I watched Katie Couric’s coverage of “Super Tuesday” last night for as long as I could bear before switching off the tube and cracking open a good book. But I couldn’t help notice the way the talking heads were already declaring the Republican candidates that are trailing McCain all but dead, and floating the question, “Why don’t they just bow out?” It remains clear, at least to me, that having McCain become the Republican Party nominee would please dems no end by assuring a liberal in the White House.

What’s that? You say McCain isn’t a liberal, he’s a Republican? Well, yes and no. He’s actually a mixed bag. Conservatives don’t like his stance on illegal immigration (he sided with Kennedy, you’ll recall, in trying to push though the dems’ plan to eliminate the illegal immigration problem by simply granting illegal immigrants legal status), and he was on the wrong side on tax cuts and campaign finance reform. Still, he brings some good things to the table, so it will be interesting to see how things unfold in the coming weeks.

The race between Clinton and Obama is far more complicated. I can’t say I wasn’t surprised to see Clinton win in New York and California, both big delegate states. But the Democratic party has some convoluted rules designed, I think, to keep anyone from knowing who’s actually winning until much farther down the road. Candidates don’t, in most cases, win all the delegates in a given state; they’re instead parsed out between the candidates using a formula I don’t claim to understand. So at this point, even the talking heads have to acknowledge that Obama is still neck and neck with Clinton although, to many, she would appear to be way ahead. That race may not be decided until the very end.

So where does this leave us after “Super Tuesday?” Here’s what we know (or think we know) so far according to Reuters:

• Economic worries — plunging housing values, rising energy and food prices, jittery financial markets and new data showing a big contraction in the service sector — eclipsed the Iraq war as voters’ top concern in both parties, exit polls showed.

• “Polls of Democratic voters on Tuesday made it clear that the politics of identity — race, gender, class — was driving the contest between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the Republican contests, the far-right fringe is trying to maul their party’s front-runner, Senator John McCain,” said the New York Times in an editorial.

• Obama scored victories in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah and his home state of Illinois.

• Clinton won Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Tennessee and her home state of New York. She went into Super Tuesday battling a wave of momentum for Obama, who had surged in national polls on his message of change. New Mexico was still too close to call, media said.

• Obama maintained his strong showing among black voters but also expanded support among whites, winning 40 percent in Georgia, exit polls said. Clinton won heavy support from women and Hispanics, exit polls showed.

• McCain won in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Oklahoma.

• Huckabee, a Baptist preacher, won in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia.

• Romney won in Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Massachusetts, where he served as governor, and Utah, which has a heavy concentration of Mormons. Romney would be the first Mormon president.

• Huckabee’s wins were fueled by strong support from evangelical Christians, and he split votes with Romney among conservatives unhappy with McCain.

So there you have it. Can we declare a winner? Nope, just the momentary front runners. Was “Super Tuesday” exciting? No, more like watching grass grow. What’s next? Just more of the same, and maybe a couple surprises although the msm will be working hard to convince us it’s already a done deal.