CNN has called it for Hillary. Her lead is decisive—49 to 29in the latest tally, with a third of precincts reporting. The campaignis celebrating the victory with a (now legal!) rally in Davie, Fl.
So on a scale of one to vacuum, how empty is her win?
From the Clinton perspective,this is real–and big. More voters turned out in Floridathan the other primary states so far combined. They’ll say this slows Obama’smo’ and provides a more accurate snapshot of the country than South Carolina did. Obama’s people, meanwhile,are adamant that Floridashouldn’t matter. Hence this little zinger, sent out by the campaign: “Obamaand Clinton tie for delegates in Florida.0 for Obama, 0 for Clinton.”
But here’s the problem. Florida represents something , however imprecisely. Say it merely indicates how onesegment of the country sees the two candidates sans campaigning. Even that could be a useful indicator. After all,most Americans in Feb. 5 states won’t actually see the candidates in person.They’ll decide based on TV and radio spots, watching speech excerpts on thenews, reading about their policies, and name recognition. And that’s exactlywhat informed Democrats in Florida.Granted, a lot can change in a week, even on a national scale. And of coursethis produces no shift in delegates. But to say that the results mean nothing at all seems a little stubborn.
