Tag: Barack Obama (page 19)

Bump and Update: CNN confirms at 12:43 am ET that it is Joe Biden. So the world didn't find out by text message after all. The mainstream media learned it from highly placed sources. Nothing new here.

It's a love-fest on CNN. Their reporters are probably all hoping for the first one-on-one interview. I'm sure the law enforcement community is also clapping. What a disappointing choice.

(B.B.King, The Thrill is Gone)

Looks like it's a done deal. CNN confirms it's not Kaine, Bayh or Clinton. The Secret Service has been dispatched to Casa Biden and a Netjets plane left Chicago Midway for Delaware.

The text message will go out tomorrow morning. As I wrote here:

For all the change that Obama promised to bring to politics in Washington, how's Obama going to explain driving up with Joe Biden in his father's Oldsmobile?

Big Tent Democrat called it correctly. Is anyone besides me extremely unhappy with Joe Biden, the ultimate crime warrior, on the ticket?

One of my favorite Joe Biden gaffes below:

I've been offline running around doing convention things all day and all they say on TV is "any moment now." What's the hold-up?

And, it may or may not be Joe Biden. There are other serious contenders and until it's announced, keep in mind that everything you are reading is opinion only.

John Amato at Crooks and Liars, who didn't take a position during the primary, tonight makes the case for Hillary as Obama's vice presidential candidate.

Do Biden, Bayh, Kaine or any other pick left standing represent his “change narrative?” No, because Obama is the narrative. He brings the change. He won the primary. Of course there are those that feel much differently. I’m just offering my thoughts. Many of my C&L writers don’t agree with me either. The blogosphere should be the place that we discuss these issues. There are so many undecided voters that I bet many of them are Hillary supporters. In my opinion her nomination would send a jolt of electricity throughout the country and into Denver.

I agree with John that Hillary vastly improves Obama's chances of getting elected because she will bring voters from the critical, not the tiny, swing states like Ohio and Florida. Even Pennsylvania isn't a lock for Obama.

Obama seems to be using his caucus state stratgy from the primaries -- going after little states -- to win the general election, and as I've opined many times, I think it's the wrong strategy. We need Ohio, PA, FL and MI. Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Virginia pale by comparison.[More..]

I won't be around to hear the news of who Obama picks as his Vice-Presidential candidate if today is the day he chooses to text it to the world.

Here's a place for you to keep each other updated on what happens -- or doesn't happen.

I really hope it is not Joe Biden. But since everyone else seems convinced it is, I've got my i-Pod set to play Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter" which begins:

I got the call today I didn't want to hear
but I knew that it would come.

Next up: B.B. King and The Thrill is Gone.

My earlier post on the mountain of material Biden will provide McCain for ads belittling both Biden and Obama, is here.

It may be that Sen. Barack Obama texts out his VP choice today. The pundits think it's Joe Biden. Clearly, I hope it's not.

But, what does Biden do for Obama? He gives McCain a wealth of tv commericals to use against him.

Can you just see them now? Biden, saying Obama wasn't ready to be President and the job is "not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."

Or this 20 year old Biden campaign commercial:[More...]

Update: Via radio: The Obama campaign says no events are planned in Indianapolis on Saturday.

Adding another layer to the Veepstakes, the Nashville Post reports today that signs are pointing to Evan Bayh as Sen. Barack Obama's veep choice:

NashvillePost.com has learned that senior campaign officials from the Barack Obama Presidential campaign are being dispatched from various locations around the country and are converging in Indianapolis for a “major event” to take place on Saturday.

...Sources in Denver, the site of next week's Democratic National Convention, say that individuals responsible for Obama's major public appearances have been pulled out of the city and are heading east towards Indiana.

More...

ABC says Biden backtracked a little on his denial that he is Obama's Veep pick. My response:

And a shout-out to Jerome at MyDD.

It's also looking less likely Hillary or Kathleen Sebelius will be the choice. ABC News says Obama's been using the "he" pronoun today rather than his customary "he or she."

I still say it's more likely Kaine than Biden.

I think politico-types are reading too much into the veep-stakes' tea leaves. On the most basic level, consider the obvious:

• Kaine is the only one of the final choices without a convention speaking slot
• Obama and Kaine are speaking together tomorrow in Virginia.

On another level, consider that Barack Obama and the Democratic party have made it clear the emphasis this year is on faith. It's going to be a faith-based convention. Obama has always been hope and change, and people tend to focus too much on the change. Hope, which equates with faith, is an equal part of his message.

Here's Tim Kaine on why he went into politics: [More...]

While we're waiting for the LA Times poll results that Big Tent Democrat will write about, here's today's Quinnipiac poll:

American likely voters say 55 - 27 percent that Arizona Sen. John McCain is better qualified than Illinois Sen. Barack Obama to deal with Russia and now trails the Democrat 47 - 42 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today.

This compares to a 50 - 41 percent Sen. Obama lead in a July 15 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.

Even pro-Obama bloggers aren't happy with Obama's campaign strategy. Here's Josh Marshall: [More...]

Sen. Barack Obama and his vice presidential running mate will attend a rally in Springfield, IL on Saturday. That's where Obama announced his candidacy.

More and more pundits are predicting Joe Biden. I think Obama would be smarter to pick Biden for Secretary of State than Vice President. Biden is the antithesis of change in Washington. He's been there since Nixon was President. Talk about getting sold a bill of goods.

Just what we don't need, a vice-president whose politics on crime are mired in the failed policies of the '80's.

The New York Times reports Obama's campaign says there will be no Veep announcement Tuesday. The Times thinks it's down to Kaine, Bayh and Biden.

The spin for those who don't like the Veep pick will be that Veep picks don't really matter.

“Vice-presidential candidates can make a marginal difference,” said Matt Bennett, the co-director of Third Way, a Democratic advocacy group, “but they rarely matter in terms of winning a state or region — as Mike Dukakis and John Kerry found out. And a weak candidate doesn’t really drag the ticket into the drink — as George H. W. Bush found out.”

Tell that to George McGovern -- Thomas Eagleton, anyone?

I'm back to thinking Sen. Barack Obama will pick Virginia Governor Tim Kaine as his running mate.

Drudge quotes a New York Times reporter as saying the announcement could come tomorrow morning, but is more likely to occur Weds. morning. A Washington Post reporter thinks Friday is more likely.

Obama will be in Virginia on Wednesday. Also significant is this WaPo article about Obama's emphasis on Virginia. While some say the Dems wouldn't have given Mark Warner the convention keynote speaker slot if the VP also was from Virginia, I think they might, given how much effort Obama is putting into registering new voters in Virginia in hopes of turning the state blue. [More...]