The presidential race hits critical mass this week as candidates prepare for Super Tuesday. Semantics aside, the Democratic contenders - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - are hoping to boost their standing by nabbing former rival John Edwards' gay supporters. And Obama seems to be in the lead.

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Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton sure were chummy during last night's CNN-sponsored debate. Obama started off on the right foot by assuring the voters - particularly the Democrats - that he and Hillary are friends. Said the Senator from Illinois, "And I also want to note that I was friends with Hillary Clinton before we started this campaign; I will be friends with Hillary Clinton after this campaign is over." He did, however, first thank John Edwards, the Democrats new saint, as one pundit put it later in the evening.

Clinton also gave Edwards some love, but made sure to extend an olive branch to Obama, as well.

The debate turned out to be less bickering and more mutual masturbation as the candidates took a unified front. "As we move forward in this debate," said Obama, "Understand we are both Democrats and we understand the issues at stake. We want change from George Bush." Clinton echoed Obama's comments, but with a bit more self-awareness than the younger politico, "I think we as Democrats have to be willing to fight for universal health care."

Iraq proved to be the only place the candidates showed real difference as Clinton again defended her vote to go to war. Regardless of this bellicose difference, Obama and Clinton sure did make a great show of it, which inevitably led to the trouble-making Wolf Blitzer (who, we feel, picked on Hillary unnecessarily) to inquire:

The more I speak to Democrats out there — not only the Democrats here at the Kodak Theatre, but all over the country — they take a look at the two of you and they see potentially a dream ticket. A dream ticket for the White House.

There may have been some nasty words exchanged or angry words or whatever, but the question is this: Would you consider an Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket going down the road?

Things got so hot in the theater, Stevie Wonder stood up and did a bit of a jig. Perhaps he was shaking off some political ejaculate?

Obama left the door open a little more than Clinton, who also used the occasion for a bit of tacky self-promotion for her national town hall meeting Monday. (Strategist Mark Penn later got a plug in on MSNBC, as well. Shrewd!) The message was clear, though: "We are both dedicated to doing the best we can to win the nomination, but there is no doubt we will have a unified Democratic Party."

It seems to us that a Clinton/Obama ticket may be the best route for the Democrats. We put Clinton first because, let's face it, Hillary ain't going to be VP, especially not to Barack Obama. Obama, however, could fit quite nicely in the role and such a scheme could potentially lay the groundwork for a sixteen year Democratic run. That is, however, a bit of a quixotic, potentially naive projection - and not necessarily what the candidates want. The Democratic candidates, however, would be well-advised to consider such a tag team.

And then there were two…

Former Senator John Edwards has dropped out of the presidential race. He will not endorse another candidate just yet. From the AP:

Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters' sympathies but never diverted his campaign, The Associated Press has learned.

The two-time White House candidate notified a close circle of senior advisers that he planned to make the announcement at a 1 p.m. EST event in New Orleans that had been billed as a speech on poverty, according to two of his advisers. The decision came after Edwards lost the four states to hold nominating contests so far to rivals who stole the spotlight from the beginning _ Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

The former North Carolina senator will not immediately endorse either candidate in what is now a two-person race for the Democratic nomination, said one adviser, who spoke on a condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement.

Edwards waged a spirited top-tier campaign against the two better-funded rivals, even as he dealt with the stunning blow of his wife's recurring cancer diagnosis. In a dramatic news conference last March, the couple announced that the breast cancer that she thought she had beaten had returned, but they would continue the campaign.

Their decision sparked a debate about family duty and public service. But Elizabeth Edwards remained a forceful advocate for her husband, and she was often surrounded at campaign events by well-wishers and emotional survivors cheering her on.

Edwards planned to announce his campaign was ending with his wife and three children at his side. Then he planned to work with Habitat for Humanity at the volunteer-fueled rebuilding project Musicians' Village, the adviser said.

With that, Edwards' campaign will end the way it began 13 months ago _ with the candidate pitching in to rebuild lives in a city still ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Edwards embraced New Orleans as a glaring symbol of what he described as a Washington that didn't hear the cries of the downtrodden.
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The loss in South Carolina was especially hard because it was where he was born and he had won the state in 2004. But Edwards performed well enough to pick up 58 delegates.

We can't say we're heartbroken, especially because we never really considered him a real candidate.

The election season continues to heat up - and journo Michelangelo Signorile's sweating all the political drama. That's why the Sirius radio host will host representatives for the main Democratic contenders: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. We've included all the gory details after the jump…

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Presidential candidate Barack Obama knocked out the competition in South Carolina Saturday. The Democratic Senator from Illinois became the number one stunner with a whopping 55% of the total vote. Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator John Edwards received 27% and 18% of the vote, respectively, which means - well, Obama beat the pants off his main competitors. In fact, Obama received more votes than Clinton and Edwards combined.

Many analysts attribute Obama's victory to a high black turnout, which, yes, definitely helped give Obama an electoral boost. According to the AP, four out of five black voters leaned toward Obama. Only 25% of white folk gave him their blessing.

More importantly than race, however, is the fact that Obama has been preparing for South Carolina far longer than his party peers:

Democratic activists here in South Carolina said that the Obama campaign had perhaps the most extensive field operation ever seen in this state.

The reach of the Obama field operation extended even to such often forgotten places as Allendale County, which has the second smallest population of any of the state’s 46 counties.

To cite another locale, Obama had had about 20 supporters working out of his Greenville, S.C. office since mid-summer; Clinton had only five or six starting in the fall, according to one Greenville Democratic activist.

Regardless of one's political leanings, South Carolina illuminates the unprecedented level of excitement within the States' Democratic circles. The last election only brought out 293,000 democrats. MSNBC points out that Obama alone received more than that amount of primary votes.

The campaigns certainly turned out the vote, but let's not forget the gay rights activists who worked tirelessly to break South Carolina's records. The National Stonewall Democrats focussed their energies on South Carolina because of the state's high concentration of black homos and homettes. Said Jon Headly, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats:

Of all the early presidential states, it is the only one with a significant LGBT African American population. We decided to use that as an opportunity to deepen our organizing within the LGBT community, and especially LGBT communities of color.

The Wallers' eschewed traditional events, like fancy-schmancy fundraisers, and instead focused on drawing candidates and their campaigns to a common ground with their potential supporters. For example, the National Stonewall Democrats worked to - and succeeded - draw the candidates to Black Pride events. South Carolina's Stonewall leader, the uber-titled Rev. Dr. Keith L. Riddle explains:

I think presidential candidates expect to encounter our community at black-tie events on the Upper West Side, but not necessarily on historically Black college campuses in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Our presence this season has demonstrated that our community is everywhere and that Democratic politicians should be prepared to address hard questions and issues that impact our families no matter where they find themselves.

We think that's just swell. For too long the national LGBT debate has been framed within insider institutions. It's nice to know that non-profits - and the candidates themselves - are looking elsewhere for perspectives on homo matters. Let's hope that the Democratic candidates remember the little people if elected to office.

Mary Breslauer didn't always want to be a politico. The New Jersey-born brainiac actually got her start in journalism, but eventually found herself working for the late Gerry Studds, a Congressman who found himself censured after having a consensual, legal sexual relationship with a congressional page.

Breslauer's experience with Studds sent her on a collision course with American politics. Now a co-host for HRC's The Agenda radio show, Breslauser's spending her free time campaigning for Senator Hillary Clinton.

Below the journo-politico talks our editor through her evolution, discusses Studds and explains why Hillary should lead our country.

Andrew Belonsky: Hi, Mary! Are you having a nice day?

Mary Breslauer: Yeah. It's been okay. It's kind of a neutral day.

AB: Neutral?

MB: I meant to go to the gym. I didn't get to the gym. I was like, "It's 4:30. You're talking to Andrew. You're not going to the gym." But there's always another day!

AB: Let's hope so. Alright, we're going to dive right into this. How did you get into politics?

MB: Well, I started in journalism in college: I was editor of my college newspaper. Whenever you spend any time in journalism, I think it by nature turns you into a political person - or, at least, a political junkie. It certainly did for me! And then I made the switch from journalism to what some call "the dark side."

[Laughs]

MB: One of my first jobs was press secretary in Gerry Studds' 1984 reelection campaign immediately [after] his censure. So, that really was just a wonderful baptism by fire into politics! The campaign was completely unprecedented. No one had ever cared about that little Massachusetts district. Then we were flooded not just with national media, but international media.

AB: Were you recruited into that campaign? How did you end up getting involved?

MB: It's funny. I ended living on Martha's Vineyard for ten years in my twenties. I was a reporter and managing editor of The Vineyard Gazette, which is the weekly newspaper for the island. Gerry was our congressman, so I got to know him quite well. When the '84 election came up, just after the censure - I had wanted to make the switch. It was actually my girlfriend at the time who said, "You should call Studds, because this is going to be a big race and he needs help." So, I called him and within 24 hours I was his press secretary.

AB: How do you go into that situation? How do handle you scandal of that nature? I understand he didn't do anything illegal, but it must have been a challenge.

MB: The challenge of it really was that reporters - unless they were local reporters - didn't understand the unique relationship Gerry had with his constituents. Gerry immediately went after the censure and had town meetings throughout the district. He was available to people. Nobody held town meetings until Gerry Studds did. He did it many years before the censure ever happened, so people in the district really had an incredible relationship with him. In the end, he won the primary challenge, which was quite tough, and won the general resoundingly. And he was reelected and never challenged until he retired. Many voters attitudes were as if he were a member of the family. You might say, "Gee, I wish that never happened, but you're one of us."

AB: Is that happened with the Clintons? Obviously Bill and Hillary have been plagued by scandal in the past…

MB: You know, I think the Clintons - a lot of people are turned off by the scandal allegations. But unless you were a true Clinton hater, I think people just said, "Enough is enough".

The Democrats failed during Tuesday night's presidential debate. That's what journalist Daniel Koffer thinks, anyway.

Koffer reminds readers that the main contenders - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards - failed to understand the subtext of Tim Russert's question: "There's a federal statute on the books which says that, if a college or university does not provide space for military recruiters or provide a ROTC program for its students, it can lose its federal funding. Will you vigorously enforce that statute?"

Every candidate said yes, but failed to consider schools which oppose the military's ban on openly gay soldiers.

By agreeing to enforce the Solomon Amendment, all three of them gave their assent to a policy whose only goal and only achievement is the perpetuation of discrimination against gay men and women.

Koffer then narrows in on Hillary, whose husband enacted the military's discriminatory policy.

Rasmussen Reports got a head start on Carolina polling frenzy. The website has posted pre-primary numbers. Here are the Democratic digits:

Barack Obama has regained a double-digit lead over Hillary Clinton in South Carolina’s Democratic Presidential Primary.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in South Carolina shows Obama earning 44% of the vote, Clinton attracting 31%, and John Edwards at 15%.

John McCain and Mike Huckabee seem to be tied with 24% of the vote, while Romney trails with 18% of Republicans.

The state's primaries will take place on January 26th.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney swept the Michigan primary yesterday. The native son took 39% of the vote, according to MSNBC, while John McCain slid into second with a distant 30% of the population. It's unclear whether Democrats gave Romney their vote to throw McCain's campaign. Only 24% of Romney supporters said that he "says what he believes," which we found interesting.

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John Kerry shows no love for former political partner John Edwards this election season.

Despite the fact that the men ran for the White House together in 2004, Kerry decided to throw his weight behind Barack Obama:

Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, planned to announce his support Thursday at a rally with Obama at the College of Charleston, arguing that the Illinois senator can best unite the country, said a Democrat familiar with the decision. Kerry was timing his announcement before South Carolina's Jan. 26 primary, a contest that has taken on extra importance for Obama after Hillary Rodham Clinton beat him in New Hampshire.

Edwards took the high road, saying that the American nation is "stronger" because of Kerry' work. He also says, "When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues." Not anymore!

Democrat Hillary Clinton surprised critics and comrades alike last night in New Hampshire.

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• New York City got a taste of Iowa today when Ford and some real life cowboys celebrated the Invasion of the Bulls.

• Gay activist Wayne Besen endorses John Edwards.

• Baywatch actress Alexandra Paul discusses playing gay and her lesbian twin!

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John Edwards got some good news today. Q-Notes - the "leading gay news source of the Carolinas" - decided to endorse the controversially coiffed candidate. From Out For Edwards:

After a series of meetings between the editors, the staff and the publisher, Q-Notes has endorsed John Edwards for President. His concrete, progressive policy positions (including steadfast support for pro-LGBT issues), his commitment to returning power to the people from moneyed special interests, his outstanding polling strength against the Republicans and his positive impact for down-ticket candidates nationwide combine to make him the best candidate in the race.

Q-Notes encourages all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters to support John Edwards in the primaries and beyond.

We're not sure we're going to take you up on that offer, Q-Notes. We're still undecided, but rest assured we'll be taking a stand soon enough.

There's a war of words brewing between Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan and Salon's Glenn Greenwald.

Noonan used her opinion piece today to offer the "reasonable" presidential candidates. Democrat John Edwards didn't make the cut. Why? Well, he's a Democrat and Noonan finds his populism "intemperate and insincere". The journalist also takes Edwards to task for his grooming habits: "Also we can't have a president who spent two minutes on YouTube staring in a mirror and poofing his hair. Really, we just can't."

Greenwald finds such a statement, well, unreasonable.

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