While most people in our nation are gearing up for Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Patriots and the Giants, there is also a political “Super Bowl” next week as 22 states hold primaries for the 2008 presidential election.

While not quite as amusing as Tom Brady visiting his supermodel girlfriend in New York, I did come across some interesting political news today.

The Weekly Standard’s P.J. O’Rourke has a brilliant piece in the conservative magazine’s latest issue.  His “Letter to Our European Friends Everything you need to know about our presidential campaign” is laugh out loud funny.

The difference between American parties is actually simple. Democrats are in favor of higher taxes to pay for greater spending, while Republicans are in favor of greater spending, for which the taxpayers will pay. In foreign policy, Republicans intend to pursue the war in Iraq but to do so with a minimal number of troops on the ground. This is not to be confused with the disastrous Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld policy of using a minimal number of troops on the ground to pursue the war in Iraq.

Speaking of conservatives, several leading conservatives seem to be openly unloading with both barrels against Senator John McCain, thus ignoring Ronald Reagan’s famous 11^th commandment, “Thou shalt never speak ill of a fellow Republican."  Check out this beauty in today’s Washington Times.

Mr. Hewitt also told the Associated Press yesterday that "Senator McCain is a great American, a lousy senator and a terrible Republican. He has a legislative record that is not conservative. In fact, it is anti-conservative." He said he would support Mr. Romney "if I was voting today."

While McCain was actually winning a hotly contested primary last night in Florida, Senator Hillary Clinton “won” the uncontested primary on the democratic side.  My friend at The Washington Note , Steve Clemons swings and misses when he writes:

Hillary Clinton -- despite those who say it didn't matter -- scored a win that matters. To some degree, Florida neutralizes the momentum Obama achieved in South Carolina and gets both back to a position where they both have tail winds going into February 5th.

Sorry Steve, but Clinton’s “win” does little, if anything to “neutralize” Obamamania.  Check out Dana Milbank’s piece in today’s Washington Post .

Cheering supporters? Check. Election returns on the projection screen? Check. Andrea Mitchell and Candy Crowley doing stand-ups? Check and check. In fact, the only piece missing from Hillary Clinton's Florida victory party here Tuesday night was a victory.

Yes, Clinton, as expected, beat Barack Obama by a wide margin in the Florida primary. But all the Democratic candidates had agreed months ago to boycott the contest after the Democratic National Committee stripped Florida of its delegates to punish the state for moving up its primary date. The result was a primary without purpose, a show about nothing.

But in a political stunt worthy of the late Evel Knievel, the Clinton campaign decided to put on an ersatz victory party that, it hoped, would erase memories of Obama's actual victory Saturday night in South Carolina's Democratic primary.