The magic number is 2117... media too lazy to change it.

Everytime you hear the big media say 2118 in the next couple of days... subtract one.

My good friend Matt posted the following at Democratic Convention Watch and I wanted to pass it along...

With Al Wynn's resignation this weekend, there are 4,233 delegate votes. From MSNBC First Read:
   

Also note, Maryland's Al Wynn's resignation takes effect this weekend. That means technically the number drops to 2,117 for at least a couple of weeks until Donna Edwards likely fills his seat. We contacted the DNC to see if it would reduce their number. They are not, so we will keep the number at 2,118, which is what it will eventually be at convention.

Matt's rant after the break...

OK. According to the DNC and MSNBC, Obama needs 2,118. But since there are only 4,233 delegate votes, that leaves 2,115 for Clinton. So instead of requiring Obama to win by the least margin possible, they are requiring him to win 2,118-2,115. That doesn't seem quite fair to us.

But some will say, well, OK, but it will be correct in a couple of weeks, when Edwards wins the Special Election, right?

Again, from MSNBC:

   

so we will keep the number at 2,118, which is what it will eventually be at convention.

Lets see. 4,234 votes. Half votes are pretty common now. Seems to me one could secure a majority with 2117.5 votes, winning 2117.5-2116.5. I guess the DNC is making Obama play by ping-pong rules - have to win by two: 2,118-2,116.

And the worst part? The Obama campaign is agreeing to this higher standard, saying it needs 2,118 to win. Maybe they'll also say they need 271 Electoral Votes to win the election. Who knows. It must be this "new math" stuff.

Oh. And we won't even go here.