To Reiterate From Last Week

Last Thursday, I said this about Dean:

… Dean’s likely to finish third next Tuesday in most of the states, and fourth in some of the more populous ones (SC, OK, MO, AZ). After such a disastrous result, the financial spigots shut completely and it’s over.

Dean took 3rd in AZ, MO, NM, and ND; 4th in DE; and 5th in OK and SC. So I was right that he wouldn’t do better than 3rd in any state, but wrong about which states he’d get 4th in. Still, I think it will be extremely difficult for Dean to raise money at this point, and his concession is visible in the distance — though surely not before Michigan votes on the 7th. After that, Virginia and Tenessee vote on the 10th, which could give a big boost to Edwards and/or Clark, but won’t help Dean by any stretch.

Still, anyone who can make it to March 2nd has a shot — as Digby sarcastically reminds us, “Bigtime Loser Clinton won just 3 of his first 14 contests.”

AB

UPDATE: Jon Stewart sums it up better than I do. First he explained that the show is taped, so the primary results he just gave had a margin of error of “total”. Then, the summary:

But I really can confidently predict the following. Today, voters in seven states from North Dakota to New Mexico humored Joe Lieberman, ignored Dennis Kucinic, reminisced about Dean, and admired Clark’s hustle but still found him too creepy.