VP Prediction

All the pundits keep on talking about Evan Bayh, Tim Kaine, and Kathleen Sebelius. Why? You may ask. Nobody really knows. Bayh is an unimpressive speaker with an unimpressive record who does not compliment Obama's manner of speech or prioritized policy positions. Tim Kaine has been a poor governor for the state of Virginia with his only memorable action having thus far been his inability to get a transportation bill passed. Kathleen Sebelius is a far more intriguing possibility, but she already has a slot speaking at the DNC (if they've already disclosed this, it seems that they would have done so in tandem with a VP announcement) and her record doesn't exactly go along with the Wednesday-night vice-presidential nomination theme. Which brings me to my prediction:

Wednesday night's theme at the DNC is "Securing America's Future". Wesley Clark's Political Action Committee's (WesPAC) motto is "Securing America's Future". Coincidence? No. Wesley Clark will be the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee.

Some further pontification from Huffington Post's Judah Freed.

And just as a shot in the dark, I'm predicting this coming Monday, August 18th, say at 12pm EST, Obama will make this announcement.

For more commentary on this Clark character, check out www.obamaclark.com

Aside: I actually side with the folks at fivethirtyeight.com in my support for Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer as VP, but all the indications are pointing in the other direction. That said, I would be wholly content with Clark as the VP candidate.

Change We Can Believe In.

When was the last time we had a candidate who walked the walk? Via Politico.com:

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is moving on two fronts to make transparency a linchpin of his campaign, opening his fundraisers to reporters and clamping down on the Democratic National Committee’s fundraising from Washington insiders...Beginning Thursday, the DNC will no longer accept checks from federal lobbyists or political action committees, mirroring the strict standard Obama adopted for his presidential campaign.

Contrast that to McBush's "reform" plans:

McCain's Lobbyist Friends

The winds of changes are a-howlin'...

Obama is Democratic Nominee for President

Yesterday, Obama beat Hillary Clinton by a proverbial landslide in North Carolina (14% points) and lost narrowly to her in Indiana (by 1.4% points). Although this only marginally enhances Obama's lead in the primary (his victory was already nearly assured, excepting the possibility of a coup by superdelegate), it effectively changed the mainstream media's narrative of the race from "horse-race" to "Obama inevitability". Sadly, this has become a determining factor when looking at the fight for the Democratic nomination. But regardless of how the country came to the conclusion that Obama is the nominee, it is now a practically unanimous sentiment - and finally, FINALLY, we can turn the page to the general election...

Food for Thought

New Obama Ad: Hillary Gets More Lobbyist $ Than McCain

Another Potential Advantage to an Extended Primary

Chuck Todd, political scientist extraordinaire, had this to say today about McCain's path to victory. Although the title, "McCain's Path to Victory," implies that it is an article chalk-full of advice on how McCain can win the November election, it is more of a commentary on the challenges of not having a clear opponent and the difficulty of having to wait to define oneself as a candidate. The gist:

He will either be the steady hand in uncertain times vs. Obama, or he'll be the breath of fresh air and openness in a campaign against Clinton.

As someone said to NBC's David Gregory, McCain will take up the space left by the defeated Democrat.

From a message standpoint, those are big differences. It is not easy to advance both, now, at the same time. McCain is trying, but ultimately, being able to refine one line of attack is a must, and that can't happen without a clear opponent.

Whether Hillary is staying in for altruistic or selfish reasons, the possibility remains that it may all be for the better.

Clinton Staying in for the Good of the Party?

This is an interesting read from Katharine Seelye at the New York Times, opining that Clinton may be staying in the race to increase turnout and voter enthusiasm in the Democratic primary and to ultimately help Barack Obama become President of the United States of America.

Hmm.

Thousands of people are coming to her rallies now, and her campaign has organized events in post-Pennsylvania states where people are thrilled to be part of a process from which they are normally excluded.

Something not really focused on in the mainstream media:

It may not be apparent to the casual viewer of the news, but Mrs. Clinton is no longer dropping negative bombs on Mr. Obama. She has shifted her attacks, some of them quite trenchant, to President Bush and Senator John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee.

There has been some discussion in the blogosphere recently trying to spin Clinton's continued campaign as a positive thing for "big D" Democracy. But to suggest that this is the intention of the Clinton campaign is something wholly different.