Obama VP Announcement Imminent; McCain’s Set for August 29th

At this time tomorrow, most likely, we will officially know the identity of Obama’s VP. The big rumor right now is Joe Biden. For someone who voted for the resolution to authorize for in Iraq, has a history with plagiarism, and has said some really … racist things in the past, he’s getting rave reviews in the liberal press.

You know things are getting serious when people are already editing Wikipedia to say that he is the official Democratic VP candidate.

That said, we’ll wait for some confirmation before divind headfirst into the shallow end. But Biden’s bluntness does make some sense. And we have been very complementary of Biden’s debate skills this election. (I still don’t understand how Edwards managed to get outdebated by Cheney in 2004, although who knows, he may have been thinking of how to get a mistress at the time.)

Of course, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen was a widely praised VP choice in 1988 too. So who knows.

McCain for his part has sent out a save the date to conservative media that he will announce his VP the day after the Democratic Convention on Friday August 29.

Marc Ambinder runs down the logic:

This week, it splices into the threads of attention that Barack Obama’s campaign is sewing ahead of Obama’s announcement.

Next week, it ensures that the press pays at least mild attention to McCain.

I have to disagree. it tells the press it can ignore McCain until August 29th, which is a Friday. When the announcement is imminent but the date unclear, you get nonstop media coverage (see Obama the last few weeks). When it’s set, the media can run off and do other things knowing you won’t make waves. If McCain wanted that media coverage next week, he’d make the announcement just before the Democratic Convention, and use that week for the rollout tour. Now, any negative news about a VP is going to be breaking during the Republican Convention, providing a mixed message at best. Meanwhile, it looks like Obama will have at least a few days advance to rebut such problems and give the Convetnion planners advance news on the identity of the choice. Not to mention that McCain had a two month head start to begin with.

There’s a reason bad news always leaks on Friday: people don’t pay attenion. On one of the last Friday’s of the summer, McCain is going to fire the biggest bullet he has left? I don’t like that strategy. I think it undermines any Obama convention bounce far less than they anticipate.

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Will Bayh Be Announced As VP This Week?

The rumor mongering has hit a fever pitch. I’m not interested in making a prediction on whether that’s true, but I will say that this whole episode sounds somewhat similar to the whole “Ned Yost is Going to be Fired” angle from Badger Blogger earlier this year (that turned out not to be true).

Point being, if you’re not sure, just sit and wait. Reporting breaking news is one thing. Guessing what the breaking news is going to be is another.

If it is indeed Evan Bayh, we’ll have a full recap and analysis of our own vetting later this week. However, just remember when -everyone knew- that it would be Tim Kaine. These things tend to change very quickly. We’ll see.

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A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words (2)

Political cartoons have long been staples in American politics.  Before television, internet cartoons, and very controversial New Yorker covers, editorial cartoonists rawly exposed political happenings and projected their interpretations into the minds of their viewers.  William Tweed, a corrupt political machine politician in 19th century New York City, once commented: 

I don’t care a straw for your newspaper articles, my constituents don’t know how to read, but they can’t help seeing them damned pictures.

Here’s a look at some of this week’s political cartoons and what message they are trying to get across.  It is important to note where and what papers these cartoons are published in, as they provide important insight into the minds and messages effecting local voters.

Steve Sack, of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, in Minnesota looks at the Republican ticket and the rumors (which I think are actually pretty legitimate) about Governor Tim Pawlenty being McCain’s VP.

Mike Lester, of the Rome News-Tribune, in Rome, Georgia discusses Obama’s trip abroad and the implications of Obama’s celebrity status on American elections:

In The Detroit News in Michigan, Henry Payne also addresses Obama’s trip abroad and his Berlin speech: 

Read more

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Veepstakes News Roundup (July 4, 2008)

If you’re interested in the happenings with the candidates’ search for a running mate, then here’s a roundup of recent news…

• Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced that he will be marrying his current girlfriend; they have been dating for nine months.  Crist is often discussed as a possible running mate for John McCain, however, his bachelorhood combined with rumors of homosexuality have prevented many from seriously discussing him.  This marriage is seen by some as a way to deal with these roadblocks.
• John Edwards and Karl Rove are set to debate in September.  The smart folks at FiveThirtyEight see this as a strong indication that Edwards is definitely out of the VP running.
• Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is discussed as a potential choice for McCain (Phoenix Business Journal)
• Jonathan Alter makes the case for why Sam Nunn should be Obama’s VP choice. Meanwhile, Michael Goodwin discusses Hillary Clinton’s rising VP prospects (extra commentary on Clinton from PoliGazette here).
• Andrew Romano profiles Gov. Sebelius in his most recent veepstakes profile. (I only recommend reading this if you are REALLY intersted in Sebelius.  Otherwise, I wouldn’t).
• Rachel Maddow spews insanity when she says that Jeb Bush is currently McCain’s top VP choice.

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Partisan Hacks: Rachel Maddow ‘Would Bet’ That McCain Chooses Jeb Bush As VP

Appearing on yesterday’s Race For The White House on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow discussed the likelihood of John McCain choosing Jeb Bush as his running mate.  She stated:

Joe Scarborough: Rachel, you know, George W. Bush is like kryptonite to Republicans this year.  But, is Jeb Bush, the good Bush to be standing next to in 2008?

Rachel Maddow: Well, Floridians like Jeb Bush and it seems like John McCain likes Jeb Bush.  I mean everything you hear, I don’t know either of the candidates personally, right - I’m not an insider person who is getting that sort of information.  But, the people who are close the candidates, when they talk about who John McCain personally likes, who he has good chemistry with, they talk about Jeb Bush.  I think that when you hear McCain sort of bring up Jeb Bush unprompted in conversation, when you see Jeb Bush make this detour in Mexico City to go see McCain today - I think they’re testing just how important Jeb Bush’s last name is.  Because, if he had a different last name, I think there’s no question he would be right at the top of the list for McCain.

Scarborough: …But Rachel, you’re not saying that McCain could possibly pick Jeb Bush as his vice president, are you?

Maddow: If I had to bet, and I don’t bet, but if I had to bet today I would bet on Jeb Bush.  I honestly would.

It’s worth noting that last summer, Maddow put forth a conspiracy theory, which involved Cheney resigning for medical reasons and being replaced with Jeb Bush, who could then run for president as an incumbent VP.  Onto, yesterday’s comment…

To begin, the mere suggestion that McCain would choose Jeb Bush as his running mate is unbelievably silly.  I don’t care what side of the aisle you are on, if you’re on television you shouldn’t say things this absurd.  But, to Maddow’s credit, she did warn everyone how willfully ignorant she was.  After all, she acknowledged that she wasn’t an insider and has no specific information to support her senseless contention.  However, if you break down her analysis, it’s pretty obvious that she was solely saying it for political reasons, since, the more you tie McCain to Bush (either directly or indirectly, the better for the Democrats)…

She does provide a reason for her conclusion though: McCain is testing Jeb’s last name by meeting with him in Mexico City.  I’m not entirely sure how a meeting that took place in Mexico City with significantly less coverage than it would have gotten back in the US somehow satisfies or signifies testing Jeb’s name.  It actually doesn’t make sense.  But, that’s okay, because it doesn’t need to.  It only needs to link Bush and McCain.

It’s a shame when people, like Maddow, who spend so much time complaining about partisan hacks neglect to realize just what a hack they’ve become themselves.  In my opinion, anyone that prefaces a statement with something to the effect of ‘I have no idea what I am talking about, but…’ should not be allowed to finish that thought on a televised news program.  I guess I’m just reaching for the stars though…

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2008Central.net Presidential Election Podcast (07/03/08)

In this podcast we discuss (1) the shake up in the McCain Campaign, (2) Obama’s statement on revising his Iraq strategy, (3) Obama and his history with low income housing subsidies for private developers and (4) rumors about McCain’s VP announcement timetable…

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Feel free to email us questions/suggestions for our next podcast (you can also email an audio file of your question and we’ll include it in the podcast).

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Warner and Strickland Withdraw from VP Consideration

Over the past week, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and former Virginia Gov. and current Senate candidate Mark Warner have both withdrawn their names from consideration from consideration to be Sen. Obama’s VP in no uncertain terms.

There words are reminiscent of the words of Civil War Gen. William T. Sherman, who has set the standard for denying anything with his statement of “If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve” regarding the Republican presidential nomination in 1884.

Right now, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has to be considered the front runner for Obama’s VP, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty the favorite for McCain’s VP. We’re going to lay low with the speculation for now though. We’re of the opinion that guessing the VP before hand is largely a waste of time. But rest assured, we’ll cover it thoroughly when it is announced.

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2008 Election Weekly Roundup (June 9-13, 2008)

A roundup of 2008 election news for the week of June 9-13:

• Tim Russert suddenly passed away while at work on Friday (6/13/08).
• Tom Brokaw appropriately reminds viewers to be wary of “commentary disguised as reporting.”
• McCain’s ad-libs on the campaign trail are beginning to confound reporters; thus bringing attention to them.  Some examples are McCain’s “it’s a google” statement or his suggestion that in preparation for natural disasters “We should be able to deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies.”
• Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D) rules out the vice-presidency, saying: ”Absolutely not. If drafted I will not run, nominated I will not accept and if elected I will not serve. So, I don’t know how more crystal clear I can be.”
• Republicans supporting Obama (’Obamacans’) get a spot of attention this week.  A nice rundown of some of the prominent Obamacans can be found here.  And, this story will only continue to get fuel while some major players, like Colin Powell, mull the idea of supporting Obama.
• Jonathan Chait offers his analysis on the current state of the presidential race.  It’s worth a read.
• The Supreme Court extended habeus corpus rights to detainees at Guantanamo.  An excellent roundup of news/information about these decisions can be found here.  This kind of case, especially with its closeness, will continue to remind voters of the importance that this election has for the future direction of the Supreme Court.  John McCain has already called this decision one of the “worst in the history of this country.”
• McCain continues aggressively targeting Hillary supporters and independents.  Tomorrow, McCain will hold a virtual town hall tomorrow for Democratic and Independent voters.

Think there’s something missing? Please let us know (either by email or commenting).  Also, this roundup is not exhaustive and is likely to be supplemented as I digest the rest of news from this week.

 

 

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Jim Gilmore: Not a Better Senate Candidate Than Presidential One

Mark Warner has raised more than 9 times as much as Jim Gilmore so far in the Virginia Senate race and has more than 21 times what Gilmore has in the bank:

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gimore (R), who is seeking the Senate seat of the retiring Sen. John Warner (R), is being crushed by his Democratic opponent, and former Virginia governor Mark Warner, on the fundraising front. This according to the latest reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Gilmore reported raising just $402,000 in the first quarter, according to his first quarter 2008 giling with the FEC, bringing his total raised to just over $753,000 since he jumped into the campaign last November. Gilmore has $208,000 in cash-on-hand.

Mark Warner, on the other hand raised $2.52 million in the first quarter, according to his FEC reports. The Warner for Senate committee reported cash-on-hand of $4.38 million. Warner has raised more than $6.3 million overall since entering the race.

We’ll be looking more at Senate races this summer once the primaries are over, but this underscores the race in Virginia, which will be a crucial swing state likely this fall in the Presidential race. (I’m not optimistic about Gilmore Republicans).

With both Jim Webb and Mark Warner rumored as VP candidates as well, this race will be something to watch.

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Condi Rice And The Vice Presidency…

In a word: no.

Making the rounds today is another article that discusses Condi Rice and the vice presidency. Today’s buzz is generated by the same information in a report from late March.  It’s honestly a nonstory for two reasons: 1) the entire notion that Condi is actively seeking the VP is based on very little substantive information and 2) it wouldn’t matter anyway, since she wouldn’t be picked by McCain.

So then why are bloggers discussing it as though it could be true/likely?  I have no idea.  

Move along people, there’s definitely nothing to see here…

[Photo Credit: MSNBC]

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Notes From The Rest Of The Campaign…

Virtually all the coverage is focused on John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So, what else is going on in Presidential Election land? Some notes…

• Politically irrelevant (and justifiably so) candidate, Daniel Imperato draws the ire of a librarian. Apparently, Imperato has been placing press releases framed as news stories in foreign news release services that are subsequently getting pick up by Google News and Yahoo News and making their way into readers mailboxes. Some headlines from Imperato’s stealth stories (I do not suggest reading them):
  • Imperato on the Road to Recovery after Surgery - An article about Imperato’s “major eye surgery”
  • 2008 US Presidential Candidate and Papal Knight D. Imperato Named as Grand Prior of Orden Bonaria for the US and Canada, & Wife Jan Deborah
  • Media Alert: The G8 Summit: Subject Africa; Presidential Hopeful Dan Imperato Comments on the G8 Summit and Their Dealings with Africa
  • Leading 2008 Presidential Candidate Imperato Speaks on Corporate America
• Some guy’s been fasting for 3 weeks in hopes of persuading Nader to drop his bid for the presidency. Thus far, this effort has been unsuccessful and will likely remain so, especially given that in the recent Zogby poll, Nader’s polling between 5-6% nationally (caveat emptor: it’s Zobgy). Also, Nader’s picked a running mate - Matt Gonzalez.
• Libertarian George Phillies leads his rivals in individual contributions, which will no doubt be one of his arguments at the Libertarian Party’s Convention (they choose their nominee at the convention). At a recent Libertarian candidates debate, Phillies argued that he had the strongest organization (or one of the strongest organizations) of all the candidates (video of the debate available here). For what it’s worth, Phillies’ claim is probably true. Of all the Libertarian candidates, he’s certainly the most active based on my experience/research/reading.
• In a bold move demonstrating what can only be characterized as confidence, Democratic contender Mike Gravel (yes he’s still in the race despite what you may have heard) has expressed support for Green party hopeful Jesse Johnson. I guess this means the pain train is headed for one of Johnson’s Green Party nomination rivals, Cynthia McKinney?
• Behind, Behind The Scenes: Sam Nunn’s been mentioned as a potential running mate for Mike Bloomberg, when talk of a Bloomberg run was in vogue (but that’s soo yesterday) and there was also talk of him running as an independent a while back. Last month, an article Newsweek named Nunn as a suggested Secretary of State for Obama. Recently, George Will upped the ante by suggesting that Obama pick Nunn as his running mate. Historical note: Nunn was also mentioned as a potential running mate for Kerry in 2004. It’s highly unlikely that Nunn would make Obama’s short list, even with Nunn’s respect as an independent person. Moreover, even if Nunn was on that VP list, it’s also unlikely that he’d accept. But, at least George Will is trying, right?

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2008Central.net Presidential Election Podcast (March 16, 2008)

This podcast discusses (1) the state of the race; (2) updates on John McCain; (3) the Florida and Michigan delegation troubles; (4) a substantive discussion about Obama and Rev. Wright; (5) we answer questions from readers and (6) much much more…

[Subscribe to 2008Central.net's Presidential Election Podcast]

Feel free to email us questions/suggestions for our next podcast (you can also email an audio file of your question and we’ll include it in the podcast).

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Mitt Romney To Create A PAC

Mitt Romney plans to create a political action committee (PAC):

“We’re thinking about what new entity can be created to allow Governor Romney to remain politically active so he can raise money and campaign for Republicans, and advocate for the issues he cares about,” Eric Fehnrstrom, Romney’s long-time aide, said in an e-mail message.

And just in case McCain doesn’t pick him to be his running-mate (and he won’t), Romney already plans to Read more

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Ten Things To Read Today (Wednesday, March 12)

Today’s “should-reads”…

1. The Obama campaign picked a fight with the Clinton campaign over the statement that North Carolina would not be contested in the general election. This led to a conference call, the audio of which we have posted here. Marc Ambinder notes the state could conceivably be a swing state this cycle; Obama is currently up 8 points for the primary that is scheduled on May 6. More out there is the suggestion that Obama could contest Kansas this fall, based only on it is where his grandmother was from and that some McCain aides lobbied against Boeing and for Airbus in the recent tanker deal. The McCain campaign finds the idea of any fire to this smoke preposterous. Matthew Yglesias says people should look at all states that could conceivably be in play depending on the nominee, not just ones that Kerry barely lost.
2. Rudy Giuliani is holding a press conference tomorrow in Pennsylvania; Hotline speculates that he may be the chair of McCain’s VP Selection Committee. Of course, the chair of George W. Bush’s committee was one Richard Cheney. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney tells Hannity that he’d love the job and that McCain is the “Big Dog.”
3. Josh Patashnik finds that Obama is running away from reformist credentials on education instead of running on them. A great read that briefly also touches on Clinton’s traditional Democratic approach to education (and hence the NEA endorsement) and that McCain would probably not waste political capital on the issue if elected. Considering the renewal of No Child Left Behind that awaits the next President, it’s an issue that should be getting far more attention than it is. (Required nod to Ed in 08).
4. I want the Geraldine Ferraro fiasco to be over with, so let me just link to Ezra Klein saying that candidates are who they are and hypotheticals in that regard are absurd, since it’s what I would have written had I thought of it. Her tour of talk shows this morning was embarassing to me as a person who thinks ideas in politics should matter, and it’s about time she was removed from the Clinton campaign, who at least twice reiterated that Ferraro was not speaking for them. They apparently forced her to resign, and while I still have unanswered questions (why resign if you are “absolutely not” sorry for your comments?), it’s for the best to leave them unanswered and just move on.
5. There is now an official projection of Obama winning the Texas caucus (technically conventions) by CNN, though the final tally will not be in for a while. And it appears that between those caucuses, and the results in Wyoming and Mississippi, that Obama has completely made up any delegate gains of Clinton on March 4. In fact, Obama will get more delegates from Texas than Clinton will. The math keeps hurting Clinton at this point; Andrew Sullivan points to a Daily Kos analysis that posits even a big win in Pennsylvania will only get Clinton a relatively small number of delegates; Obama could make up that amount in North Carolina and Indiana. Andrew Romano meanwhile interviews Pennsylvania politics expert G. Terry Madonna on all things Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Ambinder has the Obama campaign delegate spreadsheet on where the race is.
6. Hillary Clinton won a good amount of Republicans in Mississippi yesterday, and Mark Blumenthal investigates why.

Read more

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Rove Talking Up Romney For VP

Take this with a grain of salt since the source if Robert Novak, but there are reported whispers of a push for Romney to be McCain’s vp choice:

A footnote: Karl Rove and other prominent Republicans are talking up a McCain-Romney harmony ticket despite personal dislike between the two presidential candidates. Romney also would have to overcome opposition to him going on the ticket by his closest advisers.

Recently, we noted one of Mitt Romney’s sons hinting at the possibility of his father taking the VP spot.  Ann Coulter has also urged McCain to pick Romney as his running mate, Read more

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Clinton to Appear on SNL Tonight and other notes.

Let’s hope she’s funnier than in the debates. Video will be posted as soon as it’s available.

In other news:

The Texas caucus has disaster written all over it. There needs to be some sort of permanent leaders in these from now on who know what they’re doing. It’s ridiculous to elect a chair and secretary every time. Or, at least, let’s encourage campaigns to work together for on this.

Obama picked up a superdelegate in Alabama.

John Kerry of all people caused the Clinton campaign headaches in Texas.

The Washington Post editorial board (rightly) says both Obama and Clinton are pandering on NAFTA.

Kevin Sheekey, formerly the Bloomberg aide seemingly in charge of floating rumors of Bloomberg running for President, now floats rumors of Bloomberg being Obama’s VP.

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Live Blog Of CNN / LA Times / Politico Republican Debate In California (January 30, 2008)

[NOTE: If you're looking for coverage of the CNN/LA Times/Politico Democratic Debate in California between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, you can find our live blog of that debate here]

Tonight is the CNN/Los Angeles/Politico Republican Debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. It will begin at 8pm est and will air on CNN and will stream live at both CNN and LA Times‘ websites. The participating candidates will be Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.

7:45: 15 minutes to go. I’m not sure what the seating locations will be yet, but I do know that McCain’s staffer won the first pick for location on the stage and had to call back to headquarters to confirm the location.

7:49: Format: No rules, No time limits. I guess ever since Wolf Blitzer threw out the rules at the last debate, CNN’s just decided to really go wild.

7:58: Lou Dobbs is expressing outrage (not necessarily about anything specific…just outrage…he wants you to know that he’s very disturbed).

8:00: And here we go! Anderson Cooper begins with a history lesson about the room they’re in. Usually, I’m opposed to these kind of explanatory intros, but given the fact that the debate is being held under the old Air Force One, I can understand the need to explain what the deal with the plane is.

8:03: First question, are Americans better off now than they were 8 years ago? Mitt Romney says that that’s a question for President Bush, then launches into defense of his record in Mass. Anderson Cooper gets indignant and wants an answer, Romney shows viewers that he’s able to stand up to Anderson Cooper, but does offer some discussion of the problems he sees in America now.

8:06: McCain says he’ll bring some straight talk, offers a bit of gloom and then talks about making the Bush tax cuts permanent. McCain states that he believes Americans are better off now than they were 8 years ago, if you look at everything.

8:07: Huckabee plainly states that he doesn’t think we’re better off now than we were 8 years ago, states that the President isn’t solely responsible, so is the congress. Huckabee says that Americans want someone that is honest and straight with them. I wonder if he’s aware that McCain already has that catchphrase locked up?

8:09: Paul states the problems are caused by foreign policy and we must acknowledge that those policies need to come to an end.

8:12: Romney takes a shot at McCain’s conservatism by noting McCain’s NY Times endorsement. McCain reminds Romney that both of Romney’s hometown papers, which know him best, endorsed him over Romney. Ouch. McCain continues to talk up his conservatism by mentioning some people that support him.

8:15: Romney defends his record on job growth by noting that some of the negative data on job growth included a time period under the former Governor. He also explains the fee increases under his administration. Romney also touts the work he did on health care and notes that when he left there was a balanced budget and a small surplus.

8:18: Huckabee talks conservatism: lower taxes, streamlining the government, amendment banning gay marriage and a life amendment. Something about these, “who is more conservative” questions seem sort of pointless at some point.

8:21: McCain is asked about Gov. Schwarzenegger’s environmental law proposals, which are much different than the steps that the Bush Administration would take towards combating climate change. Given the impending endorsement for Arnold, obviously McCain needs to tread lightly and he does. He responds by noting that he believes in federalism, which has really turned into code for “I won’t force you to do something. Please don’t shy away from me because of this issue.” McCain then gives his oft used version of Pascal’s Wager for support of green technology.

8:25: Romney says that he supports states’ rights to control and regulate their own emissions. Huckabee then tries to explain why Federalism is good, he then goes on to state that Alexander Hamilton was wrong. Uhhhh….he’s having a difficult enough time staying in this race against Romney, McCain and Paul…I’m pretty sure injecting Hamilton into this race would only make it worse for him. *sigh*

8:29: Paul asks for some time to discuss and issue and Cooper denies him. For a debate that wasn’t really supposed to have rules, Anderson Cooper seems awfully indignant.

8:33: Talk turns to the economy…excuse me while I relocate to the top floor of my building, preferably a seat near the edge…

8:35: On the economic stimulus: McCain says that we will probably need more. Wow! This is like saying that we need more puppies, fluffier pillows or locations that have Coke Zero available from the fountain.

8:36: McCain is challenged on his initial opposition to Bush’s tax cuts on the grounds that they favored the rich too much. McCain states that he was a foot soldier in the Reagan revolution…then proceeds with obfuscation.

8:40: The topic changes to immigration. Huckabee thinks we need to secure the border. He says that two things need to happen in order to do that: 1) build border fence and 2) all current illegal immigrants will need to go back to their home countries and wait in line. Ultimately, Huckabee thinks this is the most compassionate and kind thing…

8:41: Romney is asked about his statement that most illegal immigrants could be deported within 90 days. He didn’t initially recall saying it, and the questioner offered him the quote. Romney talks about being courteous deportation. For example, if the family has a child in school, you let the child finish that school year first. Romney reemphasizes he would not allow illegal immigrants to remain here permanently, then suggests that McCain’s legislation would have allowed for such a thing.

8:44: McCain is asked if his legislation were to come to the floor of the Senate today, and he states that it won’t happen. After being pressed, he states that he would not vote for it because it’s clear that people want the borders to be secured first. It seems somewhat inconsistent for McCain to tout sticking to his principles and ignoring the majority on Iraq…yet, so freely acknowledging deference to the will of the American people on the immigration issue.

8:47: Huckabee is asked if Reagan’s appointment of O’Connor was the right call. He won’t answer the question, but then launches into a discussion of why it’s important to support life and how he would want judges that were pro-life. Ron Paul is given a chance to respond, he says he wouldn’t have nominated her because of her view towards the constitution. Both McCain and Romney dodge the question and instead state the types of judges they would appoint. In a bold move, McCain cites Alito and Roberts as examples of the kinds of conservative judges he’d support. Romny ups the ante and cites Alito, Roberts, Thomas and Scalia as the type of conservative judges he would nominate (Yea, that’s right, take that John McCain). Then, stupidly, Romney takes a shot at O’Connor for apparently not following the Constitution enough and for legislating from the bench. I don’t care if you’re a Republican, Democrat, hardcore liberal or conservative, if you think Justice O’Connor was a bad Justice, then you’re either completely uninformed or completely incapable of making evaluations. Sheesh, and I thought Huckabee was going to take home the award for baseless attacks on historical figures (yes, I know O’Connor’s still alive, but she’s done enough to be part of history).

8:57: And we’re back. Maybe, they’ll finally include Ron Paul in this last half hour.

8:58: Romney is asked about Peggy Noonan’s contention that George W. Bush destroyed the Republican party. Romney states that George W. Bush showed everyone that when America is attacked, we’ll respond. Uhhhh….is that really the best defense he could give?

9:00: Romney promises success in Iraq, which he defines as no safe havens for terrorists in Iraq. He strongly stated that he does not have a date for withdrawal and does not support a timetable. He accuses McCain of being un-Reagan like by raising the issue before the Florida primary and indicates that it may explain the results of Florida.

9:03: McCain reiterates his argument by reading the quote to Romney. Romney asks him what it means. Romney continues to try and defend himself. The audience seems to be on Romney’s side on this issue. Romney and McCain bicker. McCain’s tone during this exchange, reminds me of my grandfather’s tone when we were having an argument about cathode ray tubes once (he used to be an engineer).

9:06: Anderson Cooper regains control, unfortunately, it required his blue steel look in order to calm things down. Cooper asks Romney why he wouldn’t comment explicitly on the surge back in 2006 as he was preparing to announce his run. Romney is mad and accuses McCain of “Washington style” politics.

9:08: McCain responds to the Washington style politics line, by reminding Romney of the negative ads he used against him and Huckabee. He also reminded everyone that Romney used millions of his own dollars in his campaign so far.

9:10: Paul is asked about McCain’s line that we could be fighting in Iraq for the next 100 years. So let me get this straight, the rare chance they include Paul, it’s to ask him a question about John McCain? Paul states that both Romney and McCain are parsing over minor details of the same general policy - both supported going in and both support continuing the war. Paul’s gotten the loudest cheers so far.

9:12: Anderson Cooper asks Huckabee the same question given to Paul. Huckabee complains about not getting time and questions. Then casually says in regards to the 100 year fighting line, “oh it doesn’t take that long.” Then goes on to say that he’ll stay however long it takes to win.

9:13: Huckabee is asked what he sees when he looks int Putin’s eyes. Huckabee states that Putin has taken actions that lead to concern and that we need to have a foreign policy that emphasizes strength. Advocates a stronger military, you know, for deterrence. Is he actually arguing that a return to mutually assured destruction is the only viable foreign policy vis-a-vis Russia at this point? *sigh*

9:17: Romney explains geopolitics: Russia using energy to control policy, China “the wild west of energy” using energy and giving nuclear power to influence policy, Al Qaeda using terrorism to influence policy and the USA, which stands for free enterprise and freedom of the individual. I don’t even know how to respond to this painfully oversimplified explanation of geopolitics. However, would Romney’s analogy make Chris Patten the Wyatt Earp of China? I think so. But aside from that, Romney didn’t even discuss the topic (that he himself said he’d address), which was how he’d deal with Russia.

9:21: Romney’s argument: people ultimately look to Governors and not Senators to lead this country. He was a governor, ipso facto, he should be the next leader. Aside from that, he worked in the private sector, and then goes on his economic argument rant…

9:23: Romney is asked why he’s more qualified to be Commander-in-Chief than McCain. Romney doesn’t believe you need military experience to be Commander-in-Chief. Romney says that he prefers chess to checkers (I’m serious).

9:24: McCain responds, takes an irrelevant shot at Romney for having led corporations that fired people. Another ouch. McCain mentions Tom Ridge for the second time this evening.

9:25: Ron Paul states that these people don’t understand that the President isn’t supposed to run the economy and reminds everyone of that fact. Paul then discusses the monetary system. Paul’s discussion of substance causes Andersoon Cooper to become impatient.

9:28: Huckabee complains more about time. Then talks about less government and why it’s important. He states that governors are good presidents because they understand that no issue is isolated..that everything is connected. Metakuya Oyasin.

9:30: Anderson Cooper graciously gives all of the candidates 1 minute to explain why Ronald Reagan would endorse them. This is an appalling question for several reasons, none the least of which is Nancy Reagan’s presence in the first row.

9:31: Mitt Romney says Ronald Reagan would support him because he’d lower taxes. McCain says that Reagan wouldn’t support someone that changes positions and that Regan would support him because he held firm on Iraq and because he was a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution.

9:32: Ron Paul talked about how he supported Reagan in 1976, when only 4 other members of congress did and how Reagan campaigned with him. He states that Reagan was very sympathetic to the gold standard (an issue that Ron Paul is very much in favor of).

9:33: Huckabee doesn’t presume to know who Reagan would endorse. Then speaks to the goodness of Reagan and how it’s important to recapture that can do spirit.

9:34: And we’re done.

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Kos Pains Me…

Kos writing on who Bill Richardson should endorse:

Endorse no one, Bill! Except he’s one of my two top choices for the veep slot (the other is Gov. Kathleen Sebelius), and I doubt that slot will go to someone who sits out the primary.

This is the kind of silly talk that makes me realize that if I started this website 8 years ago instead of 1 year ago, that it’d be just as big (probably bigger) than Daily Kos. My point being that people can’t really be flocking to him for brilliant political analysis, right? It must be because he’s just been around a while. I mean my goodness…

I’ve already touched on the subject of a Richardson VP possibility before, but with all the new talk out there, I’ll probably update this analysis in the next couple of days. What I said in early December about why a Hillary/Richardson ticket will not happen (not all, but some of the same arguments apply to why an Obama/Richardson ticket is also unlikely): Read more

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