Is it just me, or is it better when John McCain is scowling? It sorta scares me when he's grinning. Not that this is a clever way of saying McCain's a better underdog than presumptive heir to the Oval Office spinny chair. I just mean he looks a little like a happy ghoul, with his deathly white, papery skin stretched into an unfamilar half moon, like Gary Oldman's version of Dracula. I kept getting a start everytime I saw that photo in the morning paper.

Otherwise, it's a great story. The guy pronounced all but dead six months ago is now kicking ass in a big state full of conservative Republicans. And Hillary Clinton, who was starting to look like a bitter has-been after the nastiness of South Carolina, proved the overwhelming favorite in the fickle Sunshine State. Screw change. We like our pols retro, baby.

Now, with John Edwards out, and Rudy Giuliani about to kiss McCain's ring any moment, the field has gotten down to the real competitors. The question is, what do Florida's results portend for Super Tuesday? 

With two dozen states voting on Feb. 5 for one or both parties, this is the big deal. For Democrats, 2075 delegates are up for grabs, from big blue states like California and New York, to reds like Georgia and Tennessee. The Republicans will scrap over 1081 delegates in most of the same states.

The good thing is that the grouping of states is large and diverse enough to represent pretty well the mood of the country as a whole. Plus it's nearly impossible to pander meaninglessly to that many people at once. You have to stick with an across-the-board message.

 

So, in Florida, the biggest single factor was Hispanic voters. Obama has a problem there, as stereotypically, this group will vote white over black. Romney has a problem here too, with his tougher rhetoric on immigration. The exit polls used by the major media show Clinton got nearly two-thirds of the Hispanic vote and McCain got more than half of the Hispanic vote.

The Washington Post has a story today about how this might be the saving grace of Bill Richardson. Both front-runners are heavily courting the New Mexico governor and brief presidential contender. And Richardson is eating it up, playing coy with both sides. If Obama bags him, Clinton might have a problem. Expect this courtship to play out in the news cycle for the next few days.