The media has one overriding job this campaign season -- to whittle the field. For several decades now, the mass media has had the power to drive candidates out of the race by simply ignoring them, by pulling coverage and by showering attention on the perceived front-runners.
After Iowa, with Gephardt out, everything was going according to plan. But NH proved different. A shocked media couldn't believe Lieberman was sticking around. And what about Clark? Shouldn't he be dropping out as well? And let's not get started with Dean! He screamed! And didn't you hear the rumors that he was broke? (Reality -- he has $5 million in the bank.)
Didn't these candidates realize how expensive it was to cover their campaigns? Why where they being so difficult?
The media is clearly ignoring Clark, yet he is still raising money, still campaigning hard, and still generating decent poll numbers. Dean is raising more money than ever before (as hard as it may be to believe). Edwards is still showing good numbers despite his NH falter.
None of these guys are going anywhere, any time soon. Even Lieberman has no incentive to bow out, with all that Joementum and all.
So where do we stand? Kerry is running ads in all the Feb 3 states. He's trying to do what Dean did in Iowa -- empty the bank to deliver the knockout blow. Kerry seems to be making the same gamble, that he can end everything next week. But all Edwards needs to stay in it is a SC victory, and he seems sure to grab it. Clark needs that Oklahoma victory, which he'll get. So he won't go anywhere.
And Dean is marshalling his resources for the Feb 7 and 8 caucuses. And given the Feb 3 spending of the other guys, Dean may very well have the upper hand in those contests. Victories here and there the rest of the month could keep each of the candidates well in the running, with no one near the necessary delegates for victory.
So we may actually get to March 2 and still have Clark, Dean, Edwards and Kerry in the race. And given the southern states at stake March 9, we may still have all the candidates by that date. (Not to mention this would take us perilously close to that brokered convention scenario.)
So what happened? The condensed primary schedule, designed to give us a nominee as early as possible, may actually provide the opposite. So that's a big issue. But equally big, if not bigger, is the role of the Internet. All the campaigns have figured, to some extent, how to squeeze money from their online supporters.
So even as the mass media attempts to destroy candidates by abandoning coverage, these candidates continue to rally support and raise money online. And as long as they have money, they're not going anywhere.
Ultimately, anything that takes power away from the mass media and its shameful coverage of the race (e.g. Dean's scream, Kerry's botox, etc) is a powerful victory for democracy.