Silly Thinking

STShowcase with your host: Hal Holbrook.



HH: Hello. This is “STShowcase”. I’m your host Hal Holbrook.
Today we are going to whisk you back to February, 2004 for our first report on the primaries with Connie Chung. In this preview of Silly Thinking’s coverage, Connie reviews how delegates are chosen from each state and who populates the conventions. The Democratic convention is now upon us, starting tomorrow with the entire ST news team, and we thought this incisive civics lesson would serve as a valuable preview of the American “Big Show”” The political conventions.
So, Moms and Dads, gather your children around your magic time machine as we board our magic carpet for a ride into the past to see just exactly how our democracy works, here on STShowcase!



This is a Silly Thinking election special.

A Big Day For The Democrats

From our New York Silly Thinking News- Election Headquarters here is Connie Chung.


CC: Good afternoon and welcome to our preview of A Big Day For The Democrats. Tonight 269 delegates in 7 states are at stake in a big day for the democrats. At stake are 269 delegates in 7 states.
Who will win and who will loose in today's big contest?


If John Kerry sweeps all 7 states he would get a huge lead with 269 delegates. If the other candidates in the field split the delegates Kerry would recieve a part of that 269 delegate number in a big day for democrats.
If John Edwards carries his home state of South Carolina Edwards would get 55 delegates. If Kerry won the rest he would recieve... uhhh... let me see 209... no...he would recieve 214 delegates in this big day for the democrats.
Now if Edwards wins South Carolina and unimportant Joe Lieberman captures Delaware... Lieberman would recieve 23 delegates, Edwards 55 delegates, and if Kerry carried North Dakota, Missouri, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma he would get, uhh, umm, carry the six, he would get 187. No. Let me start over. Lieberman would get 23, Edwards would get 55, and Kerry would get 191! Yes 191 delegates in this big day for the democrats.


Today in just a few hours the voting and pledging and caucusing will end and the numbers will be counted, or the votes will be counted and the numbers will go to those candidates that will win the highest number of votes. I mean the delegates that will represent those numbers or rather the people, yes the people, that will be elected by the result's of those numbers.
Or rather the results of the voters that voted for those numbers to represent those delegates at the convention, the democratic convention, where the delegates meet... this summer. In the election.

Now today is the first, well actually the third, big day for the democrats. I mean we had the Iowa Caucuses which is nonbinding, which means the delegates don't have to be bound by the candidates that the people voted for, well tecnically they didn't vote, they caucussed, and those numbers which are counted... absolutely they were counted... are pledged to the candidates that won the number of votes, or voters that were counted but it was nonbinding. So those delegates can vote for other people at the convention this summer. The Democratic Convention.



Then, last week, we had New Delhi I mean New England, err humm, New Hampshire. Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen, New Hampshire where John Kerry won. The delegates from New Hampshire, the people voted in the primary, well democrats voted and those delegates went to Kerry who now has 115 delegates.
Doctor Morton Dean has 114 delegates even though he never wins and Don Edwards has 41 delegates and so on and so forth down to little Tiny Dennis who has 2 delegates.


CC:Now we will be back when the primaries are over and the voting counting begins as well as when the caucussing is stopped or ended and those people are counted and the numbers begin to fall down, or rather pour in. Yeah the numbers will pour in and we will report the results of those numbers and votings and caucussing from these seven states where 269 delegates are at state in... I mean stake... where 269 delegates are at stake in a big day for the democrats.


Also big days for the democrats includes Saturday February 7th when Washington state and Michigan will vote and count, Sunday February 8th with the Maine Primary, on Sunday, isn't that odd? And February 10th, next Tuesday, with Tennessee and Virginia counting and voting, and also Valentine's day February 14th, a Saturday again, weird, when Washington D.C., which is not a state but something else, and Nevada will cast their delegates and count them all leading up to Super Bowl in March. We will be here with Special Reports on all of those days:
Sunday February 8th, Saturday, February 7th, Valentine's Day March 14th, Next Tuesday, February 3rd so stay with us for those big days for the Republicans.


CC: I'm Connie Chung. Stay with CBS... no.
NBC News....Oh God I'm sorry.
Stay with ABC News for the latest... what's wrong with me today?
Stay with CNN for the latest reports... what?
Bill Pullman will join me here at Channel 2 for all the latest.
See you later.

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