I think this commenter to a Miami Herald story on the Clinton upset has a valid point.
Howard Dean's punishment of Florida for a Republican decision is sure to put us square in the middle of a controversy should the close election continue. I hope that's not the case but, with Rasmussen's general party numbers showing Republicans on an up-tick, I can't help but think Dean has made a bad decision.I can see it now. Dem convention in August and Obama is leading Hillary by the amount of the Florida delegates that are not to be counted. Hillary will sue to make them count and Obama will sue not to have them count. Florida will be the center of the voter problem once again.
If you're an Obama supporter, the decision is particularly bad. Democrats in Florida know Hillary and JohnEdwards from the 90's and 2004. But, we haven't the slightest clue about Obama. With no trips to the state, there is no way the voters will feel what Brian Williams reported:
In his beautiful, soaring concession speech, Obama mentioned the town of Lebanon for a reason. I was with him in Lebanon the day before — and what we saw there was a defining moment in the campaign. ... We turned the corner toward the event and saw hundreds of people lined up through the streets of the town just to see him, to feel his aura and to later say that they'd done it — they'd been there. There were hundreds more than the venue could hold, and they stood there anyway, and kept coming. Obama, overwhelmed by the overflow crowd, insisted on an outdoor speech before his indoor speech. This much is important, and should be said: Any journalist covering any candidate that day, in that town, would have come away as I did after seeing those people, saying something akin to the old song lyric, "Something's happening here."The Obama Affect is not being felt here in Florida. We get tuned up on his rhetoric but, as one person at a local gathering put it: "Hey, he's a good speaker. So is Edwards. Hillary's not. But, speaking doesn't get the job done."
TV doesn't allow us Florida voters to experience the aura that the media tells us is Obama. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing for voters. I'd like to think we're deciding on something more than who can make a good speech. Unfortunately, we're left without answers due to a decision from the DNC.
Why does Howard Dean hate Florida and the democratic process?
