It's because Obama and Clinton resemble Bush in their inexperience and vacuum of leadership skills, while McCain merely resembles him in policy positions.

Based on my observations and discussions with people I know, if Clinton wins the nomination, most people I know will vote for McCain.   And I live in San Francisco, perhaps the most liberal place in the US, and most of my friends are very liberal.  

Obama, however, is a different story.  Even staunch republicans I know like him and might vote for him.

My conclusion is that Clinton makes a McCain victory likely, whereas Obama is a wildcard.

Personally, I think the country needs Obama.   Clinton brings nothing new to the table other than gender, but Obama is really something different.   The country needs uniting and it needs a better international image, both of which, I think, can be achieved by Obama.  

McCain is the quintessential Republican give-him-the-nomination-'cause-he's-been-around-and-deserves-it-candidate. Just like Bob Dole, he's old, a long time Senator and lost previous primary runs bitterly. These guys never invigorate the base. They're easily (and rightly) criticized for being too old and out of touch. Their campaigns simply don't have the fire storming vitality of Reagan or Bush campaign and they suffer from the "we deserve to win" assumption that comes from having the nomination handed to them just because they've been around in the public eye for so long. Good luck doing Pepsi commercials with Britney, John.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

It's been beautiful in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  As a resident of Delaware, I am thankful that we are about to emerge from this long, dark journey through the soul of Pennsylvania and watch this three ring circus head out of state and on towards Denver.  I've no doubt that the irrelevancies will continue to roll on right up until the Democratic Convention opens.

I was watching CNN before the polls closed. I listened to a 10 minute talking head monologue (perhaps from Wolf Blizter?) explaining which counties to watch to find out the way the rest of the state swings. Apparently "Scranton, PA" is the veritable bellwether of the Keystone state. Why? Because it is representative of a majority of the area (conservative, lower class white people) and the area election people supposedly have their act together and can report quick. What ever happened to waiting until the next day and seeing who won -- or waiting 3 hours until the whole state reports back? Why do we have to look at swing counties in swing states? Has the whole country come down with a massive case of ADD or something?

Maybe we should just say screw it, and just poll the cast of "The Office." Hell, make them the state delegates and call it a day.