Feed the PUMAs? Okay, this is their candidate.
Obama will pick Sebelius.
Posted by phidipides at July 30, 2008 06:57 AMI'm fine with Clinton as a choice. She brings a lot of positives to the table, but also some big minuses. Obama himself is more than capable of weighing those factors.
Bill, at this point, is a much bigger potential liability than he is a potential asset. He can't stay on message, and has a strong tendency to make himself the story.
"Lack of discipline" and 'distraction' are not attributes any Presidential candidate wants to add to their campaign.
Well, except for John McCain.
Posted by Geek, Esq. at July 30, 2008 07:14 AMif Karl Rove is found in Contempt of Congress this morning, will John McCain remove him from his campaign? or promote him?
Posted by T2 at July 30, 2008 07:20 AMPersonally, I think Tim Kaine is a "head-fake," and not truly on the short list. He's a diversion to keep attention off the serious short list, which I think still includes Clinton, Bayh, Sebelius, and Hagel.
With the John Edwards still-might-be scandal out there, it must remind Obama how hard he is going to have to work to follow the number one rule of picking a VP: do no harm. If someone as closely watched as Edwards could still embarrass the ticket, Clinton is the ONLY one who has truly been adequately vetted.
Peace
Posted by swimyouidiot at July 30, 2008 07:39 AMThis life-long Democrat can't wait to vote against Obama, and whomever he chooses as VP, this fall.
He's even more of an empty suit than George W. At least W had some executive experience under his belt.
JoeCHI: "He's even more of an empty suit than George W. At least W had some executive experience under his belt."
spoken like a right-wing troll
Posted by gay veteran at July 30, 2008 07:47 AMIt's nice to see Gov. Kaine so high on the list. See how many things he agrees with Bush on. Sure builds on the image that a president Obama is the real Bush III term. You want "change" vote for McOld. And the folks here were so happy when he won that governors race.
Hopium addicts, there is a cure.
Posted by peter at July 30, 2008 07:49 AMSorry, PeePee McGoatblower, but nobody takes advice from trolls who champion mass murderers like you do. Take your splooge elsewhere.
eriposte, I love ya, but really, do you think this is anything other than the Obama campaign's attempt to keep Obama's name in the media cycle? I find it hard to believe that everything else he's planned down to the letter, and he's still searching for a VP? Doesn't seem very likely.
Posted by iamcoyote at July 30, 2008 08:01 AMActually, Obama has tried to be ultra-secretive in this process. He was royally displeased when people on the Hill leaked accounts of their discussions with his vetting team.
Which makes me think that Kaine's publicity tour recently may have knocked him out of the frontrunner spot.
And, it's not like Obama is suffering from a lack of media coverage.
Posted by Geek, Esq. at July 30, 2008 08:09 AMHe needs McKaine to keep in the media cycle when he's saying; "I have become a symbol of the possiblilty of America returning to our best traditions."
Ah coyote, thought you'd like this post.
Posted by peter at July 30, 2008 08:12 AMMy 2 cents is still on Biden.
Posted by snark at July 30, 2008 08:17 AMKarl Rove is in Contempt of Congress. Just the kind of guy McCain needs to run his campaign. Which Pundit will be the first to call for McCain to toss Karl Kontempt out? answ: don't hold breath.
Posted by T2 at July 30, 2008 08:20 AMMy 2 cents is still on Biden.
You think so? His policies may be similar, but he's not one to stay on message. I rather like him, but I'm not sure Obama wants someone overshadowing him on the stage.
And, it's not like Obama is suffering from a lack of media coverage.
No, but feeding these kinds of leaks may be an attempt to shape the narrative in the way Obama wants it to go, especially if McCain's trying to drum up interest by intimating he's gonna announce his pick soon.
Posted by iamcoyote at July 30, 2008 08:24 AMOh, and in case anyone hasn't seen it, Atrios has the full quote that petr McGoat awkwardly tries to push at the request of his mass murdering friends:
Jonathan Weisman:Perhaps he's beginning to believe the hype.
In his closed door meeting with House Democrats this evening, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama delivered a real zinger. According to a witness, he was waxing lyrical about last week's trip to Europe, when he concluded, "this is the moment, as Nancy [Pelosi] noted, that the world is waiting for."
The 200,000 souls who thronged to his speech in Berlin came not just for him, he told the enthralled audience of congressional representatives.
"I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions," he said.
Full quote:
BUT A DEMOCRATIC SOURCE SAYS: “His entire point of that riff was that the campaign IS NOT about him. [The Post] left out the important first half of the sentence, which was along the lines of: ‘It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have just become a symbol … .”
Why do goatblowers like petey want to fool you? Because they hate America! Oh, and because they love goats.
Posted by iamcoyote at July 30, 2008 08:46 AMCoyote, you mean a president Obama. He and McKaine would be such a nice group to run against. A vice president McKaine breaking a tie on numerous issues like abortion, stem cell, etc. Does he vote his conscience or does he vote for the administration?
Posted by peter at July 30, 2008 08:57 AMPeter blows goats? I heard it was Mickey Kaus who was blowing goats. Wait a minute -- you mean all the Republicans are goat-blowers? Karl Rove blows goats? I could never credit the idea. Rove looks to me a lot more like a hog testicle fondler.
Posted by Barry at July 30, 2008 09:26 AMNotwithstanding what you think of Fineman or his sources, he is telling folks that the Obama campaign insiders are telling him that the "short list" is down to three people: Kaine, Biden, and Bayh. You can take Bayh off that list, because if elected Veep, the Dems wil lose a Senate seat.
Which means folks, (if Fineman is correct) you're looking at Biden or Kaine.
Posted by Steve Soto at July 30, 2008 09:31 AMBiden or Kaine. We've seriously got to work on our Democratic party. This is gonna take years. Nobody, but nobody, had better relax once these jokers are voted in this November, because we've got a party whose elected leadership loves putting the shiv into us better than they love almost anything else.
Posted by Barry at July 30, 2008 09:47 AMWhich means folks, (if Fineman is correct) you're looking at Biden or Kaine.
Whatever, Steve. How often is Fineman correct, I wonder? I suppose the stupider Obama's choice, the better it looks for Hillary in 2012. As long as it's not a 'puke, it's still better than McCain, though it'd be hard to find anything that isn't better than McCain. The dogshit in my back yard is better than McCain, fer goo'ness sake!
Posted by iamcoyote at July 30, 2008 09:56 AMiamcoyote: "The dogshit in my back yard is better than McCain, fer goo'ness sake!"
what out, pants pissing peter may come over to lap it up
Posted by gay veteran at July 30, 2008 10:34 AMThe Obama campaign has a lot of insiders. There are probably only 5-6 (Axelrod, Gibbs, Plouffe, Kennedy, Holder, and Obama) that actually know anything about the vp process in its totality.
So, he's probably inside-the-campaign scuttlebutt. It may be true, but grains of salt are necessary.
Though, I would be relieved to learn that Evan "Committee for the Liberation of Iraq" Bayh was out of the running.
Posted by Geekesque at July 30, 2008 10:59 AMAlso, I wouldn't give AdNag too much credence since he seems to have a score to settle with Obama as well:
Around midnight on July 16, New York Times chief political correspondent Adam Nagourney received a terse e-mail from Barack Obama's press office. The campaign was irked by the Times' latest poll and Nagourney and Megan Thee's accompanying front-page piece titled "Poll Finds Obama Isn't Closing Divide on Race," which was running in the morning's paper. Nagourney answered the query, the substance of which he says was minor, and went to bed, thinking the matter resolved.But, the next morning, Nagourney awoke to an e-mail from Talking Points Memo writer Greg Sargent asking him to comment on an eight-point rebuttal trashing his piece that the Obama campaign had released to reporters and bloggers like The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder and Politico's Ben Smith. Nagourney had not heard the complaints from the Obama camp and had no idea they were so steamed. "I'm looking at this thing, and I'm like, 'What the hell is this?' " Nagourney recently recalled. "I really flipped out."
Later that afternoon, Nagourney got permission from Times editors to e-mail Sargent a response to the Obama memo. But the episode still grates. "I've never had an experience like this, with this campaign or others," Nagourney tells me. "I thought they crossed the line. If you have a problem with a story I write, call me first. I'm a big boy. I can handle it. But they never called. They attacked me like I'm a political opponent."
Seems he's a bit pissed that he's not treated like an insider, like the 'pukes do with the press.
Posted by iamcoyote at July 30, 2008 11:19 AMI just saw MSNBC broadcast about 10 minutes of a live reading by John McCain. It was billed as a speech, but the guy literally read the entire text. It was a complete Obama Attack from start to finish (broadcast to millions thanks to MSNBC) and contained so many flip-flops...well, amazing. It was as rough and tumble an attack as I've heard but Alan Greenspan's wife just smiled when the camera finally came back to her discussion of why all of Obama's potential VP picks are bad. If this is what Karl Kontempt and the McSame campaign is coming up with now, I don't know where they go from here.
Posted by T2 at July 30, 2008 11:49 AMPoor Melissa. She is clearly unaware that Gov. Kaine represents a "break from the way politics are conducted in Washington"!
LOL! :-P
Posted by Melissa McEwan at July 30, 2008 12:01 PM*waves* Hey 'Liss!
Posted by iamcoyote at July 30, 2008 12:03 PMAh McKaine or Biden, what a choice. That's "change" for ya. "I'm a different type of politician..."
Posted by peter at July 30, 2008 12:45 PMDue to a "scheduling problem," PolitickerMD.com has learned that Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine will not attend tomorrow night's Unity '08 Fundraiser for the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee as previously planned.
The State Democratic Party learned of Kaine's cancellation earlier today.
Kaine's appearance at the Baltimore event was announced on July 11, just as speculation over his vice presidential prospects were ramping up. Some believed he would be in a secret meeting with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama earlier today, but Kaine has insisted otherwise.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty, along with Gov. Martin O'Malley, the Democratic congressional delegation and state legislative leaders are still slated to attend the event at the Iguana Cantina. Over a thousand people are expected, with admission starting at $50. h/t Corrente
Posted by peter at July 30, 2008 01:03 PMAnyone who takes the VP buzz seriously at this point is being duped. It is nothing but media manipulation. Obama is definitely not going to take any chances with his VP choice. It will be someone with a good reputation, is not controversial, complements his message, and satisfies the base. Until the announcement comes, there's no point getting into a huff about it.
Posted by CA Pol Junkie at July 30, 2008 05:42 PMRight, he won't take any chances with his VP - he plans everything "down to the letter".
Like his presidential seal?
Like his health care plan?
Like his church of 20 years?
Yep, that FISA vote was well-planned. And the Joshua Generation outreach, and the faith-based initiatives he will adopt. Let's see how he tries to change the Democratic platform.
Posted by jmac at July 30, 2008 06:07 PMHey eriposte - the whole thing is so pitiful I just cant laugh. Obama did a rove on the Clintons and I havent gotten past that.
The cammpaign so far is a big yawn-fest if ya ask me. Which ya didnt.
nice to see your post - bye
Posted by the young Judith (tyj) at July 30, 2008 06:13 PM
Eriposte, where have you been?!?....
i missed your posts, you're the best! :)
Posted by inna at July 30, 2008 08:21 PMInna, he has taken most of the summer off after the long primary season. He should be returning more so now. Keep checking back.
Posted by peter at July 30, 2008 09:17 PMI hope that Obama picks someone more liberal than him. You know, as assassination insurance.
Posted by Bob In Pacifica at July 30, 2008 09:37 PM>Obama is definitely not going to take any chances with his VP choice. It will be someone with a good reputation, is not controversial, complements his message, and satisfies the base
Naturally-like all of Obama's decisions, it will be thoughtful, logical, principled, brilliant, compassionate, and add fiber to your diet. Just like his FISA vote.
But very glad to see Eriposte back.
Posted by tdraicer at July 30, 2008 10:09 PMHey Steve Soto,
If Bayh is the VP then the Dems don't necessarily lose the Senate Seat, since the repub governor is up for re-election and will probably lose to a Dem Governor. So that would risk the seat, but not definitely lose it.
However, if Kaine is the VP then I think he will be replaced by a Republican.
Posted by rjarnold at July 30, 2008 10:16 PMeriposte,
If you don't like the Obama adviser's arguments, then you're lucky if you haven't seen Markos's "analysis" on the Veepstakes. His conclusions are:
1. Those who think that Obama shouldn't pick a female VP who isn't Hillary are full of sh*t.
2. Since Bill Clinton chose a VP that was also southern and was therefore reinforcing his core message, Obama should also pick someone who will reinforce his core message.
3. Obama is running as an "outsider agent of change" and in order to reinforce that message you can't be someone who was elected to the Senate before 2004. However all Dem governors qualify.
4. Because of all this, Sebelius, Kaine, and McCaskill are "excellent" choices, while Hillary Clinton and Jack Reed don't qualify.
In other words he doesn't give a damn about progressive policy positions as long as vague campaign messages are reinforced.
Posted by rjarnold at July 30, 2008 11:33 PMClare McCaskill doesn't have the experience.
Posted by Judith at July 31, 2008 12:00 AMMcKaine it is then. PUMA
Posted by peter at July 31, 2008 09:44 AM