And still he lost.  

I think if their internal numbers were going their way, they might not be saturating the market - but I guess we will know for sure on Tuesday which candidate got more bang for the buck.

But all four candidates  were disqualified via protests.  Only one of those 4 people was the incumbent and thus may have had the resource$ to defend some of those challenges.  But 500 each? Depends on if he disqualified entire sheets, if you had to defend by finding the voter, or if there was a gotcha with an intradistrict move being disqualified--he might have even disqualified folks for moving to a different polling place in the same district (if someone didn't pay to defend and verify every signature).

As to formatting issues, there are strict requirements in CA at least about formatting and disclosure on ballot initiative/amendment petitions.  I suspect there are strict ones for primary qualifications as well.  Maybe he got people on that.  Disqualify the whole sheet because the gatherer forgot to sign it.

He challenged for people for what, an average of ~500 votes each.  I asked about this process because there are lots of nasty things you could theoretically do based on my knowledge of CA initiatives.  I mean he could challenge on the signature match of anyone questionable (mine is chicken scratch) and that would have to be defended or verified.

All of these issues require money and time to defend and reverse, they could require a lawyer and possibly tracking down the signer or checking sheets from multiple polling places.  That's why I posted the question and why I consider it highly disturbing.

She gets slammed for:
-her hair
-her voice
-her ankles
-being too cold
-manufacturing emotion
-what she wears
-for not leaving Bill
-for what Bill does & says
-for having Chelsea campaign for her (good lord, seriously?)
-for being ambitious (as tho' Obama is not, or MEN are not)
-for being calculating (as tho' Obama is not, or that you can win office if you AREN'T playing some very tough and nasty political chess)

-and on and on

BTD has thankfully shined the light on all the double standards out there. She has to endure a TORRENT of disrespect and sexist/silly attacks with very little support, and then all Obama's supporters suddenly notice and decry the "unfairness" when HE is the target.

If he is the candidate, we should be VERY gratefull that Obama is getting his trial by fire NOW, because there will be a frenzy of scrutiny turned on him and many of his vulnerabilities will be OLD news by then. He is learning to handle himself and making his blunders now. Hopefully he will stop with the juvenile gestures, and will learn a bit more about some of the states and populations that he will need to win next November.

He sometimes acts as though the Presidency is HIS already, and all this is just delaying the inevitable. As though it's just a massive distraction and inconvenience. Well, Hillary has earned her shot at this with very hard work. He can't just coast into this. And as I said, we'd be in trouble -- he'd be in trouble -- if he had not endured the last 2 months of testing. His supporters act as though Hillary is crippling him to the point where he can't win and they couldn't be more wrong. It will turn out that she's making him as electible as is possible.

I'd rather see Clinton get the nomination but I will support Obama and vote for him if he's our candidate. But I really worry that he can't win in the places where Democrats have needed to hold to contend with the strong thread of conservative thinking that runs through this country. There are a LOT of inner conservatives out there. Call it racsicm if you want to dismiss it -- there's certainly some of that hidden in some of us -- but some of it is simply a core of fear that conservatives have been able to activate with Rovian tactics. It's coming from McCain and we know that. We know what they'll do if it's Hillary. We know what they'll do if it's Barack. We'd better hope that there is nothing left for an "October Surprise."

I'm concerned that there are a lot of centrist voters who aren't persuaded by Obama's simplistic feel good message. They want concrete words and plans that demostrate an understanding of the challenges they face. They want to know that Obama knows them well enough to -- and cares enough -- to "change" the things that matter to them. They wonder what's really going on inside this man, and that's where the damage from Wright and "bitter clinging" is done. People worry that the inner Obama is not someone who has enough in common with them. And THAT is his real vulnerability and where the Rovian tacticians will aim their attacks.

By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, February 7, 2007; Page A08

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is playing hostess to billionaire Hollywood moguls, millionaire lawyers and venture capitalists here this week as she pushes to raise a record sum for her presidential campaign.

Last night, the New York Democrat invited about 70 top fundraisers from around the country to a reception at her Washington home. The guest list included such major Democratic donors as Haim Saban, a Hollywood studio investor, Alan J. Patricof, a New York financier, and Kevin O'Keefe, a Chicago lawyer.