I think one of the most intriguing questions still left unanswered is whether McCain will pick someone left of him or right of him.
Most of the stronger candidates are left of him -- Christine Todd Whitman, Olympia Snowe, Tom Ridge, Joe Lieberman, Rudy Giuliani, Jodi Rell, Kay Bailey Hutchison -- but they will all, to varying degrees, be an affront to the stern unforgiving Republican base.
Choosing one of the right-of-McCain candidates -- notably Huckabee and Rick Perry of Texas -- would likely result in kissing the Independents and moderate Republicans good-bye. McCain is already pushing himself off-center on numerous issues, so picking someone to the right will irretrievably tilt the whole ticket that direction.
New York, NY (Aug. 18): Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is profiled as a possible Democratic Vice Presidential candidate in today's New York Times on page A-12.
"As Running Mate, Biden Offers Foreign Policy Heft but an Insider Image," by John Broder, states "he would bring heft, knowledge and nearly four decades of experience in Washington" if chosen as the vice-presidential nominee.
Sen. Biden flew to Tbilisi, Georgia this weekend, accompanied by Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, to meet with the country's embattled president, Mikheil Saakashvili.
Biden is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate; to learn more about the issues or make a contribution to his campaign, please visit www.JoeBiden.com.
BTW: Sen. Biden was spotted in the Las Vegas airport a few days ago, the same day Sen. Obama had a meeting in Nevada. Is this a clue or just a coincidence?? !!
You know, Lanny Davis is right. Sen. Ted Stevens, like all individuals under federal indictment, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Ted Stevens has been indicted by a grand jury for committing seven felonies. And last Thursday, in new filings in the case, prosecutors revealed that Ted Stevens turned a $5,000 investment into a $155,000 profit through the use of an $31,000 interest-free loan that was both improper and never disclosed in his senate filings.
This ad ran against George Allen, Rick Santorum and Conrad Burns. All were defeated for reelection.
The same vote against giving our troops the body armor they needed that the ad criticizes was also cast by 17 Republican Senators seeking reelection this year:
Lamar Alexander (TN)
Saxby Chambliss (GA)
Thad Cochran (MS)
Norm Coleman (MN)
Susan Collins (ME)
John Cornyn (TX)
Elizabeth Dole (NC)
Mike Enzi (WY)
Lindsey Graham (SC)
Jim Inhofe (OK)
Mitch McConnell (KY)
Pat Roberts (KS)
Jeff Sessions (AL)
Gordon Smith (OR)
Ted Stevens (AK)
John Sununu (NH)
And not only that, but these Senators had all been elected or reelected just months before. That is, the Senate class of 2002, elected in November of that year, cast these votes in April of 2003, at the very beginning of their terms, and nearly six years away from having to face the voters for it.
They thought you'd forget. They needed you to forget.
But one thing they weren't counting on was the troops still being deployed and still fighting six years later.
But they are. And though some of these clowns have since tried to make amends, the fact remains that at the critical time, they put party politics over the lives of our troops, and voted against giving them the armor they needed.
They should all go down for it, and American voters should make a special point of sinking them for their cowardly votes that they hoped we'd forget.
These ads are just the way to do it, too. But they're not on the air.
They've been produced, as you can see. All they need are new tags to identify the 17 Republican Senators up for reelection this year who voted against giving our troops adequate body armor, and they're ready to go. They've been proven in the field, and you can see the impact they'd have right here before your very eyes.
But they're not on the air. And as far as I can tell, there are no plans to put them there.
Seventeen Republican Senators, some of them very, very vulnerable this year. What could we do with those seats in our hands?
Why aren't these ads on the air?
Big time Democrats, donors, and other convention goers: think on this, please. Use the time we spend together in Denver to remedy this.
Why aren't these ads on the air, and what can we do to change that?
Nate Silver (Poblano on DKos) has explained how Obama can checkmate McCain. By Obama endorsing the proposal by a Gang of Ten Senators (5 Republicans, 5 Democrats) to solve the immediate energy crisis by a combination of measures. Including a reasonable compromise on drilling. The Gang includes Sen. Lyndsey Graham of SC, one of McCain's ear-whisperers. Also Saxby Chambliss of GA. The Hill:
If McCain opposes the bill, it could appear that he is standing in the way of a compromise to soaring gasoline prices.
But if he backs it, McCain could cloud a clear distinction between the two parties on the issue that Republicans believe can swing the elections.
The Right Wingnuts at Red State are braying for Graham's head already. Imagine what they will do if McCain backs the measure, which is the sensible thing for both sides to do.
Listen: I'm not proud of it, but I've worked on several Gooper campaigns in the past. I know their tricks. And ya'll aren't playing the game right.
When they pull this "race card" nonsense, don't say: "They are painting Barack as Other!" Takes too long to explain. Instead, say: "They are Other!"
They: are shrill, hysterical, politically correct, hypersensitive, ungrateful, have a victim mentality, a sense of entitlement, a hidden agenda, don't like freedom of speech, aren't living in the real world, want special privileges, are having hot flashes.
Seems as if Senator McCain is getting crankier in his old age. Or does he just "lose his bearings" with the female reporters? What's his beef with the WSJ anyway? As of late, he's been continually beating the "media loves Obama" drum----gee, no surprise why. Even Sen. Graham is shocked by his refusal to answer her question.
In speaking to David Kirkpatrick for a piece in the New York Times’ ongoing (and going, and going. . .) series “The Long Run,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) contributes to the ever-growing list of leading Republicans’ attempts to dismiss the illegal abuse of detainees at Guatanamo Bay as little more than a mild discomfort or a puckish hazing ritual.
[McCain] likes trading jokes about colleagues with a small group of friends that includes Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. . . . Entertaining guests at his property in Sedona, Ariz., [McCain] invariably drags them for long walks to indulge his passion for bird watching. “If you took all the people at Gitmo, put them in the cabin for the weekend and made them listen to John talk about the birds, they would all spill their guts.” Mr. Graham said.
I will agree with Lindsey Graham on one point: listening to John McCain speak is unfailingly tedious—however. . .
The McCain campaign, which has said it doesn't question Obama's patriotism, is now doing something awfully similar: Claiming that Barack Obama and the Democrats are dedicated to losing the war for their own political benefit.
The new accusation was unveiled on a McCain campaign conference call moments ago, with top McCain surrogates making this charge in tandem.
This is absolute shameful bullshit. If the MSM thought that their twisted version of Wes Clark's comments were bad, claiming that Obama and Democrats WANT the U.S. to lose in Iraq (or anywhere) is the height of slander. So does that mean that all Democratic war veterans want America to lose -- even those who fought in Iraq? Does the McCain campaign think that Obama and his supporters are rooting for casualties?
The Committee voted 7-1 to reject his claim of executive privilege. Rep. Sanchez indicates that the Committee will take up contempt proceedings no earlier than the end of the month.
I believe that's a mistake. The Committee, and the full Congress must vote on contempt now.
On Face the Nation yesterday, Senators John Kerry and Lindsay Graham made an appearance, as surrogates for the Obama and McCain campaigns, respectively. And I have to say, the debate wasn't even close. Read the transcript and see what I mean. Graham was reduced to sputtering out tired talking points (yeah, for the umpteenth time we know Obama hasn't attended a dog and pony show in Iraq for two years) while Kerry gave a lesson on the long and complex histories of the Middle East, Iraq, Iran, and ... John McCain. Although the media is working over time carrying water for their favorite "maverick", Kerry's clear spoken language on what is going on with the Republicans is exactly the right message not only for Barack Obama, but for our Congressional candidates as well.
update: title changed from Stop GOP Oil Mania:National Monument Designation Could Save Ecosystem
A coral ecosystem exists off the southeast coast that is roughly the size of the land area of South Carolina.
Economically, that ecosystem:
Provides food for Millions of Americans
Protects our coasts from Hurricanes and Nor'easters(like a winter Hurricane)
Protects our ports like Savannah, Wilmington, Morehead City (supports a Marine base) and the nation's most important Hampton Roads where the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay guarding Norfolk Navy Yards, Portsmouth, Newport News and Baltimore. (Newport News is where the large Navy ships are built like Air Craft carriers)
Provides Millions of jobs to American by providing fisheries, deep water ports (including the US Navy's biggest base), tourism nand forestry (much of the USA's pulp wood is grown in the coastal Southeast).
Why even worry about protecting something so important to the well being of the United States of America. Surely NO USA CITIZEN would threaten such a valuable National Treasure.
Senator Lindsey Graham(R-SC). We know him very well, don't we? Well, I happened upon his senate web-site today to see what the old Bush neocon enabler was up to, and low and behold, he was in full attack mode against our presumptive nominee, Barack Obama. Grab a bag of popcorn and a cream pie(or cowpie) and follow me under the fold. You're going to love this one folks.
