Healy and Zeleny's "reporting" in
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/us/politics/13dems.html?hp

does not even mention that 25% of Hillary's vote was from Republicans.

Using several pretty safe assumptions we can reach several conclusions that are relevant.

Assumption 1: Virtually all of the 25% were white inasmuch as there is a decided paucity of black Republicans in Mississippi.

Assumption 2: Virtually all of the 25% were members of "Limbaugh's Legion" sent to help nominate the Republicans
favorite Democratic candidate, HRC.

Reported exit poll fact: Obama captured 26-27% of the whites voting in the primary. This number has been commented on as "of concern" by several TV pundits. This "concern" is, I believe, overstated. Moreover when you subtract the 38,922 "white" votes (the bogus Repub votes) from the total number of white voters it will increase Obama's per centage share of the white vote in Mississippi significantly. Unfortunately without the hard number breakout of black and white voters, I cannot calculate the actual per centage.

Disallowing the Repub HRC voters increases Obama's popular vote margin in Mississippi to 139,045 from 100,123.

Similar chicanery occurred in Texas and Ohio and has gotten next to no definitive coverage in the MSM.

Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is another open primary state.

    Merriam-Webster Online dictionary:

"ref-er-ee:
"fucntion: noun"

    "2. A sports official usually having final authority in administering a game."


On "Meet the Press" Sunday after listening to commentary by his panel (Brownstein, Harwood, Ifill, Balz) concerning tactics and strategies of the Clinton and Obama campaigns, Russert stated : "Both camps are very open about working the referees...we being the referees....trying to get the advantage."

Am I being excessively nitpicking to note that Russert's assuming for the media the role of referee is at the same time very revealing and quite disturbing?

Is it just too naive to picture the people of this country, the voters, as the proper referees and the media as the observers, the gatherers of facts, the offerors of opinion (specifically identified as same)?

I do not believe that Russert's use of the "R" word was accidental or inadvertent. He, and the majority of MSM talking heads believe what he said. Sadly, they may, at the moment, be correct in that they ARE the de facto referees....spin being their whistles and yellow flags.

 The Clinton camp is quite happy with this arrangement as they see their need to sell the sizzle to the Super Delegates.

Obama shares, I believe, my view as to who should be the "referee". I hope we are not both too naive.