Bits of Tid: March 7, 2008

• There is reason for a renewed sense of hope today. Democrats here in State of Michigan, whose voice in the presidential nominating process has been silenced by both a lousy primary/caucus schedule and most of the Michigan Democratic leadership, may yet have a role to play in the selection of our nominee! Nothing's certain yet, but we just might have a 'do-over' caucus!
• Look at that delegate total to the right. 111-delegate lead for Obama. That includes a somewhat-sizeable-but-shrinking superdelegate lead for Clinton and a 155-pledged-delegate lead for Obama. As opposed to the 159-pledged-delegate lead he held before Tuesday. So while Hillary may have stopped Obama's momentum, she did little on Tuesday to actually move closer to the nomination. Clinton is 573 delegates away from clinching the nomination, while Obama needs 462.
• The aforemenmtioned numbers do not include Michigan and Florida delegates. Should revotes happen in both states, causing delegates there to be seated, Obama would need 646 more versus Clinton's 757.
• Maybe it's because they're attractive, but I like Michigan's female Democratic lawmakers.
• Eight months before an election, you really shouldn't trust the polls. That said, if this one from SurveyUSA is worth believing, Barack Obama just might have a shot at North Dakota and Nebraska. Also, Obama would probably have more electoral votes safely in his column than Clinton, meaning he could focus resources on battleground and purplish-red states.
• Eight months before an election, you really shouldn't trust the polls. That said, we already see the Schauer-Walberg race turning into a hot one. Meanwhile in Illinois, Democrats just might take Dennis Hastert's old seat in a special election this weekend.
• Just a friendly reminder: We are 67 days away from the candidate filing deadline here in Michigan. By that day, all petitions to get Levin and other candidates on the ballot must be turned in. (Actually, if you've got them filled out, turn them in now to the MDP or your local party HQ. Want to obtain petitions? Get them at your local party HQ or request them here.) I hope to get my precinct delegate re-election form filed with the city clerk today.