Welcome to The Now

These guys didn't actually think the electoral readjustment process was limited to minorities, old people and unions, did they?

One bright day in the middle of the night, two men named Paul came out to fight. TPM says Krugman was a bruiser ; C&L claims the whole thing was a snoozer .

The numerical results really show us something many have suspected: Mitt Romney will have a hard time in the South. Is it because he's Mormon? Is it because he finds it hard to relate to "the Common Man?" Who knows? Bottom line is he spent a whole bunch of money only to come in third. Social conservatives just aren't into him. I hear that the calls for Newt Gingrich to quit will get louder, so Rick Santorum can make it an official two-man race. Why? Gingrich makes a good point that Santorum is not the perfect conservative candidate. In truth, none of them are. Romney represents the establishment and wealthy components of the GOP. Santorum represents the social conservatives. Gingrich represents the intellectual punditry and fiscal conservative crowd (and that mainly comes from the fact that the budget was balanced under his Speakership; whether he was directly responsible for that is another matter). And Ron Paul represents the (mostly young) Republicans who don...

... but his actions say otherwise .

I think we're far enough along in the 2012 Primary to know what the message each of the remaining candidates is trying to convey to the American people: Mitt Romney : Despite the fact that I'm ridiculously wealthy and belong to a religion that's as unpopular as Islam in my party, I'm just like the average joe. Ignore my past political compromising with Democrats except when you need to make an argument that I can attract independent voters. The only thing that truly sets me apart from the other candidates is that I was part of a very profitable business, which somehow translates to me being able to run the United States . Ron Paul : I've decided to adapt Obama's 2004 primary caucus strategy in a very disturbing way: make delegates change their minds after they had already selected a candidate on their state's designated night. I love the Constitution so much that I wish to fundamentally dismantle the government it created. Please ignore the fact that I...

Seriously: WTF, Ron Paul ? It's been said before that this guy is a fascist disguised as a Libertarian pretending to be a Republican. Now I have an idea why.

Michelle Bachmann vs. Ron Paul ? She never had a chance.

Hillary Clinton backing Barack Obama = Big Deal for Mainstream Media. Ron Paul not backing John McCain = Not Big Deal for Mainstream Media. Even though Clinton's support for women are as crucial for Obama as the independents who back Paul are for John "Maverick" McCain. Keep this in mind, America.

Before I get into some of the local stories, let me say that I love voting. It's the only chance average Americans get to have their voices heard without having to donate money or time to vitural strangers. I had a chance to change my political affiliation but decided against it. I really wish Maryland allowed you to vote for anyone in the primaries (just once, of course) because I think with that option, you'd get a real sense of whether or not voters are crossing political lines. Of course, there's always the chance undesirables will try to muck things up, but you don't get anywhere without some risk. This rule is one reason I am not voting Republican. Another is the atrocious candidates. Mike Huckabee says nice things during debates, but in his stump speeches he acts like a guy who wants to convert everyone to his own brand of Christianity. I don't believe people who aren't Christians or aren't religious should be forced to adopt Christianity; this isn...