What to watch for on Junior Super Tuesday

By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: March 4, 2008

Here’s what I’ll be watching for as the returns come in on the Junior Super Tuesday.

#1: How quickly the networks call the races for either Obama or Clinton. If it’s an early call in either Texas or Ohio, it’s likely someone has won big.

#2: If that winner is Obama in both Texas and Ohio what will Hillary Clinton do? Concede graciously? Drop out tonight? Or, put on the fighter face?

A lot could depend on #3: If she loses who will be the first Democrat to call on her to drop out: Al Gore? Nancy Pelosi? Jimmy Carter? No matter who it is, the pressure will be intense.

#4: But, will a Hillary win in both states mean more attack ads like her last two worked? Her rise in the polls coincided with the airing of these ads in Texas. Both questioned Obama’s strength, experience and readiness to lead during a crisis. The ads received considerable attention and scrutiny. If the campaign grinds on expect more attacks like that.

#5: How much will last week’s Saturday Night Live skit about the media’s treatment of Hillary and Obama play into the future of the Democratic race? The parody emphasized the relatively easy treatment Obama has received from reporters compared to the treatment Hillary has gotten. In Monday’s campaign coverage also, we saw Obama getting a lot tougher questions from the media. The impact may have already happened.

Now to the Republicans and #6: If McCain wins big and gets close to the number of delegates required to win the nomination, will the networks proclaim him the nominee-to-be? The answer is probably yes. The media is almost doing that already and McCain is already acting like he’s the nominee.

Leading us to #7: Will a huge Huckabee loss finally force him to suspend his long-shot bid, perhaps in tonight’s concession speech? If not tonight, most believe it will happen in the coming day or two.