Bayh a popular pick for veep short list

Hoosier senator’s credibility and popularity could help Obama in key states, experts say
By Mary Beth Schneider

If Sen. Barack Obama popped the question, Sen. Evan Bayh would say yes.

But pundits and politicians agree that whether a political marriage will happen between Bayh and Obama on the Democratic presidential ticket is anybody’s guess.

“Anybody who knows isn’t talking, and anybody who’s talking doesn’t know,” said Charlie Cook, editor of the Washington-based Cook Political Report.

For Bayh, the speculation that he is on a vice presidential short list is nothing new. He has been mentioned as a potential running mate in almost every election since 1992, when he was a first-term governor who received national attention for winning Indiana’s top office in a predominantly Republican state.

Read the rest.

The first months of 1776 had been anything but peaceful. Skirmishes, shootouts, and outright battles were raging from the Carolinas to Boston. Then General Washington’s Continental Army – though victorious in some instants – was dreadfully undermanned, badly supplied, and under-trained in the face of what was the most powerful army on the planet at the time.

Thomas Jefferson recorded that July 4, 1776 was an “unseasonably cool” day for Philadelphia. The aforementioned men gathered in the large room on the ground floor where they had spent so many days and nights to put their signatures to a document which could have very well become their own personal death warrants. They were, for all intents and purposes, committing high treason against the British Crown. King George would not look kindly upon their actions and would not have hesitated to execute the delegates had a few battles gone the other way.

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CNN reports a conference call former Vice President Dan Quayle had with reporters on Tuesday, in which he stated:

“I have a lot of grudging respect for what he [Barack Obama] did because he beat the Clintons, something we couldn’t do in 1992. The Clintons were very convincing in the campaign they ran. So I thought she would be the candidate.” 

In other words, Dan Quayle - who was apparently having a conference call with reporters to promote his participation in a golf tournament later this month - was indirectly complimenting Barack Obama for beating Hillary Clinton.

To fully grasp how unnecessary and awkward this situation truly is, consider the following absolutely made-up scenario: (more…)

Waaaaay early.

But already there has been a shuffle at the top of John McCain’s campaign brass.

John McCain has shuffled his top advisors after months of hand-wringing among Republican political operatives complaining about his presidential campaign’s lack of focus.

Senior advisor Steve Schmidt, who had been traveling with McCain, is taking over day-to-day operations; campaign manager Rick Davis will shift to a less central role.

This is probably nothing.

But an adjustment this early means they are either nervous about how things are going, or they are changing their tactics.

Whichever it is, they had better bringing into focus soon, or the “Straight Talk Express” will be quickly derailed.
]]> http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/02/trouble-in-the-mccain-campaign/feed/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/02/jason-lands-on-cnns-american-morning/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/02/jason-lands-on-cnns-american-morning/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:50:24 +0000 PD Administrator http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/02/jason-lands-on-cnns-american-morning/

Rush Limbaugh has apparently inked himself a deal that could be worth an excess of $400 million over the next eight years, according to a Drudge flash this morning.

That should be enough loot to widen the doors of his home, so he can fit his engorged ego through.
]]> http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/02/rush-limbaugh-is-a-big-fat-filthy-rich-idiot/feed/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/02/clark-webb-tag-team-mccain/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/02/clark-webb-tag-team-mccain/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:34:45 +0000 Cordeiro http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/02/clark-webb-tag-team-mccain/ This past Sunday, Wesley Clark, (General, United States Army - Retired), waded neck deep into the political swamp and started taking potshots at Senator John McCain (Captain, United States Navy – Retired) and his military service to the United States during the Vietnam War. Said Clark:

I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.

Let’s get one thing straight, Wes. McCain didn’t “ride” in a fighter plane. He flew it. In order to fly his 23rd combat mission over Vietnam he had to first be flung off a pitching carrier deck in his A-4 Skyhawk. Taking off was the easy part. Landing that single engine/single seat plane on a carrier deck is like trying to land on a postage stamp in the middle of the ocean all the while hoping to snag one of three steel arresting cables with a hook welded to the back of your plane in order to stop you from flying off the end of the carrier into the ocean.

Very few people on the earth can do this. Only Americans do it well.

Wesley Clark hasn’t backed down from his ludicrous statement that shocked even CBS’ Bob Schieffer. Well, yesterday a man who I am sorry to say represents me in the United States Senate waded up next to Clark and added his endorsing comment. Yes, I’m talking about none other than Senator Jim “The Angry Potato” Webb (D-Washington Post).
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Republicans

1. Mark Sanford - He’s a conservative darling, and fits the profile well, if McCain cares to appease the grassroots. The question becomes, does Mac Daddy really care about the conservative base?

2. Mitt Romney - Wealthy, polished, wealthy, already has some national name ID, wealthy, tireless, wealthy, and negates questions about McCain’s weakness on economics issues. Oh, and did we mention he’s wealthy?

3. Bobby Jindal - He’s a complete long shot, but we’ve not seen a long shot get this much buzz since Geraldine Ferrarro in ‘84.

The GOP Darkhorse

Sarah Palin - Great back story, very charming and likable, and serves smack dab in the middle of a drilling-where-the-greens-don’t-want-to-drill state. That state happens to be Alaska. She’s got a bit of a “hottie” buzz about her, but like we said, she’s from Alaska.

Democrats

1. Evan Bayh - He’s the poster boy for Moderate Democrats, plus he’s vetted and experienced. If Obama wants to add very popular, moderate balance, this IS the best pick. By the way, he’s moderate.

2. Evan Bayh - He’s such a good pick, we think he occupies spots #1 and #2.

3. Sam Nunn - He’s also moderate, and very experienced, and also fits the ‘insider’ model that is common with Veep picks. He’s also been out of politics for 10 years, and does the ‘change’ candidate want an old-school Beltway insider? He may need one, and Nunn is just as good as any of them.

The Dem Darkhorse

Al Gore - He’s never been more respected around the world, his pet issue has never been more important, and it would be the ultimate sacrifice for country and would cement a rare place in history. Here’s one for you - who are the only two men to serve as Vice President under two different Presidents?
]]> http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/01/2008-vp-power-rankings-july-1st/feed/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/01/obamas-choice-biden-or-gore-seems-right/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/01/obamas-choice-biden-or-gore-seems-right/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:04:36 +0000 Patrick Keegan http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/01/obamas-choice-biden-or-gore-seems-right/ The Wall Street Journal makes a compelling case for two men that would likely give Barack Obama his best chance at beating John McCain in the general election - Senator Joe Biden and former Vice President Al Gore.

Gore is obviously the reach candidate here. Why would someone who served eight years in the position and lost one of the closest, most controversial elections ever, want to become Vice President again? Well, mainly because he’d be given free reign by an Obama administration to work on his passion - the environment. Besides Gore’s personal benefits, Obama gets someone who was arguably a Supreme Court decision away from being President. He’s respected abroad and even if many American’s don’t agree with his politics, they’d have to begrudgingly agree that he’s qualified to step in to the big chair, if it were required.

Biden is a more realistic pick. He acquitted himself quite nicely in the early parts of the Democratic nomination process, even though it didn’t translate into votes. He’s got a ton of service time in the Senate when it comes to foreign policy, and he appears to be a “bulldog” that many VP candidates need to be in a general election.

Gore is the dream candidate. Biden is the safe pick. Both would go a long way to help Barack Obama in the general.

It’s summertime. Time to fire up the grill and cook up some highly overpriced meat. Time to see four-foot, growth-stunted teenage girls flip around on a mat during the Olympics. Time to wonder how bad is the new Will Smith movie.

McCain’s off to Colombia? Send me postcard. Obama flip-flops on public financing for his campaign? Who cares? I thought white people got mad when a black man stayed on government welfare. Go figure!

No matter. I’m fed up with all of it. It’s vacation-time people. Pack up your pundits and take a couple of weeks off. I don’t care. Well that’s not true. I do care, but the point is that it’s finally summertime, dig?

Energy crisis? Yes, gas prices are high. But they’re always high during the summer travel period, but complaining about them while filling up your V-12 SUV isn’t going to lower the price much now is it? Iraq and Afghanistan? Yes, there are two wars going on, but I can’t do anything about that until I vote in November (I suppose.) And yeah, I guess it’s cool that the Bush administration removed Nelson Mandela from the U.S. Terror Watch list as a birthday present but – wait a second.

Is that right? Nelson FREAKING Mandela was on what? What’s wrong with this equation? Nelson Mandela equals terrorist. Really? The man is 90 years old and fought the good fight against apartheid. Today, Nelson Mandela couldn’t blow up a bathroom after a burrito run through Mexico while downing shots of Correctol. Sheesh!

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, maybe we should ignore the candidates until they pick their running mates and have their respective national conventions. After all, are you really anxious for more campaign drama? This election cycle has already had more twists than that pretzel President Bush choked on back in his first term (ba da BUMP!)

Are you looking forward to the day you’re not glued to the set to hear MSNBC’s Chris Matthews yell at somebody, or marvel at that uber-cool iPhone-esque touch-screen monitor CNN’s John King gets to play with, or wonder why Fox News’ Sean Hannity oddly resembles George Costanza the way he squints at the camera?

For the next few months, I might be mentally on a hammock, whistling the theme music those kids sing in the opening credits from “Meatballs.”  Why? Because I’m ready for the summer.

Using a fun little site called 270towin.com along with the RealClearPolitics poll averages, I’m going to post an electoral map with the results as they could happen if votes were counted today.

Now obviously, this is all based on polling, which I’m sure to have several of you grumble about. But I think this could make for an interesting, occasional snapshot of which way the tide is flowing in the battleground states.

Using the RCP averages as of today to pick winners for the battleground states, here’s the results:

First, the only good news for McCain is that the latest RCP averages have him back on top in a very tightly contested race in Virginia.

After that, it gets ugly for the Straight Talk Express. Current poll averages have him now down in New Hampshire, Michigan, New Mexico and Indiana.

Compared to my first map, Obama now controls the Rust Belt and has made some gains in the Southwest, while losing some ground in the “Solid South”.

Based on current poll averages, if the election were held today, Barack Obama would roll into the Oval Office with a comfortable electoral victory of 304 to 234.
]]> http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/01/1774/feed/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/01/rise-of-the-obamatons/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/01/rise-of-the-obamatons/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:00:42 +0000 Cordeiro http://politicalderby.com/2008/07/01/rise-of-the-obamatons/ Though I live in what is commonly referred to as the Washington DC Metro Area, I very seldom cross the Potomac and venture into the Nation’s Capitol. There reasons for my chronic avoidance of DC are many - it’s crowded, there’s no place to park, and I always feel less intelligent when I go back to Virginia than I did when I left. Perhaps it’s something in the water.

But I digress.

Last week my son, Corderinho, enjoyed a day-camp at the National Zoo.  While this was fun for him, it meant that I had to go collect him from the Zoo after work lest the zookeepers feed him to the lions.  I’m pretty sure the Ravishing Mrs. Cordeiro would have thought me a bad father had I let our son become lion-chow, so I dutifully crossed the Potomac and walked the six blocks from the Metro stop to the Zoo gates.

In the midst of my trek through the super-humidified street, I was approached by a college-age young woman who asked me the following question:

Do you have a moment for Barack Obama?

Of course I had a moment for Barack Obama! As a matter of fact, I had three or four moments to spare - so I entertained her question.

Her mission, of course, was much like Barack Obama’s - namely to separate me from some of my money. She “only” wanted a C-Note from me so I could join Obama’s campaign to “fix the economy, give free health care to everyone, end the war, and bring hope and change to America.”

Here’s the rest of the exchange:

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McCain frequently points out that he led “the largest squadron in the U.S. Navy,” but Clark said on CBS television that that was not enough to support a claim to the presidency.

“He hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall” as a wartime commander, the general said on CBS. Clark is mentioned as a possible Obama running mate, although he originally supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

When the interviewer, Bob Schieffer, noted to Clark that McCain had been shot down over Hanoi, Clark replied, “I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.”

When Schieffer then asked what executive responsibility Obama had held - the Democrat’s résumé includes work as a community organizer in Chicago and eight years in the Illinois legislature - Clark said that Obama was running on the strength of his character and good judgment.

Um, what?

PD regulars know I’m not a J-Mac Man, but he obviously has vastly more military experience than our two most recent presidents. (Some might argue he still has more experience than W, since Cheney’s reportedly been running the war.)

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe Obama has oodles of experience from playing Halo 3 on the weekends with his kids. But I sorta kinda doubt that. This is a guy who’s probably uncomfortable carrying a loaded cap gun.

Why in the name of Community Organizers would Wes Clark want to assail McCain on this issue? Hit him where he’s weak, of course, but McCain’s service, sacrifice and back story are the things Americans like most about him.

If Obama thinks he can win by minimizing McCain’s military background, then he’s gone back to smoking more than just cigarettes.

UPDATE: Obama formally rejects Clark’s comments (and informally calls him a big fat doofus with no shot of ever being on a national ticket)

Sometimes the Supremes get it right.  Sometimes they get it dreadfully wrong.  This week’s decisions brought a little of both. In the Kennedy vs. Louisiana case, they blew it. Simply put, if raping a young child doesn’t the offender for the Death Penalty, then I question the wisdom of those who set the qualifications.  I seem to remember a scriptural reference to tying millstones around those who “offend” little ones.

But I digress.

Yesterday, for the first time in the history of the Supremes, the Court took under its magnifying glass the Second Amendment which reads:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (Emphasis Added)

The issue posed by the case before the Supremes was whether or not the City of Washington, DC had violated the Constitution by enforcing a near-total ban on private gun ownership in the District.  Gun bans are supposed to reduce crime, but crime stats prove that if DC isn’t America’s Murder Capitol, its nearly always running a close second or third.
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• MTV wanted me to “Rock the Vote!”
• MTV wanted me to “Choose or lose!” 
• MTV wanted me to “Fight For Your Rights!” 

MTV lead the charge in the late 1990’s against the apathy of younger voters. MTV made it clear that they they wanted your vote (i.e. “Rock the Vote”), and they wanted your sex (i.e. “The Real World”). So imagine my surprise to learn that MTV, who has spoon fed the youth electorate for well over a decade, is just now allowing political ads? Huh?That’s right.

After almost 27 years years, MTV will now begin accepting political ads. Said MTV: 

“MTV Networks will accept political advertising that is national in scope, sponsored by a legally qualified candidate, a candidate’s official campaign committee, a nationally recognized political party, or the official congressional campaign committee(s) of a nationally recognized party.”

In other words, sorry Dennis Kucinich.

While I applaud MTV for allowing presidential candidates the opportunity to share their message with younger voters, it still amazes me that it took MTV 27 years to come to this decision.

In summary: MTV may have requested that you “Rock the Vote” when you were young. What they didn’t tell you is that this “rocking” would probably come in the form of a rocking chair.

Never the less, I’ve decided to broaden my horizons a bit and write about something else. 

There is a part of this nation which those who have lived there refer to as God’s Country.  Yes, it is a bit arrogant, but if you’ve ever experienced Colorado, you’ll understand why those who call that state home are so biased. [Full Disclosure - I did live in Colorado many years ago]

This summer, the Democratic National Convention will take place in the Mile High City. It is there the delegates, super-delegates, and assembled media throngs will coronate Obama as their official Presidential nominee.  I have to hand it to Howlin’ Mad Howie Dean & Company - they did pick a great site for their convention.

See! See! I did say something positive about the Democrats. And Howard Dean even!

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Since when is his word on the scripture law? Silly me, I thought the Protestant movement started with moving away from what one person (the Pope) had to say about scripture.

Dobson is pushing his political beliefs as religion, and of course he can’t be wrong, could he?

Why is Mister Dobson’s interpretation of religion accurate?

This is the problem I have with the Republican party, a party I’ve been a member of for a long time. I’m of the “live and let live” group. I don’t agree with everything people want, but as long as they don’t force their beliefs on me, I’m fine with it.

Mister Dobson may as well try to introduce brainwashing to us all.

Here’s what Politico had to say:

Sarah Palin

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may be nationally unknown, but in her state she is nothing short of a political phenomenon.

Palin, 44, would add youth to the GOP ticket. As governor she has shown a willingness to veto some of the state’s large capital projects, no small plus for fiscal conservatives. But it’s her personal biography, which excites social conservatives, and reformist background that might most appeal to McCain.

She’s stridently anti-abortion, and recently brought to term her fifth child — who she knew would have Down syndrome. A hunter, fisher and family woman with a rapid professional rise, Palin is a natural for Republican framing. (more…)

]]> http://politicalderby.com/2008/06/24/interesting-take-on-sarah-palin-from-politico/feed/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/06/24/obamas-new-campaign-poster/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/06/24/obamas-new-campaign-poster/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:29:45 +0000 Cordeiro http://politicalderby.com/2008/06/24/obamas-new-campaign-poster/ One of the many people currently occupying the underside of the Team Obama Bus just got hit in the face with the Obama “Seal”.  Not even the hip latin “Yes We Can” phrase could make up for the fact that people looked at the fruit of Obama’s graphic artist and said “What the hell was he thinking?”

Well, here’s my entry for what should replace the Obama Seal.  I hope I get royalties!

]]> http://politicalderby.com/2008/06/24/obamas-new-campaign-poster/feed/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/06/24/cmon-obama-mccain-rolls-dice-im-feeling-lucky/ http://politicalderby.com/2008/06/24/cmon-obama-mccain-rolls-dice-im-feeling-lucky/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:49:30 +0000 Ryan Shattuck http://politicalderby.com/2008/06/24/cmon-obama-mccain-rolls-dice-im-feeling-lucky/ Do you use Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” button? You should. The oft neglected neighbor of the much more popular “Google Search” button can provide just as many hours of entertainment. Take for example, the presidential candidates.

I was doing research online and, with the modern journalists’ credo in mind (”If It’s On The Internet, Then It Must Be True!”), I turned to Google for answers. I was curious as to how the presidential candidates are defined by online dictionaries. You can too - try this simple experiment at home!

Enter “Barack Obama dictionary” in the Google search field, then click on “I’m Feeling Lucky.” The results?

Cool! It takes me directly to an entry about him in Urban Dictionary! Hip! Modern! Popular! Youth-vote getting! Hyperbole!

Now enter “John McCain dictionary” in the Google search field, and then click on “I’m Feeling Lucky.” The results?

Oh crap. I feel depressed now. Thanks for ruining my mood, Google.

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