Primary watch: There is still a long way to go before Republican field is set

If you thought the Republican primary was going to be over before North Carolina even gets its chance to vote, don't despair.

As they say in the opera, it is not over until the fat lady sings -- and right now, she is not even warming up.

Even though every pundit who has ever written a word about politics is implying that, even though it seems like a battle, the nominee will be a done deal soon, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. And that means there is a pretty good chance that North Carolina could be a player in the nomination process.

As it should be. This will be an important swing state when November rolls around -- and one that Democrats are hoping to win. Haven't you wondered why we have seen more of the Obamas in the last few months than we have in the three years previous? The reason is simple -- with a very weak Democratic governor who basically had to drop out of a re-election campaign, North Carolina is on the bubble.

But back to the horse race.

To win the nomination, a candidate will need 1,144 votes and Mitt Romney is not even close to half that number. So, there are a lot of voices still in play.

And while the nomination process has been brutal, it has been good, too. Not only will the resulting nominee be stronger, but there will be more people who will have had their hand in picking him. And that is never a bad thing.

And as tired as we are of hearing about the fight, notice, when the chips are down, an awful lot of people want to have their say in the process -- and that is a good sign, too.

So laugh to yourself as the pundits try to explain this nomination process and to put their stamp on ending it -- and remember, not everything they say is golden, or even close to right.

Published in Editorials on March 7, 2012 11:08 AM