Thoughts on the final "Super Tuesday"

On Tuesday, Wyoming super-delegate Cynthia Nunley pledged her support to Sen. Hillary Clinton. Nunley was the last of the state's six Democratic Party super-dee's to commit. The other five had already come out for Sen. Barack Obama.

This makes the final delegate count for Wyoming 12-6, Obama.

Also on Tuesday, Obama clinched enough delegates and super-dees to become the party's presumptive nominee. He won Montana handily, and logged enough votes in South Dakota to claim some of those delegates.

I watched all the speeches last night. Obama looked and sounded presidential in the St. Paul, Minn., convention center. Crowd was estimated at 17,000 inside the building and 15,000 outside. Those are the same numbers we'll see when the Republican party gathers for its convention in September. There will be 17,000 Repubs inside, trying to work themselves into a lather for McBush. Outside will be 15,000 protesters, already worked into an anti-McBush lather. Could be a combustible mix.

Clinton spoke to a large appreciative crowd. She didn't concede, however. That will probably come soon.

McBush spoke before a group of semi-awake bystanders in what looked like a high school gym in Kenner, Louisiana. He called for "the right kind of change," which includes more war on the Iraqis and the U.S. middle class. He contended that he was the candidate for change and not Obama. McCain says that he wants to revamp the entire government so that it's leaner and meaner and more accountable to the American people. Of all things, he brought up Hurricane Katrina as an example of how bloated government fails its people.

Here's a news bulletin for McCain: Bloated government didn't fail New Orleans. It was government in the hands of Bush-appointed, government-hating flunkies. If you remember, government in the form of the U.S. Coast Guard performed heroically. In Iraq and Afghanistan, government in the form of the U.S. military does its job every day, despite the odds. And the most successful program in U.S. Government history, Social Security, provides a safety net for millions of Americans. Ironically, it's one of those "bloated" programs that the Republicans want to dismantle.

Remember that McCain voted with Bush 95 percent of the time during the past year. It's tough to distance yourself from someone you hold so close.

I eagerly await the first Obama-McCain debate.