The cable news channels had billed it as a night of high political drama. The two leading Democratic candidates for president would square off in a sprawling, ten-state contest, a delegate-rich showdown that would likely determine the party's nominee.
For once, the reality may have lived up to the hype. Just as news of Sen. John Kerry's sweeping victories over rival Sen. John Edwards in the Super Tuesday primaries began filtering across campus last night, aides to Edwards announced his intention to drop out of the race, leaving Kerry as President Bush's certain November opponent.
The news provided a jolt of excitement for the Princeton political junkies who watched on television screens at events across campus, but some student Democrats sounded decidedly unenthused.
"I do have some reservations about Kerry because even though he has the Vietnam experience, his position on the Iraq war, as on other international and domestic issues, has not been entirely clear," said Jay Saxon '05, president of the Princeton College Democrats. "I don't think the support for him is as avid here as it is for the other candidates."
Democrat Alex Heckscher '06 voiced a similar disappointment as news of Edwards' departure from the race first broke.
"I would have preferred to see Edwards, because I think he's got a better chance of winning and he's a more charismatic guy," he said. "But of course I'll support Kerry in the general election. Basically I'm voting for not-Bush 2004."
University students have organized groups in support of former governor Howard Dean, retired general Wesley Clark, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, all of whom have since dropped out of the race. Cate Edwards '04 has also spearheaded a particularly energetic campus effort on behalf of her father.
In contrast, no Kerry group exists on campus.
As the networks declared Kerry the victor in most of New England, Maryland and Ohio, students gathered in Wilcox Commons for a Super Tuesday discussion with a range of politically inclined faculty members.
Sitting alongside former Oklahoma congressman and current Wilson School lecturer Mickey Edwards, history professor Sean Wilentz scoffed at one suggestion that Kerry would be a weak candidate against President Bush.
"[Kerry] started playing the patriot game right away," Wilentz said, referring to his aggressive stance on national security. "And the Republicans have been playing patriot games since 1968."
Kerry has questioned Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
Even before news of Edwards' withdrawal on Tuesday night, campus Democrats voiced some reservations about Kerry.
Juan Melli-Huber GS, president of Princeton for Dean, said most Dean supporters planned to vote for him on Tuesday, even though he has officially withdrawn from the race.
But, he said, "my impression is that the majority of those who want to support another candidate are going to Edwards."
Melli-Huber added, "They're not really inspired by [Kerry], but they ultimately will vote for whoever the [Democratic] nominee is."
Despite their reservations, Democrats voiced optimism about Kerry's chance against Bush.
Saxon said, "Kerry will make a strong candidate because he is able to draw clear distinctions between his record and the president's."
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