ROADKILL: BADGERS CRUISE OVER GOPHERS
Animal testing should be limited to applied and theoretical research OPINION
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UW takes and maintains an early lead in 63-47 victory over Minnesota SPORTS
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Monday, February 4, 2008
Delegates key in countdown to ‘Super Tuesday’ By Charles Brace THE DAILY CARDINAL
PHOTOS BY LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Participants line up before a cross country ski sprint around Capitol Square this weekend. The event was part of the fourth annual Madison Winter Festival.
Skiers flock to Madison Winter Fest Cross-country racers participate in Capitol Square event By Lauren Vettel THE DAILY CARDINAL
National elite and Wisconsin high school racers gathered downtown to compete in the fourth annual Madison Winter Festival Saturday and Sunday, a cross country skiing competition on downtown’s Capitol Square. The event serves as the state championship race for Wisconsin high school students. Winter Fest is also the final event prior to the World Cup competition, which begins next week, for national elite racers who ski full-time. Chris Lawn has attended Winter Fest for four years as a volunteer. As an avid cross country skier, Lawn became involved in Winter Fest because of the
high stakes involved for competitors of all ages. “This is the big deal for the high school kids and for the adult racers. They are the elite, professional class of racers,” he said.
“They pretty much ski for money and for their sponsors.” “We had to do a half-loop around the Capitol because of winter fest page 3
In the Feb. 5 “Super Tuesday” Presidential contests, delegates matter almost as much as who wins a state, with “super delegates” making the outcome difficult to predict. Rachel Strauch-Nelson, communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said the closeness of the race makes gaining individual delegates more important than in past elections. “This race is really becoming a hunt for delegates more so than in any [recent] cycle,” Strauch-Nelson said. Over half of all Democratic delegates will be decided Tuesday, with 2,025 needed to win the nomination. A similar amount is at stake in the Republican primaries, with 1,191 delegates needed for their nomination. Wisconsin Democrats will send
92 delegates to their national convention in Denver later in the year. Republicans have 40 delegates at stake in the primary. Democrats have local caucuses to decide who is sent to a Congressional district caucus, which in turn decides who is sent to the national convention, according to Strauch-Nelson. Delegates are typically over 18 years old by the Wisconsin primary and are Wisconsin residents. Strauch-Nelson said the majority of Democratic delegates a candidate would receive is based on how they proportionally fare in a Congressional district. Kirsten Kukowski, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said Republican delegates are given in a “winnertake-all” fashion. A candidate that delegates page 3
‘Super Tuesday’ delegate overview Almost half of country votes Some of the most populated states have primaries or caucuses Tuesday, including California, New York and Illinois. Majority of delegates at stake Over 50 percent of Democratic delegates and 40 percent of Republican delegates to be decided Tuesday. Race far from over Delegates are often won by Congressional districts, so even if candidates win a state, they might not lead in delegates.
A Perfect Upset
Report says $107 million spent on political ads By Britney Tripp THE DAILY CARDINAL
A report released Friday by the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project found Presidential candidates have spent $107 million on television advertising, although little has been spent in “Super Tuesday” states. The report was compiled of data collected since Jan. 27 and accounts for political advertising across the country in 90 percent of households with televisions. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., spent nearly the same amount, with Obama spending only slightly more. Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., spent only half that amount.
On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney spent as much as all his opponents combined. Romney spent four times as much as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in Florida, though McCain beat Romney in the primary. McCain spent less than onethird as much as Romney overall, with the other Republican candidates spending even less than McCain. In the Republican ads, the main issues addressed were taxes, defense, abortion and immigration, according to the report. For Democrats, the main issue was health care, followed by economic issues. Obama and Romney used the word “change” in one-third of their ads, while Clinton used it in only
one-fourth. Clinton used the word “experience” more than the word “change.” Over 90 percent of ads were positive, with candidates talking about themselves, the report said. Ken Goldstein is the director of the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project and a political science professor at UWMadison. He said states with primaries following “Super Tuesday” are unlikely to see the levels of spending that appeared in the first contests. “It is extremely unlikely that spending in all 23 Feb. 5 states— including the two largest states in the country—will reach the levels seen in Iowa and New Hampshire,” political ads page 3
KYLE BURSAW/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Alec Wasserman, Jay Riback and Melina Bast celebrate the Giants’ victory by chanting “18-1” at State Street Brats Sunday night.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”