Every week this year seems to have its Super Tuesday. It’s time once again to check in with White House Bureau Chief Jim Downie for the last Political Weekly of the semester. 

Reading week is the time when Columbia students (supposedly) “take it to the next level.” Unbelievably, the same is still true today of the Democratic presidential candidates. That’s right, it’s Super Tuesday 4.0, what may turn out to be the most important day of the campaign. With Hillary Clinton carrying the momentum, Barack Obama looking for a new victory to try and close the deal, and John McCain, well, doing absolutely nothing except shaking his head at yet another Democratic hara-kiri.

On another note, this will be the last column of the semester, due to exam-related circumstances. Unfortunately, there is no grand movie theme to go out on, but rest assured this column will return in the fall (and possibly make an occasional summer appearance) with even more news to keep you procrastinating. And now, the news:



Expectations Time!: As voters go to the polls today in Indiana and North Carolina, the candidates, their surrogates, and, most importantly, the media are all playing the expectations game. The results tonight could be the most crucial in the campaign so far. If Clinton wins Indiana and keeps North Carolina close, her case against Obama becomes significantly stronger, while a double win for Obama could possibly end her campaign, or at the very least give him back the momentum that she desperately needs. More expectations storylines here.

Turnout Watch: As usual, turnout in both states is shattering previous records. Also as usual, the key groups will be African-Americans in North Carolina (high turnout = big Obama victory) and women in both states, who will continue their streak of being even more important to Hillary Clinton than they are to Tasti D-Lite’s solvency.

What Murder Is By: Polls for Indiana, North Carolina, and the rest of the nation here, here, and here.

He’s Waiting: John McCain focuses on picking a vice-president, and will also appear on the Daily Show. Interestingly, McCain has appeared more than any other guest in the show’s history.

From the Dept. of “WHAAAT?”: According to James Carville, Hillary Clinton’s got a different kind of anatomy. Seriously, do the math.

YouTube Gold: Yet, even with three cojones, Clinton can’t figure out how to use a coffee machine. Truly a woman of the people…

I’m John McCain, and I’m Asking For A Soy No-Whip Chai Latte: John McCain loves himself some Starbucks. Which is good, because DC is one of those cities where you can measure distance in Starbucks.

Alright, NOW I Denounce Him: Old Obama bogeyman Rev. Jeremiah Wright resurfaced last week, making the talk show rounds and generally showing the world that he actually does believe all that crazy stuff he shouted in the YouTube videos. Obama responded by strongly denouncing him in a press conference, thus bringing back one of the Clinton campaign’s favorite issues. As one pundit put it, “this is the first time I’ve ever seen two people simultaneously throw each other under the bus.”

Enough Videos for Syndication: Yet another Vote Obama video, this time with cameos from Kayne, Jay-Z, and others.