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Getting RacyJohn Dickerson takes readers' questions on the fast-moving primary campaigns.

Posted Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, at 5:55 PM ET

John Dickerson was online at Washingtonpost.com on Thursday, Feb. 7, to discuss the outcome of Super Tuesday and speculate on the upcoming twists of the presidential race. An unedited transcript of the chat follows.

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Washington: You responded to my earlier question of who benefits more in the coming months—GOP or Democrats—from the ongoing uncertainty in the Democratic field. You said McCain would, and then explained why he probably wouldn't (the Democratic campaign has not been terribly negative and the candidates' goals and policies are pretty much identical). Was this a glimpse into your own view perhaps—if it's a tie, let's give it to our friend McCain?

John Dickerson: I'm confused by this. Sorry if I was unclear. McCain stands to benefit from a protracted Democratic fight but only if it gets really nasty and right now Democrats don't seem to think that it's gotten nasty enough to penalize either Obama or Clinton if they win.

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Arlington, Va.: Obama gets most antiwar votes because he, you know, actually opposed the war. However, antiwar people can respect McCain because his kid actually enlisted. So each of these candidates are "living their values," to some extent. Then there's Hillary—she enabled this war, and authorized action against Iran. Yet we know that Chelsea never, ever will enlist in the Armed Forces. Never say never? I'm saying never. It's easy to declare war on the backs of other people's children.

John Dickerson: I wonder, do people all really know that McCain's son is over there? I agree with your analysis though.

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Lubbock, Texas: So far, Hillary Clinton has dominated the Hispanic vote. At the moment, is there any reason to believe that Texas's large Hispanic population will vote any differently than California or Nevada's Hispanic populations? I noticed that Obama narrowly won the popular vote in New Mexico, but am unaware as to how he did among Hispanics. Thanks.

John Dickerson: He did better among Latinos in NM than he did in CA I believe (sorry, don't have the exits in front of me). Folks I talk to think that Latinos will matter in TX but for lots of the coming Democratic primary contests they won't play a huge role.

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Henderson, Nev.: I am curious as to why the issue of absentee ballots—cast long before Sen. Obama received the Kennedy and Shriver endorsements, has not been taken into account? Many voters in Massachusetts and even more in California voted long before South Carolina. The huge Obama "movement" that ensued after his win in South Carolina could have been a determining factor for those voters, especially if you couple the "he could win" scenario along with the Kennedy endorsement. I think delineating just how many absentee ballots were cast in both states may provide some insight—what's your take on this idea?

John Dickerson: Very smart.

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Rochester, N.Y.: Democratic turn-out was astounding Tuesday night—it was higher than Republican turn out in every state but Arizona, Utah and Alabama. That includes deep-red states like Oklahoma and Georgia. Is this bad news for Democrats because it might mean that voters will be all worn out before November? Don't studies show that parties with high turnout in primaries usually have lower turnout in the general election? Presumably Howard Dean is worried.

John Dickerson: That's an interesting question. I think Democrats want to be in control and unless a bigger uglier fight breaks out to split the party I think there will be energy enough for Democrats. But it's really worth watching to see if that happens either because of disappointment about the ultimate candidate or the view that the two candidates are too similar.

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: Maybe I'm nuts—well I am nuts—but Obama just made a statement that he's sure he can stand up to any GOP Swift-Boating attacks, because (paraphrasing) the Clintons have the best opposition research team out there, and if they couldn't find anything on him, there's nothing to be found." Are the Clintons and Karl Rove really equivalent when it comes to this stuff? Seems ... well, naive.

John Dickerson: Well it's not a bad line from Obama though yes he's likely to get a lot worse from Republicans in the fall. You don't seem that nuts to me.

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New York: The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz thinks McCain is being treated unfairly by the media. What do you think?

washingtonpost.com: Has McCain Got It? (Post, Feb. 7)

John Dickerson: I didn't get that from Howard's piece. I thought he was saying that McCain benefited from both his intestinal fortitude and some good breaks he couldn't control.