It's all in the timing with two strong candidates -- Snapshots of a churning situation

[Armstead]

This is an objective observation, apart from my own preferences.

One thing that is strange about these primaries is how each of them captures a moment in time, but also shapes the overall narrative.

In Iowa, Obama fever was starting to surge and he made a slam dunk. Then -- not surprisingly -- Hillary rallied in New Hampshire. In some respects, in retrospect that was not surprising. The race was balancing itself out after the exagerated expectations of Iowa.

Hillary then had a slump, and got skunked in South Carolina. This reinforced Obam's momentum, which led to a string of victories as his campaign benefitted from a wave of positive energy.

Now it looks like Hillary is benefitting from some momentum, and Obama is in a small slump. So tonight could be a win for Hillary. Perhaps if the votes were held last week, Obama might have rolled past her. Perhaps next week momentum will be on his side again....or maybe not. Maybe his slump will be deeper.

Or, Obama could have another surge today and win over Hillary. Might have been a different result later in the week. Who knows? But it is all arbitrary.

Meanwhile, the states that already took their snapshots are etched in stone.Perhaps if Wisconson were today, that might turn out differently.

Then there's Pennsylvania. If this thing continues, it will likely continue to be nip and tuck, with Obama and Hillary both experiencing ups and downs. So the results in Pennsylvania will likely depend on where each candidate happens to be in that up-and-down cycle when that vote is held.

The same applies to the otehr states. It will all depend on the specific point of the shifting narrative when those states cast their votes.

It's all kinda weird when you think about it.

[Armstead]

1. Kick -- Just some metaphysical speculation as a break from

Just some metaphysical speculation as a break from all the candidate smashing going on around here.