I may be wrongly assuming that no one else has come up with this yet.
But I am just so momentarily full of myself that I believe my recommended line for Obama will RULE THE DAY when it comes to the question of the role of the Michigan and Florida delegates! However, I must hold you all in suspense a little....
I live in Wisconsin, outside Madison, and am eagerly looking forward to Tuesday to cast my primary vote. I stopped by the campaign office when I passed through Madison tonight. I encourage all of you in SC Wisconsin who are interested in helping Obama out to stop in at 437 W. Gilman Street downtown. The place is in a landromat. Granted, a pretty cool, student-serving, wired, hip laudromat, just off State Street... but, still, I thought it was a wonderfully appropriate location (and not just for metaphorical reasons). It just felt like a down to earth and fun place to be making history.
It was fun to catch up with a couple of the valunteers and staffers there. Obama has been busily moving around the state (Madison, Janesville, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Eau Claire...), and is expected to be here full-time through primary day, except for a short excursion to Ohio. Hillary is coming in somewhat belatedly, while running her cheap-shot "debate" ads. (You know, I'm not a Hillary basher, and I'm trying hard to remain so, but who the hell is advising her to do this stuff anyway??!)
My own sense is that Hillary has a strong base here, but that Obama is coming on strong. He is going to benefit a lot from his active campaigning, from the open primary, from Wisconsin's independent streak, from the growing discontent of the rural progressives here, and maybe even from the weather. We have yet another big storm predicted for Sunday, across much of the state. It's just a fact that the record snowfall and cold temperatures will filter out some of the less passionately committed voters. That means, I think, that the Obama forces will benefit.
Okay, now for that promised one-liner....
This was inspired by reading this comment, on the Michigan "primary," by DrJeremy in the diary Obama Supporters!!! What the HELL are you waiting for???:
[Obama] was asked to pull his name from the ballot. He and Edwards agreed to play by the rules. Hillary didn't.
You know where I'm going with this!...
If Obama gains the edge with the legitimate delegates, and if the Clintons decide to use a scorched earth policy and try to seat the Michigan and Florida "pseudo-delegates," then it may be necessary to turn one of Bill Clinton's most famous lines back upon the Clinton camp:
In this campaign, Barack Obama has worked hard and played by the rules. In her efforts to seat the illegitimate Michigan and Florida delegations, Hillary Clinton is cheating, and breaking the rules established by the Democratic Party whose nomination she seeks.
There you have it.