Hillary has won pretty much all the key states for Democrat related to a national election -- NY, CA, NJ, MA, OH, TX. If they re-do MI and FL, she'll probably win those too. Whatever the pledged delegates, she has a strong case that she's more competitive where it counts.

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I've heard this argument from many people and I just don't buy it.  In the first place, many of those key states (NY, CA, MA, TX) are going to one party or the other no matter who the Democratic nominee is.  Californians may prefer Senator Clinton to Senator Obama, but they also almost certainly prefer either of those candidates to Senator McCain.

And that's the second point.  Comparing Democratic primary voters chosing between Senators Clinton and Obama to general election voters chosing between the Democratic nominee and Senator Obama is the very epitome of comparing apples to oranges.  Ask me whether I prefer Granny Smith Apples to Golden Delicious Apples, and I'll pick the Golden Delicious ... but that doesn't mean I wouldn't rather have a Granny Smith than a Naval Orange.

Another more relevant stat is that fact that Obama does better than Clinton in polls surveying likely success against McCain.

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Another relevant fact is that in the Democratic primaries vs. the Republican primaries there have been more voters on the Democtratic side.  (Though states like TX tend to skew that.)

The current vote popular totals for the Democrats is 25,409,738.  For the Republican side I cannot, as yet, find accurate numbers, but it seems to be around 17,000,000.  That's a HUGE difference.  The biggest I can ever recall actually.

And while I'm not so naive as to think that all 25.4 million people will vote for whichever Democrat is the nominee, I don't think it's going to be a dramatic change either.  Plus what matters most, of course, is the electoral college anyway.

The current vote popular totals for the Democrats is 25,409,738.  For the Republican side I cannot, as yet, find accurate numbers, but it seems to be around 17,000,000.  That's a HUGE difference.  The biggest I can ever recall actually.

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SER: That figure is of concern to Republicans, but it's important to note that the Democratic primary is far more intense than the Republican one. I've known people who have voted in the primary who never had previously (though they usually vote in the general election).

In many primaries, it's a blow-out -- an almost foregone conclusion after the first three or so states. For the Republicans, McCain was the nominee once Romney dropped out.

QUOTE: I'll say one thing about McCain though: he LOOKS like a president.

Yay! Another old, rich, white man. Just what this country needs!