Alabama matters but why? - A News Analysis (Sidebar)

Do we really matter in this process? That is a question most Alabamans have wondered about since February 5.

Each primary or caucus that passes seems to become more important, especially in the Democratic race. Most estimates report Barack Obama has a lead of more than 100 delegates. He is leading in the popular vote, and he has won more states than his rival Hillary Clinton. But she has won the big states like Texas, New York and California, and those same estimates say she has the lead with super delegates.

So where does Alabama fit into the process? Legislators moved the primary from June to February to have more of a say, but it seems with the tight race, at least on Democratic side, voters in this state are lost in the mix.

Alabama does matter though. The state may not have the numbers of California, and the Democratic Party of Alabama may split its delegates on the borderline of even, but the state does have a say in the process.

And it says it helped Obama, at least in the popular vote, where he beat Clinton by nearly 80,000 votes. It is the case the Obama camp is making for his nomination: he knows how to win with the people, and that is what matters. It is that case he feels the super delegates should vote for if it comes to the convention--and it will.

The super delegates are a tricky bunch with a delicate matter. If they vote for Clinton, most Obama supporters will feel they have been robbed of the nomination. If they vote for Obama, a good number of Clinton supporters have said they will vote for McCain.

On the Republican side, things are more subtle. Alabamans voted for Mike Huckabee in February, and he dropped out of the race. John McCain is presumably the nominee for the Republicans, and he has to choose someone to join his ticket.

McCain is a moderate Republican, and he has problems with conservatives. They do not like him. They hated his immigration bill, and he is old. Those are problems, so he needs a conservative vice presidential nominee.

Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are good candidates. Romney captured most of the Midwest, and the South liked Huckabee.

Alabama voted for Huckabee while Romney finished a distant third in the state. Exit polls conducted by CNN saw most of the religious right voting for Huckabee, the core McCain has trouble persuading.

Huckabee pulled most of those numbers in every southern state. His conservative counterpart Romney struggled in the South with the conservatives. Most supporters and dissenters of Romney attributed it to his religion. He is a Mormon, and religion plays a strong role in who to vote for in the primaries and caucuses.

McCain needs a conservative running mate. Romney or Huckabee is suitable, but Huckabee would help McCain carry the South and Midwest easier than Romney would.

And where is Alabama in this mix? Oh, it is in there. It is right in the middle.