The Big Tent

You know, the first decision a president makes is his (or her) choice as Vice President.  Who sounds like more of a candidate poised to deliver change?

Someone who picks a 30-year Washington insider white male, or someone who chooses a female Governor with five kids and a 80+ percent approval rating and decent reform accomplishments in two short years as chief executive?

Here’s some new poll numbers for the presidential race.  Remember, it’s the DNC’s convention, so if they’re ever going to get a bounce, it’s now.

COLORADO (CNN/Time/Opinion Research): McCain - 47%, Obama - 46%, Others - 1%.
FLORIDA (Mason-Dixon): Obama - 45%, McCain - 44%.
FLORIDA (Strategic Vision-R): McCain - 49%, Obama - 42%, Barr - 1%.
NEVADA (CNN/Time/Opinion Research): Obama - 49%, McCain - 44%, Others - 1%.
NEW MEXICO (CNN/Time/Opinion Research): Obama - 54%, McCain - 40%.
OHIO (Univ. of Akron): Obama - 40%, McCain - 40%.
PENNSYLVANIA (CNN/Time/Opinion Research): Obama - 48%, McCain - 43%, Others - 1%.
RHODE ISLAND (Brown Univ.): Obama - 53%, McCain - 30%.

This seems to speak for itself.

This article was just too good to pass by… Obama’s own state party has complete control over his home state, and can’t get their act together.

Illinois Dems offer little for Obama to brag about

When Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president from the steps of the Old State Capitol, he described Springfield as the crucible where he learned the art of politics and bridging division.

“It was here in Springfield where I saw all that is America converge,” he told a crowd of thousands that frigid February day in 2007. “It was here where we learned to disagree without being disagreeable. That it is possible to compromise so long as you know those principles that can never be compromised. And that so long as we are willing to listen to each other we can assume the best in people instead of the worst.”

One has to wonder today what Springfield Obama was talking about.

Given complete control of state government, Illinois Democrats have produced unbalanced budgets, callous funding cuts, and antagonistic gridlock.

Left out of the lineup is two-term Blagojevich, who has been dogged by federal investigations and bitter legislative gridlock.

· No Comments

Granted, it’s way too early for these to mean anything, and with the conventions coming up these numbers are horribly skewed and will continue to be so for a few weeks.  But here’s some quick and dirty recent poll numbers:

ARIZONA (Mason-Dixon): McCain - 47%, Obama - 41%.
CALIFORNIA (Rasmussen): Obama - 51%, McCain - 37%.
COLORADO (Quinnipiac): McCain - 47%, Obama - 46%.
COLORADO (Mason-Dixon): Obama - 46%, McCain - 43%.
INDIANA (Rasmussen): McCain - 46%, Obama - 42%.
KANSAS (SurveyUSA): McCain - 58%, Obama - 35%.
MICHIGAN (Detroit Free Press): Obama - 46%, McCain - 39%.
MISSISSIPPI (Rasmussen): McCain - 54%, Obama - 41%.
NEVADA (Mason-Dixon): McCain - 46%, Obama - 39%.
NEW MEXICO (Mason-Dixon): McCain - 45%, Obama - 41%.
NEW MEXICO (Rasmussen): Obama - 48%, McCain - 44%.
TENNESSEE (Rasmussen): McCain - 56%, Obama - 32%.
UTAH (Mason-Dixon): McCain - 62%, Obama - 23%.
VIRGINIA (PPP-D): Obama - 47%, McCain - 45%.
WYOMING (Mason-Dixon): McCain - 62%, Obama - 25%.

→ No CommentsTags: 2008 Presidential Election · Polls

Lipstick on a Pig

August 25th, 2008 · No Comments

Joe Biden?  C’mon…

From Congressional Quarterly this morning:

From the perspective of Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, the party activist who’s the Democratic challenger in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley-based 15th Congressional District, Barack Obama could not have picked a better running mate than Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of neighboring Delaware.

“There’s a reason that he’s called the third senator from Pennsylvania,” she said by telephone after a day of politicking at an annual fundraising event for local charities in Coplay, which is about a five-mile drive north of Allentown. “The folks I was shaking hands with were all talking about Sen. Biden.”

Bennett has more reason than most Democratic candidates to welcome Biden’s selection, as he was born in Scranton to the north and has long bought time on the Philadelphia airwaves, which also carry into the Lehigh Valley, to communicate to Delaware voters.

But she joined Democratic officials Sunday in predicting that Biden would be a help to candidates in competitive House districts across the country, not just to the eight Pennsylvanians — four challengers and four incumbents — who are in competitive races in the state. “I’m confident that he will help every Democrat on the ticket,” she said.

That’s quite a lark.  First, the Republicans haven’t chosen a V.P. candidate yet.  Second, like any Democrat would alter from the script of “rainbows and unicorns” they’ve used in the 2008 cycle.   Third, send me the names of 25 people who aren’t political insiders that knew anything about Biden other than his name and I’ll consider him more than a “nobody” choice.

Here’s some fun headlines from this morning:

• My Son, The Lobbyist: Biden’s Son a Well-Paid DC Insider - ABC News
• Saxman: Biden does not fit with Obama’s mantra of change - News Virginian
• Obama Fact Check Needed: Biden, ‘Committed Catholic’?? - NewsBusters.org
• Obama and Biden lose the script on their day in the sun - AFP
• Debating the Wisdom of Choosing Biden - Washington Post

→ No CommentsTags: Joe Biden

Captain Obvious Speaks!

August 9th, 2008 · No Comments

Here’s news that everyone should have already known…

Former Democratic US presidential hopeful John Edwards has admitted that he had an extra-marital affair and that he lied about it during his campaign.

Although we chuckled at this statement from Mr. Edwards:

“I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic,” Mr Edwards said, trying to explain his behaviour.

Yeah, you know, that’s why people think Edwards is a prick.

→ No CommentsTags: 2008 Presidential Election

Sick of the campaign yet?

August 6th, 2008 · No Comments

Well, at least sick of the media attention to Obama.  A new Pew survey shows most people are sick of hearing the media sing his praises.

Barack Obama may be the fresh face in this year’s presidential election, but nearly half say they’re already tired of hearing about him, a poll says.

With Election Day still three months away, 48 percent said they’re hearing too much about the Democratic candidate, according to a poll released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Just 26 percent said the same about his Republican rival, John McCain.

Yeah, color me among the many sick of news about Obama…

→ No CommentsTags: Barack Obama

Kaine for VP? Don’t bet on it yet…

August 2nd, 2008 · No Comments

There’s *LOTS* of rumors that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is Obama’s top pick for his running mate swirling right now.  Count us among those seemingly few that don’t believe the hype.

First, we remember back to 1996 and 2000, where one of our favorite Republicans, then-Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania was a “shoe-in” to be both Dole’s and Bush’s choice for VP.  In case you didn’t notice, Ridge didn’t get the nod.  But the attention paid to Ridge by the media gave both campaigns the cover and time they needed to make their decisions.

Second, we just don’t think he’d be the best candidate for Obama to pick, if he’s at all concerned with governing for all America instead of governing for all Democrats.  Dr. Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia has an excellent synopsis of the facts here, and we summarize his points below.

Benefits.

1. Personal chemistry.  Kaine and Obama have similar life stories, plus Kaine was the first non-Illinois governor to endorse the Obama campaign.
2. Emphasis on domestic issues.  Puts the campaign’s focus on domestic issues with a governor on the ballot.
3. Outside the Beltway.  Fits with Obama’s message of “change.”
4. Puts Virginia in the “lean Democrat” column automatically.  Virginia has been slowly creeping toward being a competitive state for years, a Virginian on the Democrat side of the ballot helps pull a good chunk of voters over from “undecided” quickly.
5. Special considerations.  Kaine is a Roman Catholic, white, pro-death penalty, and young.

Drawbacks.

1. Lack of experience.  Kaine hasn’t been governor for long, was lieutenant governor before that, and mayor.  His foreign affairs experience is more lacking even than Sen. Obama’s.
2. Hillary Clinton.  While Obama would be crazy to pick HRC as his running mate, he may need to throw a bone to her supporters — who still are not firmly settled with losing the primary.
3. Kaine sucks.  His administration hasn’t really accomplished anything, and the only event that he gets glowing reviews over is the Virginia Tech shooting tragedy.
4. Post-Kaine Virginia.  Moving Kaine from Richmond to Washington moves up all those “evil Republicans” into the governor’s office.

Bottom line, we think Kaine is just a cover for now, letting Obama come out and surprise everyone with his choice.  Have we been wrong before?  Definitely… Wait and see.

→ No CommentsTags: 2008 Presidential Election · Barack Obama

New Polls!

August 2nd, 2008 · 1 Comment

Sorry haven’t updated anything in a day or so.  Real life things got in the way, trying to roll out a new division of the firm and spare time is a luxury at the moment.

Here’s some of the latest presidential polls…

FLORIDA (Quinnipiac Univ.): Obama - 46%, McCain - 44%.
IDAHO (Research 2000): McCain - 53%, Obama - 37%.
KENTUCKY (Rasmussen): McCain - 52%, Obama - 43%.
MONTANA (Rasmussen): McCain - 47%, Obama - 47%.
OHIO (Quinnipiac Univ.): Obama - 46%, McCain - 44%.
PENNSYLVANIA (Quinnipiac Univ.): Obama - 49%, McCain - 42%.
TEXAS (Rasmussen): McCain - 52%, Obama - 44%.

→ 1 CommentTags: 2008 Presidential Election · Polls

← Previous Entries