Are we getting sloppy with candidate security?

A newspaper story out of Dallas, Texas, caught my eye today. (Click to enlarge.)


It reminded me of the differing levels of security here for the visits of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Granted, much of the security is beneath the surface -- unseen by the casual attendee at these rallies, and that's how it should be. Still, the discrepancy was startling to me. And from the story above, from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, I can see that I'm not alone.

At the Obama rally in Racine, security was tight. Everyone in Memorial Hall was told to leave at 2 p.m. Reporters and photographers had to leave all equipment -- cameras, laptops, what-have-you; we were told nothing else could be brought in. The Secret Service wanted to have the hall to themselves from 2 p.m. to 2:45 for a security sweep, including bomb-sniffer dogs. As we were leaving, I counted about 20 uniformed police, TSA and Secret Service agents. There probably were more. As it turned out, press was kept out until shortly after 4 p.m... and when we were permitted to return, each of us was wanded and expertly patted down.

The public had to go through metal detectors -- which malfunctioned at first and kept the crowd waiting outside in the cold for more than an hour until they were fully functional again. (And let's be clear here: it was colder in Racine than in Dallas).

Furthermore, the area where Obama spoke was roped off, and those attending the rally were tightly controlled. Individual photographers who wanted to get close while he was speaking were escorted individually into the central area. Obama was 10-20 ft. from the closest spectator. And at the end, when he "pressed the flesh," he had agents closely by his side, and again the crowd was carefully controlled and kept back. Obama dealt strictly with a rope line, walking down it but never surrounded by civilians. He did not stop to sign autographs.

At the Hillary Clinton rally in Kenosha ... well, forget all that, except for a few visible (and invisible) Secret Service agents near her, and however many local police and Sheriff's Deputies on the perimeter. There was no empty-building sweep, no checkpoint at all for press -- neither wanding, nor pat-down nor equipment inspection -- and no metal detectors for the audience to go through. While she spoke, she stood within five feet of spectators on three sides.

It was most startling as the rally concluded. Hillary was surrounded by fans on all sides, as the crowd strained to reach her for autographs, and she attempted to satisfy that desire. She signed posters, books, shirts -- whatever was handed to her. Yes, there were a couple of Secret Service agents at her side, but the crowd really surrounded her; I have one series of pictures of a man who put his arm around Mrs. Clinton's shoulder, as he posed her for a picture with him.

To someone who's lived through JFK's and Robert Kennedy's assassination, the shootings of George Wallace and Ronald Reagan, and two attempts on Gerald Ford, I was neither surprised nor offended by all the security around Obama. But I was shocked by the lack of (apparent) security around Hillary. (And, yes, I am aware that only RFK's shooting took place in what could and should have been a secured location.)

Furthermore, those were simpler times. The papers weren't full of mass murders every other week, at colleges, workplaces, schools, malls. The times definitely have changed, and not for the better. I hope we haven't forgotten history.

Today's endorsements range from ....

The Sunday before a big election is often the day newspapers choose to make their preferences known after all those Editorial Board interviews. Today, with the Wisconsin primary coming Tuesday, is no exception.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin's largest newspaper, endorsed Barack Obama in Tuesday's Democratic primary, stating, "change and experience are crucial to moving this country forward"' and he is the "best-equipped to deliver that change."

Madison's Capital Times endorsed Obama last Tuesday.

The Journal Sentinel Sunday endorsed John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination, praising "his capacity to selectively forsake crowd-pleasing ideology when his principles take him elsewhere." The Houston Chronicle, largest newspaper in Texas, also endorsed Obama and McCain today.

The Racine Journal Times today endorsed the end of the Hollywood writers' strike: "Please toast the Hollywood writers and the rest of us. We win."

(What can I say?)

Vice President Paul Ryan?

OK, I wasn't really paying attention this morning, but Meet the Press was on while I read the paper, handled emails and ate breakfast. (Hey, it's called multi-tasking, even if you do it in pj's.)

And then MTP morphed into Capital Gang, bringing back all the old panelists (minus Pat Buchanan, who quit to run for president in 1992): Mark Shields, Al Hunt, Kate O'Beirne, Margaret Carlson and everybody's favorite villain (and CIA spy snitch), Bob Novak.

A discussion about who will win the nomination turned naturally into who will John McCain choose as a running mate? What chance does Mike Huckabee have, in other words?

Novak dismissed Huckabee's chances totally, ("Absolutely not.") and rattled off a couple of people he thinks John McCain, R-AZ, the presumed Republican nominee -- he now has 903 of the necessary 1,191 delegates for the nomination -- might choose.

"They don't have any idea, but I'll make a prediction ... somebody who will really not be on the A-list," Novak said.

"One would be former Congressman, former trade representative, former budget director Rob Portman ... from Ohio."

And suddenly there it was, out of Darth Vader's mouth straight to my unprotected ears:

"Another would be a younger Congressman, ranking Republican on the budget committee and a tax cutter, Paul Ryan. Somebody like that, who would be younger than McCain, which isn't hard to find, and somebody who would be much more regular on taxes than McCain."

That's all I heard. My brain completely shut down, the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT blinked for half an hour and I missed the rest of the program.

But the video is HERE on MSNBC's website (after a 30-second Boeing commercial.)

For the record, McCain is 71; Ryan, R-WI, 1st District, is 38 -- just three years past the minimum age eligible to be elected president.

UPDATE: Newspaper way off on crowd estimate at Obama

UPDATE: Both the J-S and the JT overestimated the crowds at both events. Jim Walczak, executive director of the Racine Civic Centre, wrote to tell us 1,430 people were let into Memorial Hall for Obama's visit. An additional 60 media were let in, for a grand total well below the J-S's reported number of 3,500.

As for the Brat Stop, Pete counted about 750 people. I counted about 300 in the balcony, but couldn't see how many people were on the floor. Pete tells me there were about 150 people sitting and standing on the floor in front of and behind Hillary, and a couple hundred more packed through the place. So there's pretty much no way the crowd got up to 1,500, and even 1,000 seems like a push. Also, the Obama rally was bigger than Hillary's stop, so if there were 1,500 at Obama, I'd say 750 sounds about right for Hillary.

ORIGINAL POST: The J-S is reporting that 3,500 people were let into Obama's event in Racine last week. That's three times the number I originally reported, in part because organizers said the crowd would be limited to 1,200.

The JT estimated 1,500 people attended Hillary's stop in Kenosha, which, again, feels about right compared to Obama (about half the crowd). There's no sourcing on the estimate, and the head of the Kenosha County Democrats estimated the crowd at 1,000.

I'm not sure how much we can read into the numbers. It's probably not fair to say Obama received three times the local support as Hillary. But we can say the crowds were vastly different. Obama's was diverse; Hillary's was 99 percent white. Hillary's was middle-aged on up; Obama's was young. Both were enthusiastic, but Hillary's venue led to a more raucous feeling, while Obama's venue felt more official/presidential.

Then there was the strange lack of security at Hillary's event. Media photographers didn't even have their equipment scanned, a common practice at these types of event. In this way, Obama felt like the establishment candidate, while Hillary felt like the upstart challenger.

This is all building toward Tuesday's primary. Wisconsin is important nationally, because Obama is looking for his ninth straight win, while Hillary is looking for momentum heading into the big states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Whoever wins Wisconsin may well win the nomination.

VIDEO: Hillary at the Brat Stop

Hillary Clinton visits the Brat Stop

Hillary's visit from the cheap seats

As an independent reporter, I'm learning that it's a lot more interesting (and fun) to cover events from the crowd than press row. There's nothing wrong with dedicated media entrances, unobstructed views and access to the candidates. But you lose something by accepting access from the officials you're covering to separate from the readers you're supposedly serving. Anyway, here was the view from the cheap seats at Hillary's visit at the Brat Stop (or as she called it, the Brat Shop):

Here's the line outside of the stop 90 minutes before Hillary is scheduled to speak. Yup, there's no line. It was somewhat concerning because Obama's line in Racine wrapped around the entire block. Then again, Obama's stop featured broken metal detectors that left us standing in brutal cold for over an hour. With Hillary, we walked straight in ... no metal detectors, though, which was weird.
It got crowded fast. So fast we got stuck in the balcony of the Brat Stop even though we were among the early arrivals. Organizers and volunteers seemed lost and couldn't even tell us where Hillary was going to speak. Most people figured she'd be on the stage, but nope, she was off to the side. When we tried to get back downstairs, the campaign kept us upstairs. While we waited, an older woman collapsed. After several calls for 9-1-1, a police officer arrived. The woman was OK, and I think she stayed to watch the speech.

While we waited, a bartender used a pool cue and her shoelaces to redirect a closed circuit camera while standing on a chair stacked on a table. The MacGyver-esque move was successful ...
Here was our clearest view of Sen. Clinton (it really was clear, the photo is just blurry).

Here was our view of where Hillary was speaking.

Hillary! (We handed our camera off for some closer shots).


One more of the former First Lady ...


Cool shot through the chandelier.

People standing on pool tables to catch a glimpse of Hillary. This sums up the event well.

RacinePost's own Pete Selkowe (second photographer from the left) using a press pass at the event. Yeah, we got credentials.

The crowd packed in for autographs and handshakes after Hillary's speech. We couldn't get real close, but we know someone who jumped a railing and got her autograph on a coffee card. Nice work!

This unfocused, dark photo was taken with camera overhead and random clicks. That's Hillary in the middle.

10 Things to Know About Hillary's Visit to the Brat Stop

My wife and I headed out to see Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech at the Brat Stop in Kenosha Saturday afternoon. Here's what we saw:

1. What a terrible place for a campaign stop. No offense to the Brat Stop, but it was a lousy venue to hear a politician. '80s hair cover bands? Yes. Hillary Clinton? No. We blame the organizers. We got there 90 minutes early and were ushered to the balcony with no instructions (likely because no one knew what was going on). We made an attempt to get back down to the floor, but were blocked upstairs. The longer we waited, the clearer it became we weren't going to be able to see her - at least not an unobstructed view, anyway. We stuck it out and got to see a bartender realign a closed circuit video camera using her shoelaces and a chair stacked on top of a table. It worked, and Hillary was visible on the bar's TVs. Nice work, bartender! Not a good start, though, and perfectly representative of the planning that went into this stop.

2. All that said, Hillary charmed us. After seeing her talk, I believe her campaign's complaints about unfair negative coverage. She's intelligent, warm, highly qualified, funny (wickedly so, at times), populist and profoundly anti-Bush. In short, she's a remarkably strong candidate. If she would have run four years ago, she would have stomped John Kerry and Bush II. This time she's got a tough primary against Obama, but either candidate will attract massive support.

3. All said, Hillary's speech was stronger than Obama's in Racine this week. She talked specifics, covered a broader range of topics and made stronger points than Obama. My wife put it well: Obama is inspiring, while Hillary comes across as very, very intelligent.

4. Hillary swayed us. We both were big Obama supporters after Wednesday, but now I'm undecided and my wife is leaning toward Hillary. We'd be happy with either of them, but Hillary seems to back up her claim that she'll be ready to run the country on Day 1. I hate to say this about Obama, but really, the last thing we need is another guy in the White House everyone wants to hang out with, but can't actually do the job.

5. I loved how Hillary slammed Bush throughout her speech. For example, she vowed to appoint people to government jobs who are actually competent to do the job. The obvious example was Bush's head of FEMA who had never actually managed an emergency. She also whacked him for No Child Left Behind, saying: "We shouldn't view our children as little test-takers."

6. She was creative. One example she gave was encouraging the development of solar power in the U.S. Germany took a similar approach and created thousands of jobs while cutting the country's dependence on foreign oil. Hillary said she'd like to start a similar program. She also touted tax credits for college tuition (like Obama), but added that she wanted grandparents to pass along college tax credits to their grandchildren.

7. Like Obama, she touted the middle class and vowed to tax the wealthiest 1 percent of the country. "We've had a president for the wealthy, I think it's time to have a president for everyone else." Obama offered a similar line, and both got big cheers from the crowd. The Bush tax cuts went too far, and both Democrats vowed to bring them back into line. "We're going to rebuild a strong and prosperous middle class," she said.

8. The national trends seem correct. While Obama drew a younger, more diverse crowd, Hillary drew an older, whiter crowd dominated by women. The question for Tuesday's primary will be whether Obama can turn out the youth and minority vote to overcome Hillary's obvious edge among women voters.

9. Hillary's voice was hoarse, but she rallied the crowd. She was sharper than Obama, making jokes about Dick Cheney shooting his hunting partner and talking about Bush running "scams" on the American people. "You've got to laugh to keep from crying," she said. She also had better swag for the crowd. Everyone got stickers, plus they were handing out bumper stickers and Hillary stuck around to sign autographs and shake hands with dozens of people.

10. Hillary handled the questions from the audience better than Obama. Not only did her answers come naturally, they were heart-felt. When a mother and her daughter explained how they were losing their home, Hillary comforted them and was ready with an answer: She proposed a moratorium on housing foreclosures in response to housing woes across the country. One news source is reporting that Hillary cried at the question. It was definitely an emotional moment. If she shed a tear, she wasn't alone and she came back with a strong answer.

A few more comments:

* The JT is estimating the crowd at 1,400 to 1,500 people. I'm not sure where they pulled that number from (it's unsourced), but I'd put the crowd more in the 1,000 range. It was comparable to Obama's crowd in Racine, without the lines. For Obama, we waited outside for 90 minutes. For Hillary's speech, we waited inside for 90 minutes (after walking right in the door).

* There were no metal detectors at Hillary's visit. Obama made everyone wait outside an extra hour because the Secret Service's detectors broke down. Aside from a few cops walking around, it felt like Hillary had no crowd security. There were definitely Secret Service agents there, but no one checked our coats or bags.

* Aside from the smoke, blocked views and general confusion, the one nice thing about the Brat Stop was having a bar and food available. We ate lunch while we waited and a bunch of people were drinking while waiting for Hillary to show up. That didn't hurt the crowd's spirts.

Racine's primary ballot a trip down memory lane

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

How quickly we forget. Racine's Primary Election Ballot -- the whole thing is available online HERE -- is a trip down memory lane.

I mean: Eight Republican candidates, and eight Democratic candidates? How lucky are we, that all those early-decision states with primaries, caucuses and smoke-filled back rooms have narrowed the list for us. Duncan Hunter? I vaguely remember the name, a Congressman from somewhere, but that's about it... Tom Tancredo? Can't place the face. Was he for or against evolution?

Still, if they're on our ballot, I guess we can still pull the lever (metaphorically speaking) as a protest at the very least, for any one of the 16.

We don't have to accept the conventional wisdom that it's all over except for coronation at the party conventions. Mitt Romney threw his delegates to John McCain? That must've been hard (for both of them, if you saw the body language evident in yesterday's Boston press conference.) Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee is off giving a paid speech. I don't begrudge him the money; his point about being unemployed while all his opponents are still on the public payroll -- our tax dollars at work? -- is a good one. But while Southeast Wisconsin is dealing with snow and potential 20-below temperatures he'll be on Grand Cayman Island. The temperature there -- you could look it up; I just did -- is 79 degrees as I write this. That goes down hard! I wonder if he'll wear Bermuda shorts? Bicycle around the island in sandals?

And on the Democratic side: So what if Hillary Clinton just "reorganized" her campaign staff, and Barack Obama won't debate; we've got six other choices on that side of the ballot, too.

Am I really the only voter wishing for more? Too late! It is what it is. But look on the bright side: In three days -- for us, anyway -- it'll all be over. Try to endure; soon they'll all go home.

WEEKEND ELECTIONS? Kohl proposes voting reform

As the 2008 national elections approach, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-WI, unveiled legislation to encourage greater participation in Presidential and Congressional elections by moving the polling date to the first weekend of November, instead of the first Tuesday of that month.

"The serious business of our democracy relies on the participation not of the few, but of the many eligible voters," Kohl said. "Holding elections on the first Tuesday of November makes it difficult, even impossible, for many Americans with jobs and family to exercise their fundamental right to vote. We should do what is in our power to make this process easier, to encourage more people to make their voice heard in Washington. Holding elections over the weekend rather than a work day will make it significantly easier for millions of Americans to vote.

"By enacting my legislation, we ensure fairer, more open and more credible elections that allow more Americans to participate in their inherent right to choose their representatives and leaders."

Sen. Kohl’s legislation, The Weekend Voting Act, if enacted into law, would mandate national polls to be open from 10 a.m. (Eastern Time) Saturday to 6 p.m. (ET) Sunday in the 48 contiguous states. Election officials would be permitted to close polls during the overnight hours if they determine it would be inefficient to keep them open.

By providing registered voters with an alternative to casting their ballots in just one day, The Weekend Voting Act expands on election reforms enacted in 2002 with the passage of The Help America Vote Act, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Kohl. The Help America Vote Act established minimum standards for states in the administration of federal elections and in providing funds to replace outdated voting systems and improve election administration.

The Weekend Vote Act would also build on efforts to increase voter participation by providing absentee ballots and early voting. As it stands now, 28 states, including Wisconsin, now permit registered voters to vote by absentee ballot. Thirty-one states permit in-person early voting at election offices or at other approved locations. Sen. Kohl first introduced this legislation in 1997. In 2001, the National Commission on Federal Election Reform recommended that the date of federal elections be moved to a non-working national holiday.

The tradition of holding federal elections on the first Tuesday of November began in the mid-19th century. Tuesday was selected because of its comparative convenience because it was a designated "court day" and the day in which landowners would typically be in town to conduct business. In today’s America, 60 percent of all households have two working adults. Since most polls are open only 12 hours (from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) voters only have one or two hours to vote. As seen in the 2004 election and in recent primaries, long lines in many polling places kept voters waiting longer than one or two hours.

Sen. Kohl added, "If we are to grant all Americans an equal opportunity to participate in the electoral process, and to elect our representatives in the great democracy, then we must be willing to reexamine all aspects of voting in America. Given the stakes – the integrity of future elections and full participation of as many Americans as possible – I hope my colleagues in Congress recognize this legislation to hold elections on the weekend rather than a work day as a common sense proposal whose time has come."

Dear candidate, please stop in when you're in Racine...

Cindy Gross surrounded by political placards

Political placards representing a host of competing presidential candidates are up all over the walls of The Grounds Keeper coffee shop at 327 Main Street, and owner Cindy Gross has high hopes one or more of the candidates themselves will visit.

An Iowa native with deep and personal familial roots in politics, Gross bought the Grounds Keeper two and one-half years ago. This is the first year she's missed participating in the Iowa caucuses, but she's brought a little of that political excitement here.

And, hopefully, a candidate or two will follow.

Gross wrote all the presidential candidates a few months ago, inviting them to stop in at the shop when / if they campaign in Racine. There were 18 at the time she wrote; when we spoke this morning only five were left: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.

"I've heard from three of the five top candidates," she told me -- not wishing to disclose whose campaign staff had indicated a willingness to stop in. But she did reveal that the two who had not responded were Huckabee and Romney. (And, as we both learned later in the morning, Romney dropped out of the race today ... so he definitely won't be coming.)

Gross expects to hear ahead of time before any candidate shows up; certainly, the Secret Service will pay a visit first. "Unlike in Iowa, where the candidates just walk in," she said.

I wondered what she wrote to the candidates, to entice them to visit. Turns out, Cindy Gross comes from a family with interesting political connections, that she told the candidates about: An aunt dated Ronald Reagan when he was a radio announcer in Des Moines. Her grandmother made a home-cooked meal for John F. Kennedy. And her step-uncle is Carl Pohlad, owner of the Minnesota Twins and a big Democratic contributor.

While she waits for candidates to call -- and campaign visits to the state from all remain a strong possibility now that Wisconsin's Feb. 19 primary and our 92 delegates have gained in importance -- Gross continues to conduct a coffee bean caucus, an idea she's borrowed from Iowa City's Hamburg Inn #2. Each customer is allowed to put a single coffee bean in the jar of his or her favored candidate ... results to be counted right before the state votes in earnest. (If you want to know now, that's Obama's jar on the left, Hillary's on the right. Enlarge the picture and count away.)

Gross, diplomatically, refused to state which candidate, or even which political party, she prefers, although she concedes, "both of my grandmothers were straight Democratic; that's how they were brought up." She's participated in both party's caucuses at one time or another in Iowa, and says, "I look at who has the best values; who has the best morals."

Candidates raise enormous sums -- but little from here (yet)

Wisconsin has kept its pursestrings tightly closed so far, as the presidential campaign has waged across the rest of the country.

All that, presumably, is about to change. The state's Feb. 19 primary is less than three weeks away; perhaps the financial floodgates will open then, as both parties have reduced their fields of candidates to manageable (although less-than-inspiring) levels.

So far, according to Federal campaign reports on the 2008 election cycle, Wisconsin has contributed just $4,648,288 to all campaigns and PACs, with $1,578,449 (34%) going to Democratic candidates and $1,963,019 (42%) going to Republicans.

That's a pittance compared to what the state contributed during the two most recent presidential election cycles: In 2000, state residents donated $11,046,959 to the election. In 2004, the amount more than doubled, with Wisconsinites ponying up $23,465,549. But it's early yet.

The good news is that with the race being waged elsewhere, few Wisconsin residents wasted much money on some of the campaigns that went nowhere ... the roster of barely-remembered debate participants known chiefly for their whining about being ignored at the far end of a string of podiums, candidates most notable for their interesting wives. (Yes, I mean you, Fred Thompson.) In all, there were 18 presidential candidates; nine have dropped out.

According to the New York Times this week, the top six candidates raised more than $400 million dollars -- and already have spent more than 80 per cent of it.

But here in Racine -- again, probably due to our disinterest in those early primaries -- not much money was raised, and very little went to Biden, Brownback, Dodd, Gravel, Hunter, Kucinich, Richardson, Tancredo or Thompson -- who, between them, raised more than $66 million on their Quixote-like ego-fueled quests.

That's peanuts compared to the candidates still in the race, of course. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has raised $91 million; Barack Obama, $80 million; and John Edwards, $30 million.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney has raised $63 million; Rudy Giuliani, $47 million; John McCain, $32 million; Ron Paul, $8 million; Mike Huckabee, $2 million; and Alan Keyes found $22,768 behind a sofa cushion. Details of who has what left can be found HERE.

But back to Wisconsin donors: Just how much, and to whom, has Racine's money gone to? Glad you asked.

So far, in the 2008 election cycle (which includes all of 2007; reports were due to be filed by Jan. 15 but some of the latest figures we could find appear unchanged from the report we wrote in October), Racinians have contributed just $117,776, with $14,750 going to Democrats, $60,835 to Republicans and the rest to Political Action Committees.

The largest single recipient was the SC Johnson PAC, which received $26,275 from 16 donors (mostly employees), including $15,000 from Sam's widow, Gene, and their son, Curtis.

The next largest chunk of money, $25,514, went to U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, who may need it (wink, wink) as at least two Democratic women are seeking the nomination to oppose him this fall. As of Sept. 30, Ryan had $1,560,998 in his campaign chest. His opponent in 2006, Dr. Jeffrey Thomas, raised $0, determined not to be beholden to anyone; Thomas' latest filing online shows debts of $363,968.

Sen. Russ Feingold collected $3,500, with $2,500 coming from Karen Johnson Boyd and her husband, Bill, former director of the Johnson Foundation.

Racinians sent a lot of money to Republican national and state campaign committees: $4,650 and $3,400 respectively.

Presidential candidates haven't gotten into Racine wallets to any great degree.

Obama is in the lead, having reported receiving $7,500 from here so far (with the lion's share -- $3,800 -- coming from Jeff Neubauer, former state rep. and party chairman, and his wife, Lisa, a newly appointed appeals court judge).

Hillary received a total of $1,250.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney received $6,100 from Racine, with $4,200 of that coming from Helen Johnson Leipold and her hockey-team selling-and-buying husband Craig.

Ron Paul netted $4,600, from Fred and Sandra Young.

Realisitically, the primary season may all be over before Wisconsin's 40 convention delegates are chosen on Feb. 19. Between now and then, the following states will hold primaries or caucuses: South Carolina today, with 24 delegates; Florida on Tuesday, with 57; Maine's caucuses are Feb. 1, with 21 delegates at stake.

Then comes Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, with the following 20 states allocating 1,081 convention votes: Alabama, 48; Alaska, 29; Arizona, 53; Arkansas, 34; California, 173; Colorado; 46; Connecticut; 30; Delaware, 18; Georgia, 72; Illinois, 70; Massachusetts, 43; Minnesota, 41; Missouri, 58; Montana, 25; New Jersey, 52; New York, 101; North Dakota, 26; Oklahoma, 41; Tennessee, 55; Utah, 36; West Virginia, 30.

And still, it's not our turn!

Wisconsin voters must wait for Kansas, 39; Louisiana, 47; Washington, 40; District of Columbia, 19; Maryland, 37; Virginia, 33; and Guam, 9 before we get our share of automated phone calls and a say as to the major parties' nominees.

It could be worse: South Dakota voters don't weigh in until June 3.

The best candidates (our) money can buy?

The Real Debate Wisconsin blog pointed out this weekend that Republican presidential candidates raised $95,000 more from the Badger State than Democratic presidential candidates.

But what about here in Racine? When we vote with our wallets, what's the outcome?

So far in 2007, there's no contest. Checking the Federal Election Commission donation reports reveals two frontrunners, one in each party.

Among Democratic presidential hopefuls, Barack Obama received $7,500, with $3,800 coming from Jeff and Lisa Neubauer. Neubauer, former state party chairman, organized fund-raisers for Obama in the spring that netted $250,000. Far behind: Hillary Clinton and John Edwards each received $1,000. Everybody else on that crowded debate stage got zip.

Among Republicans, put your hands together for Mitt Romney, who received $6,100. Two-thirds of that came from Helen Johnson Leipold and her husband Craig (spending his Predators' windfall early?) Romney's closest competitor in the county is -- drumroll, please! -- a tie: Ron Paul received $4,600 from Sandra and Fred Young Jr. and Tommy Thompson got the same from Loraine and Charles Vignieri. Sam Brownback got $2,300 and John McCain $1,700. Alan Keyes (!) received $201.

Putting all that fund-raising to shame, however, was the S. C. Johnson & Son Inc. Political Action Committee, which received $43,275 in donations. There were six $5,000 checks from family and board members, and the rest from board, directors and employees in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $250.

And where is the SCJ PAC spending its money? So far this year, it has made 13 donations of $1,000 or $2,000 to House and Senate candidates around the U.S., in an eclectic variety of states like California, New Hampshire, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa and Maryland. The money was split equally between the two parties, although seven Republicans received donations vs. six Democrats. Only one Wisconsin pol has benefitted: U.S. Rep. Tom Petri, R-6th District (Oshkosh and Sheboygan), received $1,000.

Want to do your own search, find out who your neighbors are supporting? Start HERE and HERE.