Do-over may not be as chaotic

The only upside of Saturday's non-convention is that the Clark County Democrats can't reconvene until mid-March.

One of the largest problems facing organizers, outside of their own incompetence, was the sheer size of support each presidential candidate drummed up for a show of strength.

Because the motion recessing the convention dictated a bare minimum of 14 days before Democrats can try again, the two-week period could easily mean the large camps for each candidate will be winnowed.

Polls in presidential primary season are not necessarily the most accurate of measures, but they certainly show Barack Obama pulling even with Hillary Clinton in Texas and darn near catching her in Ohio. Both states, which vote March 4, were squarely in Clinton's camp weeks ago.

Obama's momentum does not appear to be slowing despite Clinton's attempts to paint him as some naive fairy godmother hoping to transform Washington, D.C., by saying "Bippity-Boppity-Boo."

It is highly possible Obama will take both delegate-rich states and post additional victories in Rhode Island and Vermont. He's already estimated to have roughly 80 to 90 more delegates than Clinton, according to various analyses of superdelegates.

Wyoming and Mississippi, two states that are a lot like the Western and Southern states in which Obama has already trounced Clinton, will also vote before the local Democrats reconvene.

If Clinton cannot muster a comeback somewhere on that map, she'll face growing calls to exit the race.

And what we saw Feb. 23 was that some Nevada voters, given a month of strong showings elsewhere by Obama, were inclined to switch camps.

For example, Obama picked up more support in Washoe County, winning the convention vote by a larger percentage than he had won the precinct caucuses there Jan. 19. He also made up ground in Nye County -- though still losing to Clinton he clearly pulled some of her voters.

In Clark County, more Clinton delegates than Obama delegates will have reason to stay home when the convention reconvenes.

At Bally's on Saturday, it was nearly impossible to know which camp lost the most delegates from the thousands turned away. It's also hard to tell which campaign had more alternates. However, when the two large groups split for a cool-down session to explain the importance of recessing to another date, the crowds appeared to be of very similar size.

Clinton had won Clark by 11 percentage points on Jan. 19, so she should have had roughly that many more delegates at Bally's. But at times during the day, it appeared Obama had more, and you could sense the Clinton faithful were rattled.

Not only did some complain Clinton was the victim of shenanigans with lost registrations and unsecure ballot boxes, others condemned the raucous attitude of a few Obama supporters in not so pleasant terms.

Some Obama delegates booed Rep. Shelley Berkley when she announced her support for Clinton. Many booed Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen, a key Hispanic outreach activist for the Clinton campaign, when he was introduced to speak.

"Such thugs," one Clinton supporter remarked. "All they can do is scream and yell."

Tentative discussions at the state Democratic Party level could lead to the reconvened meeting running more smoothly. For starters, the party is looking for a larger venue, such as the Thomas & Mack Center or the Las Vegas Convention Center, to accommodate the crowds.

Officials are also floating a possibility to disperse paper ballots prior to the meeting and then simply have each campaign's supporters meet separately for the purposes of selecting their delegates to the state convention.

All this will be made much easier if Obama performs well next Tuesday and beyond.

Last week, both camps were incensed by the embarrassing recess, but Clinton's delegates appeared to benefit more by the delay. It looked as though more alternates were being seated for Obama than for Clinton, meaning he had won the battle to increase his support in the county.

Had all those alternates been counted, the Obama camp might not have needed to fret about the 3,000 supporters they estimate they lost sometime during the chaos Saturday.

Maybe that was the unintended method behind Saturday's madness. If the county party can drag its convention into April, it may be much easier to count ballots and elect delegates.

One thing is certain: The screw-ups will keep more than a few Democrats from returning for more torture, even if there aren't many speeches.

Even if Clinton delegates turn out, a good many may turn over if Obama posts his 12th, 13th, and 14th consecutive wins.

Contact Erin Neff at (702) 387-2906, or by e-mail at eneff@reviewjournal.com.