McCain's up by five points over Obama

I thought it would be Wesley Clark, simply because the program that night is on Securing America and Wesley Clark's campaign was 'Securing America'. Also, Clark has not been given a speaking spot at the convention and isn't even supposed to appear, which is not good campaign management on Obama's part, if true. So I think he'll be a surprise choice.

Although Evan Bayh's wife supposedly told her neighbors to be watching for a horde of media coverage. . . . .

There is no such thing as "the Catholic vote." Catholic voting patterns are no different than most of America's general voting pattern. Catholics who are regular massgoers tend to vote Republican, while Catholics who don't practice the faith as diligently are more likely to vote Democratic. (There are exceptions on both sides, of course, but that's the general finding that's been repeatedly borne out by opinion polls). Catholics for whom abortion is a decisive issue in their presidential voting would be far more likely to vote for a candidate who chose a pro-life Evangelical than a pro-choice Catholic.

In fairness to McCain (someone I don't really feel charitable towards), he has a consistent "pro-life" record. He hasn't been the warmest advocate of the cause, but he's never been "pro-choice."

Spare us Slow Joe, please!

An Obama-Biden ticked would give the lie to the old song title, "Talkin' Is a Woman, Listenin' Is a Man."

Never thought it be nostalgic for tha apparatchik speaking style of HRC.

I'm holding out for Hillary. Whatever else you may think of the Clintons, and just about anything that can be thought is, they are masterful politicians who would close the gap when it counts, on Election Day.

You have to question whether Kaine will actually help win VA. He has some of the lowest approaval ratings ever for a VA governor - in the low 40's.

According to today's Gallup, it's Obama 45%, McCain 44%...are any polls accurate? And what difference do any of them make when the election is still months away?

As far as the VP spot goes, it's not going to swing the election unless Obama chose Edwards. Catholics are not going to vote for someone just because the VP candidate is Catholic. There has been a Catholic President, so a Catholic VP is no big deal. Plus all the comments about the so-called Catholic vote is true. Catholics vote on their party, rather than religious, affiliation. I think it's only marginally helpful in carrying a state to have a person from that state on the ticket. Obama needs someone strong on the ticket. I'm not sure Biden or Clark would do it. Sam Nunn might. Kerry picked a weak VP candidate and it didn't help.

As a Virginian, I can tell you that Tim Kaine might be smart and a regular guy, but he is not all that popular or regarded as effective. He is completely Mark Warner's hand-picked successor, and has absolutely no national level experience. I don't think he would "deliver" VA simply by being chosen; if that happens it will be Warner, Webb, and the African-American vote plus Northern VA that puts VA in the Obama column. I am just not sure what is you see in Kaine, Rod, bad haircut or not.

Hey, it's better for McCain to peak now than in November. :)

Watching Webb try to finesse away the Surge's success is just painful, because the guy is in total denial.

Yeah, it's great that we've spent trillions, killed over 4,000 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis all for the sake of putting an Iranian-sponsored con man in power. Money and lives well spent.

If Wesley Clark is not the VP, then McCain is right that Obama doesn't have the good judgment to be president. Who else is the best person to be the vice president? All these three names mentioned, ie. Bayh, Biden, and Kaine don't have the complete package traist to help Obama win this election. Wesley Clark has the military/national security credentials to compete against the Republicans. It is a pity that he is completely eliminated and no role to play at the convention. I would say that if this is true, then Obama has no good judgment.

I also having been hearing these rumors for a couple weeks (well before Michael Moore's open letter yesterday) from people close to Obama's financial backers on the Left Coast that Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg (head of the search committee) will 'pull a Cheney' and put her name forward as the best running mate. Ordinarily I'd dismiss it all, but the current unease among Democrat operators (that will rise to a panic if Obama doesn't get a huge convention bounce) over a situation where he should have something like a 15 point lead is such that I wonder if it isn't being seriously considered.

Since Obama is wanting to go where no man has gone before, I think he should tap William Shatner for VP.

If McCain picks Lieberman, I'm voting for Mr. Spock.

The polls are meaningless unless they tell us the numbers from the swing states. Gore got more votes than Bush, which should mean he was ahead in the polls. Popular vote doesn't mean anything, of course; so we need to know who's ahead in specific states.

Folks better take into account how McCain brags that war is basically a way of life for his family.
This morning McCain admitted on CNN that Georgians provoked Russia. But hey, he's full steam ahead on starting a new Cold War.
Here comes World War III. All the suburban and rural Republicans are gonna regret it when their kids are drafted to fight in Iran. Our current troops are already overstretched. Remember McCain actually singing "Bomb Iran" to the tune of the similarly titled Beach Boys song?
If it's one thing we've learned, when Republicans say they want war, you better count on it. Besides, McCain's corporate paymasters come from big oil and the military industrial complex.

I'd now also put the chances at Hillary attempting some Machiavellian 11th hour attempt to snatch the nomination back on the convention floor at 5%. Not likely at all, but I would have said 0% last week.

It would be very subtle. Perhaps along the lines of maneuvering a panicking Team Obama into picking Chuck Hagel, which ostensibly would be to shore up his national security image, but in fact would trigger a revolt of the superdelegates. Allowing her to be on the ballot next week may go down as one of the most colossal blunders in American political history, right up there with Jefferson picking Aaron Burr as his running mate.

To all of you who still want to whine and complain about the Surge and how things have finally turned the corner - the US did what was necessary. Do you remember what Patton said when he wanted to continue his army's progress against the Soviets? He said that we are going to have to fight them sooner or later. Well the Cold War lasted over 40 years. And cost us thousands of lives and trillions of dollars.

Have any of you investigated the lives of Saddam;s two sons? Saddam was not the threat to the US, his two sons were. And they had to be taken out sooner or later. The Iraq war was a preemptive war. They DID have WMD's and they DID use them against their own populace and the ground war on terrorism IS being fought on forein soil since 9/11. And God willing the US will have a stable ally besides Israel in the Middle East. 9/11 cost the US more than 4,000 lives and trillions of dollars. You guys are a bunch of Neville Chamberlains. Just quit whining and support your servicemen in their valient line of duty.

charles cosimano,
Just today McCain hints at draft re-instatement!
MSNBC is reporting (NBC Political Director Chuck Todd confirms) that an audience member at a McCain town hall in Las Cruces, N.M. said that they'd have to reinstate the draft to get bin Laden. McCain said that he didn't disagree with that.