Democrats here in the U.S. are having quite a primary season. With high hopes of winning the general election in November, we are deadlocked over which candidate to nominate. Should we just wait to let the delegates slug it out at the convention in August? Should the trailing candidate withdraw in the interest of party unity? Could the two contenders flip a coin to decide who gets to head the ticket and who gets to drink the bucket of warm piss?
I have a proposal. Here’s the geography of the current situation, following Obama’s victory in Mississippi yesterday (map brazenly swiped from the New York Times):
The solution is obvious, no? We follow the rules of the game of hex: The nomination goes to the first candidate to form a continuous chain of states either east to west (Atlantic to Pacific) or north to south (from the Canadian border to Mexico or the Gulf Coast). Thus the three key states are Pennsylvania (which votes April 22), North Carolina (May 6) and Kentucky (May 20). Clinton could create an east-west chain by taking North Carolina, or a north-south path by winning Kentucky. For Obama, Kentucky creates an east-west link; to construct a north-south chain, Obama would have to win both North Carolina and either Kentucky or Pennsylvania.
I get to cast my ballot on May 6 in North Carolina. All I’m saying for now is that I’m not voting for Ralph Nader.