitive, but they're probably not very far off.) The 3 percent switch would have changed this to 362 for McCain, 385 for Romney, and 109 for Huckabee. Instead of McCain taking a huge delegate lead out of Super Tuesday, he'd have been a little behind. When you're behind as Romney was after Super Tuesday, you could see that even in a winner-take-all system, you'd have to win practically everything to overcome McCain's lead. Since Romney was in a position where he'd have to mostly self-finance any further campaigning, he was being asked to bet something like $30 million on very unfavorable odds.
Romney made his fortune reading numbers, and he probably realized, if only intuitively, that something like a 3 percent switch would have left him in a very different position. In that case, there was no way he would have gotten out of the race. The Potomac primary was coming up February 12. Romney could hope that with Huckabee still in the race (He had no reason to get out: His campaign cost him virtually nothing, and he was enjoying it), Romney might have carried Virginia (63 delegates winner-take-all) and maybe Maryland (34 delegates winner-take-all), even if one concedes D.C. (16 delegates winner-take-all) to McCain. Wins in the two states and a loss in D.C. would have given Romney 482 delegates to McCain's 378 a triple-digit margin. (I'm ignoring the caucus states here, but Romney generally did better in caucuses than in primaries.) Momentum might have carried Romney to a win February 19 in Wisconsin. One or two weeks of TV time would eat up considerably less than $30 million, and if Romney had been ahead after Wisconsin, he might have found conservative money coming in for him in time to contest Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont on March 4. And if he had still been ahead after these contests, would McCain have stayed in until the Pennsylvania primary on April 22?
(Some readers may remember that the Republican National Committee deprived Florida of half its 114 delegates because it scheduled its primary too early, and that if Florida had had 114 delegates, it would have elected them mostly by winner-take-all in each of its 25 congressional districts. If a 3 percent switch had occurred, would Romney then have called for the full Florida delegation to be seated, as Hillary Clinton has done? Absolutely not. McCain carried 20 of the 25 districts, and even a 3 percent switch would have given Romney only 12 districts to McCain's 13. That means that in a 114-delegate delegation, Romney would have had 75 delegates and McCain 39. That's a smaller delegate lead than Romney would have gotten out of a 57-0 split.)
It didn't take Romney long to read the numbers. A 516-to-207 delegate count meant he had to get out, as he did, quite gracefully, at the CPAC convention February 7, two days after Super Tuesday. A 3 percent switch would have given us an entirely different Republican race and might have made Mitt Romney the Republican nominee. A nominee who was, before Super Tuesday, notably weaker in polls against Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama than John McCain was then and is now. John McCain is one lucky guy.
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JWR contributor Michael Barone is a columnist at U.S. News & World Report. Comment by clicking here.
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