Remember 2008, Folks, Before You Get Smug

SPLIT DECISION! Screams the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, per David Weigel at Slate. And everywhere else you looked, there were messages of gloom and doom for co-front runners Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, battling it out for the Republican nomination. And, of course, lots of gloating, both covert and not so covert, that the advantages were all going to the incumbent Democratic president (Disclosure: for whom I voted in 2008, for whom I likely will not vote for in 2012.)

How quickly we forget.

Look at this interesting Wikipedia chart here, showing the results of Super Tuesday

Looks like a split decision to me back then, as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama battled for supremacy as they fought for the Democratic nomination. Wee those totals? Clinton won 13 contests to Obama’s 10, 847 delegates to Obama’s 834. She was also ahead in the popular vote.

Then consider Super Tuesday 2.0, outlined here.

Again, Clinton for the win, winning three out of four contests.

But look who is in the White House now, folks.

Super Tuesday 2012 – and the results up until then – are just as split now as then.

Contrary to what the pundits are saying, the 2012 contest isn’t a slugfest that’s going to batter the eventual victor any more or any less than that 2008 slugfest – It’s just evidence of a party enjoying the thought that more than one candidate up for the nomination could be their guy to win in the election.

Remember your history. Consider it well.

Anything can still happen.