Seattle is the new Minneapolis

The Obamanom touched down in Seattle on Friday, the eve of Washington State's Democratic Caucuses. After touring an environmentally-friendly manufacturing plant with Mayor Greg Nickels and picking up the endorsement of Governor Christine Gregoire, the Illinois Senator spoke to a packed house at Key Arena, home of the NBA's Seattle Supersonics. Thousands had to be turned away by Seattle Police, which begs the question for this page as to why Obama's local organizers hadn't thought of booking Safeco Field: with the momentum he's carrying he could have filled all 47,000 seats, and they could have put up the retractable roof if it did rain.

Of all the states in the Union, there are two that this page feels I can 'get' because of either knowing enough people living there or spending enough time there: Minnesota and Washington. On Super Tuesday, Obama easily took Minnesota, and there's no reason why he won't take Washington this weekend. Like Washington, Minnesota has one predominant urban area (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle) that overshadows smaller, rural areas (Duluth, Spokane). Like Washington, Minnesota's economy is anchored on a handful of large corporations. Minnesota has 3M and General Mills, Seattle has Boeing and Microsoft. Both are surprisingly culturally diverse for being historically agrarian: Minnesota gave us both Garrison Keillor and Prince, Washington claims Bing Crosby and Kurt Cobain. Both States' Democratic Parties choose delegates by caucuses rather than a primary, a system which plays into Obama's charisma and oratorical charm.

One more thing: In both Minnesota and Washington, there is no sizeable African-American population. So, contrary to the racial profil...er....conventional wisdom which has been floated throughout the campaign, Minnesota proved that Obama doesn't need to exploit a sizeable African-American demographic (or any other demographic) to beat Hilary Clinton, he just needs to find more new voters than she does. Even though Washington was the first state to elect women to the Governor's office and both Senate seats, Hilary Clinton won't be hitting for the cycle in Washington. Look for the next big prize from the Democrats' electoral Cracker Jack box to fall into the hands of the Evergreen State's Obamaniacs.