COLLEGES: We believe in accountability — just don’t compare us to each other!

SO MCCAIN GOT MORE STATES AND BIGGER STATES, Huckabee picked up a few in the South but wasn’t viable elsewhere, and Romney got . . . probably just enough to convince him to keep going, though he probably shouldn’t. On the Democratic side, Hillary and Obama took different numbers of states, but because of proportional representation the fact that Hillary took the big ones won’t matter as much as it would in a Republican primary, leaving them with about the same delegate counts.

The Anchoress predicts a brokered convention.

A LOOK AT the Coulter-Clinton-Buchanan axis.

UPDATE: This comment from Bill Whittle is worth repeating here:

After seven years of watching and fighting against Americans who wish to see the country suffer so that they can get at George Bush, the last thing I wanted or expected to see was conservatives saying they would rather see the country suffer than support John McCain over Clinton or Obama, so that they can “get the blame.”

A retreat before victory is assured in Iraq cannot be undone in 2012. And mandatory, single-payer, universal health care, once established, will not EVER go away either.

I am not impugning anyone’s motives. I believe I have a reasonable understanding of principled behavior. But if your goal is to see the country punished because—

You can stop right there. If your goal is to see America punished, and her people open to attack and/or ruined financially in order to prove a point for any reason, then you do not deserve politial power nor are you likely to achieve it. A party is a compact. It is, essentially, a pleage of mutual support. As a matter of fact, it’s nothing more or less than a promise.

A political party is a series of personal compromises in order to achieve a goal unattainable by the perfect political party: one’s own self. If McCain is the legal and lawfully selected nominee, and Republicans decide to walk away from their party in droves, what makes them think they will be able to count on those who, you know, actually went out and voted Republican either joyfully or through clenched teeth, in order to prevent The Deluge?

If your idea of any political party is one that means unlimited support for your personal values if your candidate is ascendant, while you in turn owe none to those you dislike or even disdain, you might be in for a surprise in future elections.

Speaking as a FredHead myself, I am bitterly disappointed that I did not even have the chance to vote for a man I admired, and am more distraught still to find myself in the position I now occupy. I see many, many worrisome things about John McCain, but being tough on terror and spending are not among them. We could do worse. Two names come to mind immediately.

Much is said about principles, and since I am not able elect anyone BY MYSELF I have entered into this pact with the group of people who I feel most comfortable with in terms of values. If they, as a body, choose a candidate who is not my first, second, third or fourth choice, then I can look to the Democrats. There I find views so antithetical to everything I believe that I realize there is indeed something to this idea of party loyalty.

And I cannot help but think that such a kind and practical man as Ronald Reagan would be amazed that his name was being invoked so frequently in order to insure that the most liberal, socialist, power-hungry statist in my living memory is elected. I’m glad he’s not here to see this because if he knew the consequences of what was being done in his name, I believe it would kill the man.

To me this seems like much ado about nothing. McCain and Romney are both moderate Republicans; the differences between them have been exaggerated by those who don’t like McCain, and don’t have much bearing on what’s good for the country. I realize that I’ve been accused of lacking fire, but while none of these candidates is close to my ideal, I really don’t understand the Kossack-like anger here.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The die has been cast.

Andy McCarthy responds.

VOTE OBAMA: It’s for the children!

FOX AND CNN PROJECT CLINTON to win Massachusetts. Guess those Kennedy endorsements of Obama didn’t do the trick.

Ouch: “All those Kennedys behind Obama, and Massachusetts gets called for Clinton. It couldn’t happen to a nicer family.”

UPDATE: Fox calls Oklahoma for McCain.

So far it’s looking like a fairly big Clinton/McCain win. Not a sweep, but still, not as close as the TV hype makes it sound. (From Drudge):

AL: OBAMA
AR: CLINTON
DE: OBAMA
GA: OBAMA
IL: OBAMA
MA: CLINTON
NY: CLINTON
NJ: CLINTON
OK: CLINTON
TN: CLINTON

AR: HUCKABEE
CT: MCCAIN
DE: MCCAIN
IL: MCCAIN
MA: ROMNEY
NJ: MCCAIN
NY: MCCAIN
WV: HUCKABEE

But that’s pre-California.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Fox calls Utah for Obama and Romney.

LIVEBLOGGING MISSOURI at Gateway Pundit.

HILLARY WON HER HOME STATE OF ARKANSAS, and now also wins her home state of New York, according to Fox.

ABC projects Alabama for Huckabee.

Fox calls New York for McCain.

ED MORRISSEY is liveblogging the Minnesota caucus.

THERE ARE TWO AMERICAS: One HD, one standard-def.

HIRING VETERANS.

FOX CALLS TENNESSEE FOR CLINTON. Arkansas for Clinton & Huckabee. Delaware for McCain.

Also, New Jersey for McCain. And Massachusetts for Clinton.

CALIFORNIA: Bay Area ballot shortages.

TORNADOES AND SEVERE STORMS IN WEST TENNESSEE: As I suggested earlier, this may give Hillary a boost by holding down pro-Obama turnout in Shelby County. It may also hurt Huckabee a bit, as he’s probably stronger in West Tennessee.

CNN PROJECTS MCCAIN IN CONNECTICUT and Illinois, and Romney in Massachusetts. Other states too close to call.

Obama is projected to win Illinois, and Hillary to win Oklahoma.

A.P. PROJECTS OBAMA to win in Georgia. So does CNN.

Reportedly, exit polls show Obama sweeping the South.

UPDATE: Exit polls are up on Drudge.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Mark Blumenthal is liveblogging and offers a caution about those leaked exit polls.

THE BLOGWAY BOYS!

CONGRATULATIONS TO WIKIPEDIA FOR SHOWING SOME BACKBONE.

STEPHEN GREEN IS DRUNKBLOGGING THE SUPER TUESDAY RETURNS. His liver, at least, is hoping things will be settled tonight . . . . Excerpts: “Superdelegate Christine Pelosi (daughter of Speaker Nancy) tells Sean Hannity that she’s ‘torn between my gender and my generation.’ Either she’s a perfect example of the identity politics that plague the Democrats, or there’s not one difference between Clinton and Obama important enough to sway Pelosi with substance. . . . What’s interesting about the Republican race is that it doesn’t seem to feature any actual conservatives. McCain is a first-amendment buster. Romney’s position on abortion has, through the years, proven transparently expedient. Huckabee is Carter redux, but with double the false humility. Paul hangs out with the Blame America First crowd. And pundits wonder why no one has this race tied up yet?”

UPDATE: Jason Pye is liveblogging the GOP results, but he’s apparently staying sober.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Professor Bainbridge is liveblogging, too, and I’ll bet he’ll have a nice glass of cabernet.

SET IRONY SHIELDS TO ELEVEN: “With the Republican presidential nomination within reach, John McCain is reshaping his campaign to press on without public financing that could limit his spring spending, senior advisers say.”

LOTS MORE SUPER TUESDAY REPORTING, here.

BRIGHTER THAN real life. I want one.

TAILOR-MADE FOR MCCAIN COMMERCIALS, should he be the nominee: Scenes from Berkeley’s embattled Marine recruiting-center.

Plus, Mav vs. Ice.

WELL, YES: “Conservatives dropped the ball.” Now over the next few years you can look for — and do the work to elect — some good governors who might make Presidents that you’ll like better than McCain or Romney, and do the other bits of hard work it takes to make a difference. Or you can just complain a lot on the Internet. Your choice!

JUDGING FROM THE STRAW POLL RESULTS, InstaPundit readers like Barack Obama and Mitt Romney best, both by better than 2-1 margins.