[Huck]

How the hell can you say Florida is a lock?

[raloxk]

one thing you have to remember is Florida was close due solely to Lieberman

[Patrick1]

Easy. Look at the 2002 election. Bush won Florida in 2000 as the challenger..he takes Florida by ten points.

[So Cal Rocket]

So long as these people are counting the ballots in Florida, it is not a lock for GWB:

[OrioleFan]

I would venture to guess because they get to count the military vote this time and panhandle folks won't stay home when the networks call the contest before the polls close.

[alnick]

How the hell can you say Florida is a lock?

For one thing, conservatives in the panhandle will get to vote this time. The calling it early for gore type of trick can only work once.

[alisasny]

Florida is more conservative now.

In 2002, Terry McAuliffe pledged that Jeb Bush, the president's own brother, would be defeated in his re-election bid. In fact, the DNC made the Florida governor's race their number one priority of the 2002 election cycle. Moreover, only two years removed from the spectacle of 2000, emotions and energy should have been be running extremely high among Democrats. Did we see massive Democratic turnout? Did Terry's threats come true, for once? Nope! What transpired was not a humiliating GOP defeat, but a Bush-brother victory by a count that exceeded Jeb's first election margin. He won by an amazing 13 points! It was a complete and utter repudiation of the revenge factor and clearly showed the strength of the GOP in that state. Without Florida as an obvious pickup target, the Democrats' options to gain ground shrink considerably.

And the DNC is going to have to spend a ton of money just to win California.

[SamAdams76]

Even with Florida taken out, we have a lock of 196 votes. Still not too shabby. There's work to be done for sure, but it's Bush's race to lose. If Bush can carry Florida one more time and get an Ohio or Pennsylvania to fall his way this time, it's going to be very tough for Kerry to win.

[Rebelbase]

"How the hell can you say Florida is a lock?"

[I got the rope]

State Legislature is 2 to 1 Republican to Dem. Dems can't cheat again, and people are really pissed off here. Look at the last few elections.

House 81 Republicans/39 Democrats
Senate 26 Republicans/14 Democrats

Florida is a lock!

[BSunday]

What??? Florida's still allowed to vote ???? What the - ?

[Luis Gonzalez]

"How the hell can you say Florida is a lock?"

Because it's my State, and they can't have it.

Yeah...it's mine.