>It's very unusual. I can't remember a nomination campaign as close and back and forth as the one between Hillary and Obama. They have both won a number of states, often by comfortable margins. Usually someone takes control and pulls away. That could still happen but, as you say, it isn't happening as quickly as usual this time.
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Pennsylvania holds the primary in late April (4th Tuesday) in presidential years. I can't remember the last time my presidential primary vote was meaningful, but there's a shot at it this year.

>You probably saw that Howard Dean, the Democratic party chairman, said earlier this week that he wants to see the nominee decided before the convention. He thinks a brokered convention would be too divisive and too close to the general election. Visions of smoke filled rooms....

What I've been fascinated by, and not sure what to make of, is the partial parallel between this election and the story line of the last two seasons of West Wing. If it's Obama-McCain, it will in many ways parallel the Santos-Vinick race they portrayed. Inexperienced, minority, liberal Democrat against old, experienced, moderate Republican.

Of course, I've been convinced for a long time that Howard Dean's temporary frontrunner status in the '04 campaign was because people thought he was Jed Bartlet (right down to the MD wife) until he proved otherwise.

Tamar