Just when I thought the 2008 RNC was the worst-run political organization in America, the DNC decided to have a meeting of the Rules Committee and determined not to be outdone. The DNC has proven itself, yet again, to be one horribly managed and bloated example of Democratic irresponsibility, stupidity, arrogance, and ultimately failure.

Let's take a moment to look at the current political landscape of the presidential election. The current president is a Republican, a very conservative one at that. Our economy is in a "recession," at least according to MSNBC. Inflation is increasing. Gas prices are obscenely high. An unpopular war drags on. Never in a situation like this does the incumbent party even have a chance for another term. But McCain is polling extremely well. He is neck-and-neck with both Obama and Clinton, several polls pegging him in the lead. Rasmussen Reports has him with 10 more electoral votes than John McCain, with a hundred electoral votes too close to call.

How can this be? How is it that, as Paul Krugman said, (I love this quote) the Democrats are going to "snatch defeat from the claws of victory"? It is due to 2 things: bad candidates and bad party organization.

Today, the DNC Rules Committee met to discuss the seating of the delegates from Michigan and Florida. Because the primary season moved up this year, these two states decided to follow New Hampshire and Iowa (which are exempt from party punishments from either side...I don't understand it, don't ask me). To punish them for breaking the rules, the DNC stripped them of all of their delegates. Zero. None. Two extremely important general election swing states completely alienated from the party's nomination process. For comparison, the GOP faced the same problem. Several states moved forward as well. But the RNC voted to strip half of each state's delegates. This way, they were punished for breaking the rules, but the voters still had a voice in the nomination. Problem solved.

The DNC's meeting today decided to allot the delegates between the two in the following manner: 87 to Clinton, 64 to Obama. I will not go into the math or process; read about it here. But in short, this is an absolute outrage. If I were a Clinton supporter in Michigan or Florida, of which there are many, I would be furious with my party. This was not a "compromise," an agreement designed to mollify both sides. The pure and simple motivation behind this decision was to squeeze as many delegates as possible out of the contests for Barack Obama. An unelected group of 27 party leaders heard arguments, then, behind closed doors, decided on how to best count the votes from the two states. Casting math aside, a conviluted mathematical formula was developed to give Obama a delegate victory.

Fallout? Hardly a rally behind Obama's cause. According to the above-linked article, angry supporters had this exchange:
Obama supporter: See you in Denver!
Clinton supporter: See John McCain in November!
Clinton supporters are furious over the way the party and the media is absolutely screwing their candidate. Whether this is true or not, feel free to argue, but in their minds it most definitely is. Votes are not being counted for the sake of a quick Obama victory! And now, Clinton has the ammunition to take the case all the way to Denver, even if Obama accumulates the majority. She can contest that these 64 delegates were unfairly assigned.

This is an absolute mess. Democrats can tell themselves that it is good for their party: record registrations, more excitement for the party; but deep down, the smart ones know that this is bad. A weak McCain campaign is being completely ignored due to crap like this, and it will continue to be until August. It will be a bitter fight to the death, and John McCain will triumph (unless Clinton manages to steal the nomination, which I see about a 10% chance of happening).

This isn't a presidential campaign. This is a chaotic scramble to the finish line. And a man not even in the race is going to benefit the most.