2008 Woodie Awards
What's so super about super duper Tuesday?
Kim O'Brien
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Op/Ed
What's all the buzz about February 5 - referred to, this year, as "Super Tuesday?" It has nothing to do with Mardi gras (which happens to fall on the same date). And no, it's not related to this Sunday's Super Bowl XLII game… for the most part.
"Super Tuesday," when you're talking politics, refers to the Tuesday in early February or March of an election year featuring the greatest number of states holding primary elections. (A primary is a preliminary election conducted within a party to select its candidates.) This year, twenty four states will be participating - including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, home states to over sixty percent of Muhlenberg students.
This year's record number of participating states makes February 5 the largest "Super Tuesday" event to date - and earns it the new media title of Super Duper Tuesday. It is an essential day for any candidate seeking the presidency, as they must do well to earn their party's nomination. Overall, the Democratic nominee needs 2,025 delegate votes, and the Republican needs 1,191. Candidates this month have turned their campaigning focus to the mass media, utilizing TV advertising to reach out to voters before Super Tuesday's critical primaries.
The New York Times estimates that the campaigns of Democratic hopefuls Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama are each churning out $2 million on TV ads. And what better time to advertise than on Super Bowl Sunday, just two days before Super Tuesday? It was questioned if candidates would pay the near $3 million fee for a Bowl commercial spot, and rightly so: four Super Tuesday states (NY, NJ, CT, and MA) are home to a large fan-base of this year's football contenders, the New York Giants and New England Patriots. As of last week, FOX had just one thirty-second slot left for the coveted night of commercials.
Will Super Bowl viewers see political candidates in the usual line-up of Budweiser, Pepsi, and Fed-Ex "So easy, a caveman can do it!" commercials? It's doubtful - FOX nixed the idea this week, declaring that it would not sell spots to any of the candidates.
So as you're winding down from this weekend's big game, keep an eye on the news on February 5. Many candidates claim roots to the surplus of Super Tuesday states. Mitt Romney (R) is the former governor of MA Former First Lady Clinton is a NY senator, and Giuliani (R) will be campaigning in the city where he was mayor during the traumatic events of September 11. Will Republicans in Arkansas heart Huckabee, their former governor? Will Chicago-based senator Obama fair well with Democrats in Illinois? It may not be as exciting as Super Bowl Sunday - but Super Tuesday is definitely an event worth following.
"Super Tuesday," when you're talking politics, refers to the Tuesday in early February or March of an election year featuring the greatest number of states holding primary elections. (A primary is a preliminary election conducted within a party to select its candidates.) This year, twenty four states will be participating - including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, home states to over sixty percent of Muhlenberg students.
This year's record number of participating states makes February 5 the largest "Super Tuesday" event to date - and earns it the new media title of Super Duper Tuesday. It is an essential day for any candidate seeking the presidency, as they must do well to earn their party's nomination. Overall, the Democratic nominee needs 2,025 delegate votes, and the Republican needs 1,191. Candidates this month have turned their campaigning focus to the mass media, utilizing TV advertising to reach out to voters before Super Tuesday's critical primaries.
The New York Times estimates that the campaigns of Democratic hopefuls Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama are each churning out $2 million on TV ads. And what better time to advertise than on Super Bowl Sunday, just two days before Super Tuesday? It was questioned if candidates would pay the near $3 million fee for a Bowl commercial spot, and rightly so: four Super Tuesday states (NY, NJ, CT, and MA) are home to a large fan-base of this year's football contenders, the New York Giants and New England Patriots. As of last week, FOX had just one thirty-second slot left for the coveted night of commercials.
Will Super Bowl viewers see political candidates in the usual line-up of Budweiser, Pepsi, and Fed-Ex "So easy, a caveman can do it!" commercials? It's doubtful - FOX nixed the idea this week, declaring that it would not sell spots to any of the candidates.
So as you're winding down from this weekend's big game, keep an eye on the news on February 5. Many candidates claim roots to the surplus of Super Tuesday states. Mitt Romney (R) is the former governor of MA Former First Lady Clinton is a NY senator, and Giuliani (R) will be campaigning in the city where he was mayor during the traumatic events of September 11. Will Republicans in Arkansas heart Huckabee, their former governor? Will Chicago-based senator Obama fair well with Democrats in Illinois? It may not be as exciting as Super Bowl Sunday - but Super Tuesday is definitely an event worth following.