This is It.
By this time tomorrow, we will finally know who Barack Obama has chosen to be his running mate.
Earlier this week, I was positive it was Joe Biden, based on some good information. But when the timetable I was given came and went, and with Biden saying saying he wasn’t the guy and otherwise playing coy with reporters, I became convinced the Biden buzz was just another trial balloon, much like the trial balloons of Indiana Senator Evan Bayh last week and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine two weeks ago. I became further convinced that this was all well planned to bring the buzz and hype about Obama’s decision to a fever pitch, guaranting week long coverage.
That has happened.
But the choice has to be someone to live up to the hype, or else it will be a letdown.
That is why I am convinced it is Hillary. I could be wrong, but that is my gut feeling at this moment.
What is yours? Take the poll to the left.
Well, I put in for Bill Richardson, but there are only four other votes so far.
It may well turn out the the extended hype will mean a rather huge let-down when the selection is announced. The only way the selection has any buzz if it is Mrs Clinton.
….or someone no one has really thought about…..a true surprise…..
…hence my vote for “other.”
If it is Hillary then I can stop worrying he will win. just remember JFK swallowed his pride and picked LBJ with out him JFK would have lost to Nixon. Just remember the object of this game is to win for if you lose nothing that you stood for can be accomplished.
Richardson has certainly got the chops… cabinet, UN ambassador, gov of NM. The whole BHO/HRC unity ticket seems odd to me. But it could be the the first step in a “team of rivals” Lincoln-esqe theme. The announcement is planned for the Old State Capital in Springfield, yes? Both seem to fit into the “suprise” premise.
I’m not going to have a problem if it is HRC.
I don’t necessarily have an issue with it… not at all. It is a bit strange is all. After Bill and the primaries, etc., etc., etc…
I say other. O’Bama should just randomly pick someone out of the phone book. That way he won’t be embarrassed having a VP with 10 times the experience he has.
Ah, the old “pick someone out of the phone book” routine. How fantastically witty!
His only chance at winning the White House is to put Hillary Clinton on the ticket. She has her weaknesses, but so do all of the other VP possibilities. They waltz (joke) into the White House. As for the delay, I bet they’ve been negotiating Bill’s job……LOL. Supreme Court anyone?
Not bad anon. Bill Clinton would be a hell of a better justice than Thomas, Alito or Roberts.
No matter what, Biden is going to have a seat in the Cabinet. I think it is going to be Hillary, and now that the intensity of the primary is gone, I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.
If its not Hillary, it will be total surprise…knowledge of the economy? Doesn’t sound like Bayh or Biden! I think it will be a huge surprise….if not Clinton its someone none of us are thinking about.
I think he is saving Biden for Secretary of State. I am more interested in who will be the Attorney General.
Matt,
I don’t buy the inexperience argument. George Bush was a fairly experienced guy and look where said “experience” got this country.
Rumor has it (kos) that the Obama camp doesn’t want to step all over the golden moment that is McCain’s house blunder…..
they may hold off the veep announcement so as not to detract from an opportunity to keep McCain’s idiocy in the spotlight….
sorry DD….we may all be waiting a bit longer….
Have also read someone who is looking a the VP Tour to Denver and thinks it may be either Sebelius or Schweitzer.
I’m voting other.
I say it’ll be Clinton – Bill.
Stella—
Actually, that was the reason why the VP decision was not announced today.
I think it is going to be a out-of-left-field pick noone is expecting.
The rumor tonight is Dick Lugar. I think he endorsed McCain so I doubt it is true but I dont think it is that absurd. Less absurd than Hillary actually.
DD- That actually makes a lot of sense….a veep announcement would slam the brakes on the media yakking about McCain’s ineptitude ……
People don’t seem to realize how much of an “elite” he is…..the more he speaks off script the more truthiness comes out…..
Ben- I can see Hagel, but Lugar???? OMG, I hope not!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. I thought we got over the Lugar thing awhile back.
But I think it will be a left field pick too. But I wish I could suss out where the thinking is.
Michael Moore put out a letter yesterday begging Caroline Kennedy to pull a “cheney” & choose herself…..
Obama/Kennedy….oh my
No way will it be Lugar or Hagel. No way.
agreed…..
left field— Schweitzer, Colin Powell (haha…), Al Gore…..
I am not endorsing the idea at all but that’s what Halperin is floating tonight.
I stick by my instincts that it will be someone fairly surprising.
Oh and I am the biggest Sebelius supporter out there and for a moment in the past couple days, I sensed she might very well be it (the most surprising of the short list and so on) but Eve Fairbanks’ report on her appearance in Iowa today seems to belie that.
Schweitzer would be fun and would definitely fit the description Obama gave but he is known not to be fond of Barack (in private).
Reed is not particularly exciting but he also fits the bill and Obama likes him.
And of course there could be anybody out there NOONE has thought of. I mean Reed was out-of-left-field when he first came up a month ago so we never know …
Hillary–I know you guys don’t believe in the “VP to carry a State” idea, but he absolutely HAS TO HAVE Ohio, and only Hillary on the ticket gives it to him safely.
Bill is already picking out interns for service at the Navel Observatory….
I already told you it’s Hilary–now Geek, pick a spot, because I am losing my odds rapidly…and people are catching on to my pick entries ago!!!! Oh never mind..this will be a fund raiser..not an office pool….
Let me put it to you this way.
Even if your “Hillary helps” theory was true – and it is not – there is no way Obama would undermine his Presidency by making a move that would be perceived as “what made him win”. You may or may not agree with him, but he is obviously very confident he will win. Why would he undermine that by somehow making it seem as he could not win without her ? What a recipe for disaster for the next four years !
Benjamin, the problem is that I reject the premise that Obama is confident that he will win.
I think the Obama campaign’s internal polling is telling him that there is major slippage going on right now.
He wouldn’t be the first president in the past two decades (Clinton and Dubya come to mind) to pay the price of a co-Presidency to get into the White House
That’s the problem with American politics–you’re right–doing what you have to do to get elected sometimes guarantees disaster once you’re in…
Trust me. Obama knows – and thinks – he will win.
Seriously.
You are projecting the punditry – and maybe your own feelings – onto him. They are VERY VERY confident. As they said, they don’t give a shit about national polls in August. They care about registration numbers.
The same pattern unfolded in the primaries. Obama was second-guessed a lot for the whole second half of 2007 because Hillary was very good at winning news cycle and the polls looked bad. But guess what ? He was preparing the field organization-wise and when people started paying attention, he struck.
And today confirms that this was their plan all along and dips in the polls don’t faze them
Hillary makes sense for some reasons. But I don’t think he will do it for the reasons I mention.
And quite frankly, I dont think she would want to do it either.
Benjamin–Do you really think he cares about “who made him win”? He’ll be the dang president!!! No commentary will EVER follow..President Obama, made so by by VP Clinton….ease up…she’s an ace in the hole for him…he’d be crazy not to ride her wave..
OK… I am admittedly wee bit irrational at times… here is why I did not want Hillary for the nomination and why I want her nowhere near the oval office:
1988 – Bush Sr.
1992 – Bill
1996 – Bill
2000 – Bush Sr.’s retarded offspring
2004 – Bush Sr.’s retarded offspring
I am not a mathematician or anything, but I count 20 years with members of two (2) families in the presidency of the United States… I might expect that from the Philippines or North Korea or somewhere such, but not from the supposed beacon of world democracy…
When she was running I had visions of 8 years of Hillary followed by 8 of Jeb… at what point do we just give up the charade and just give the 535 wealthiest and best connected people in the country the House and Senate and save them the time and trouble of letting us think our vote matters…
Just a thought…
You don’t know politicians, do you ?
Yes they do care about that perception.
And yes it would be HORRENDOUS for everyone to believe the nonsense “made so by VP Clinton”.
And that’s why I dont buy it.
In other news, Halperin says – and seems quite certain – McCain has settled on Romney. Seems early to me to declare that, particularly after today’s house brouhaha (how many houses does Romney have) but there you have it.
In second thought, the “scoop” is probably a red herring to try to drive a bit of coverage in tomorrow’s Obamalooza
Halperin is a real hack an exceptionally solid in the inside the beltway CW. In other words — useless. I think that the scoop is an attempt to just try to step on the news cycle.
And I agree with Benjamin’s point re:the Obama team’s management style (probably because I’ve made the same point here) — they are good at focusing in on what gets them votes and the national polling is not it. And — for once — we seem to not only have a candidate who gets it, but the R candidate is the one paying attention to driving the national polls without working on the fundamentals.
Benjamin–Using that logic. I guess Hilary walks around thinking then…”Yeh..I’m only here because of Bill…or because I would be the first woman with power to do this job…”
Yea–he better not pick her. Sure wouldn’t want him to miss his Sally Fields moment of “They like me…they REALLY like me”.
If you pick Hill, you get Bill. Would you really want to share the limelight for 8 years with Bill?
/Arkansas accent/ Hey Barry, see those two sisters over there in the audience? You get first pick this time.
Regardless of whether you think he SHOULD pick her – and reasonale people can disagree on that – I think quite clearly he wouldn’t.
I am open to being surprised but quite frankly what you are argue here is just you projecting your hopes. Does not bother me. But I stand by my prediction
Trust me…”my hopes” are no way near that duo; I was just dealing with harsh realities….
The only chance he has to win. And like it or not Ohio and Florida are the key.
I just don’t see how Mr Obama can select Mrs Clinton. He’s already allowing the whole Clinton clan — including Chelsea — to have speaking roles at the convention. If he then selects Mrs Clinton, he will have just crazy-glued the label Figurehead to his entire candidacy.
Matt J just turned your Muslim into an Irishman.
“O’Bama” HAHAHAHAHA Funny shit
picking her is like an insurance policy. no crazed bigot will try to assassinate him cause their thoughts would be “dagnabit, we could kill the negro, but then we’d have a woman presdent. damn jethro we cant have that either. pass me some more o dat dere squerrl”
Yeah, but SHE might try to have you killed.
Nasty and inappropriate, Mike. Especially from someone who drones on and on about how civil he is, how above the fray.
BTW, not funny either.
mike we all know that you are a GUN NUT so we are not surprised by your post. that is why we need gun laws to protect us from the dopey people