Obama wins Missouri!

So says CNN.

"Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will emerge with plenty of delegates from Missouri," Wolf Blitzer points out, "but at the same time, Barack Obama will have bragging rights that he carried this bellweather state."

The news of his victory comes so late, though, I'm not sure how significant those "bragging rights" really are. Most viewers have already gone to bed; tomorrow's newspapers are already going to print. Aren't we officially past the point where the CW -- "Obama did well enough to stay alive, but Clinton won all the big states, so she 'won' Super Tuesday, but the delegates will be close and the race remains up in the air" -- has already become cemented into place? I'm not sure an objectively-almost-meaningless-anyway 8,000-vote victory in the Show-Me State is going to change anything.

UPDATE: After the jump, the updated prediction contest standings, with only Alaska (GOP), New Mexico (Dem), and Democrats Abroad still outstanding.

Republican prediction results
1. Andrew Bottom - 17
1. Marty West - 17
3. Joe Loy - 16
3. Brendan Loy - 16
3. Tim - 16
6. Hal Strickland - 15
6. Derek - 15
6. Ben Brown - 15
6. Kay Torg - 15
10. Ernst - 14
10. Clete Andrews - 14
10. Brian Foster - 14
10. John Norris Brown - 14
10. Jeff Morrison - 14
15. moepop - 13
15. Diane Lanning - 13
15. Sam Cialek - 13
15. Dave Roberts - 13
15. Uncle Larry - 13
15. tom - 13
15. tom - 13
22. Mike Wiser - 12
22. Paul Wyostk - 12
22. Alec - 12
22. Chris Carroll - 12
26. Mike Dagen - 11
26. Doug Mataconis - 11
26. chazunga - 11
26. Andy Shiner - 11
26. JLR - 11
26. BigSoph - 11
26. James Blunt - 11
26. thebeef - 11
34. Colin Pedicini - 10
34. Kat Palmore - 10
34. Evan Johnson - 10
34. Becky Loy - 10
34. mculator - 10
39. Greg Beard - 9
39. Jim_of_ToniAndJom - 9
39. reptile347 - 9
42. Mark Gardner - 8
42. MT Swanson - 8
42. Randy Styles - 8
45. ALex - 7
45. Sam W - 7
(20 states in: AL AZ AR CA CO CT DE GA IL MA MN MO MT NJ NY ND OK TN UT WV)

Democratic prediction results
1. Sam Cialek - 20
1. Joe Loy - 20
1. Ben Brown - 20
4. Brendan Loy - 19
5. Hal Strickland - 18
5. Alec - 18
7. Derek - 17
7. Clete Andrews - 17
7. Andrew Bottom - 17
10. Kay Torg - 16
10. Ernst - 16
10. John Norris Brown - 16
10. Chris Carroll - 16
14. reptile347 - 15
14. Colin Pedicini - 15
14. tom - 15
14. Brian Foster - 15
14. Mike Wiser - 15
19. Dave Roberts - 14
19. BigSoph - 14
19. Mark Gardner - 14
19. Jeff Morrison - 14
23. Jim_of_ToniAndJom - 13
23. Mike Dagen - 13
23. Uncle Larry - 13
23. ALex - 13
27. moepop - 12
27. thebeef - 12
29. Tim - 11
29. tom - 11
29. Kat Palmore - 11
29. James Blunt - 11
29. mculator - 11
29. Evan Johnson - 11
29. Randy Styles - 11
36. chazunga - 10
36. Marty West - 10
36. Becky Loy - 10
36. Andy Shiner - 10
36. Doug Mataconis - 10
36. Sam W - 10
42. Greg Beard - 9
42. JLR - 9
42. MT Swanson - 9
42. Paul Wyostk - 9
46. Diane Lanning - 8
(22 states in: AL AK AS AZ AR CA CO CT DE GA ID IL KS MA MN MO NJ NY ND OK TN UT)

Combined prediction results
1. Joe Loy - 36
2. Ben Brown - 35
2. Brendan Loy - 35
4. Andrew Bottom - 34
5. Hal Strickland - 33
5. Sam Cialek - 33
7. Derek - 32
8. Clete Andrews - 31
8. Kay Torg - 31
10. Alec - 30
10. Ernst - 30
10. John Norris Brown - 30
13. Brian Foster - 29
14. tom - 28
14. Jeff Morrison - 28
14. Chris Carroll - 28
17. Marty West - 27
17. Tim - 27
17. Dave Roberts - 27
17. Mike Wiser - 27
21. Uncle Larry - 26
22. moepop - 25
22. Colin Pedicini - 25
22. BigSoph - 25
25. reptile347 - 24
25. Mike Dagen - 24
25. tom - 24
28. thebeef - 23
29. Jim_of_ToniAndJom - 22
29. Mark Gardner - 22
29. James Blunt - 22
32. chazunga - 21
32. Diane Lanning - 21
32. Paul Wyostk - 21
32. Andy Shiner - 21
32. Doug Mataconis - 21
32. Kat Palmore - 21
32. Evan Johnson - 21
32. mculator - 21
40. JLR - 20
40. Becky Loy - 20
40. ALex - 20
43. Randy Styles - 19
44. Greg Beard - 18
45. MT Swanson - 17
45. Sam W - 17
(42 states in)

Comments

[Leanna Loomer]

Isn't that belweather? Or does a misspelling become common usage when CNN (or Wolf Blitzer) uses it?

[Mike]

Actually, the correct spelling is bellwether. That, incidentally, is also the title of a very funny book by Connie Willis.

(I figured I'd been picking on Brendan's typos too much lately, given that with his job and baby he has plenty of better things to do than care about typos in his recreational typing, but if his mom is already drawing attention to the word...)