Yeah, you don't see it with McCain. Why DOES it seem more interesting? Perhaps it's just that whoever the VP is sets the story. Perhaps it's that they're hoping Obama picks someone as eloquent and well-known as Hillary or John Edwards.

But most of all, I get the impression that they see the Obama campaign the same way we do. A great big machine that has plowed through. And they want to know whether that machine has enough juice to steamroll McCain and the whole RNC.

I think the interest generated by the Dem Nom fight and the fact that Bush has defied expectations in how shitty a President he was is creating the buzz.  

we are looking at days to maybe 2 weeks. This will happen well before the convention.

Unless.... they want to surprise all of us at the convention.

Progressive Blue

I think so too. By choosing Senator Clinton so many fires would be put out and we would win in a landslide.

Yeah, I'm getting this impression too. Mostly because of the way the other VP candidates keep taking themselves out of the running or doing something to make themselves less appealing.  It's like Obama's waiting long enough to let all the other VP candidates show their weaknesses, then when he picks Hillary he can say she's proven herself the best candidate for the slot.  And they're both working like crazy to show that they can, in fact, be supportive of each other and work together without trying to stab each other in the back.

So yeah, it looks like it's trending that way. Or maybe Obama's just being nice to sweeten up undecided Hillary voters, which is not a bad plan at all in my opinion.

I'll admit my bias here -- I'd love to see a unity ticket. I think the two of them would be a powerhouse that would knock the Republicker policies right out of the park and get some real change accomplished. (At least, I hope so. Hee hee.)

Also, I'm blown away by the historic image -- after nothing but white men in the White House since our country was born, imagine the picture of a race-minority man and a woman together running the US. The image is utterly perfect for the Democratic Party and its "big tent", which is a real one, unlike the Republicker's illusory version. I can't think of another image that would so powerfully say, "We are SERIOUS about changing things for Americans."

The MSM would go wild in a positive way for a change, except for Fox of course; Obama would pick up a huge voter bump; the Republickers would be frothing at the mouth and having heart attacks...it's really a beautiful picture (Er, I don't mean heart attacks literally). Even if you just hate Hillary's guts, think about the billboard and TV ads with these two beautiful people standing side by side -- it would have INCREDIBLE power.  Especially compared to posters of McCain and whatever white guy he picks, since I'm sure he's not picking Palin. Put the two pictures side by side in a TV ad and ask, "Which is the true face of America?"  Yeah, I know some people will go "The two old white guys", of course. But I'm talking about symbolic power here.

Also, they seem to have mostly locked Bill Clinton in a closet recently -- another indication, I think, that the Obama camp is trying to defuse the anti-Clinton hysteria before making the Unity Ticket announcement.

Yeah, it's almost like calling someone's economic plan "voodoo economics" - that guy didn't get asked to be VP either...oh wait, he did.

Get over it - Obama did.

if Hillary hadn't done this or that, then she just might, maybe be worthy of my approval.  Give me a break.  Its politics.  If the tables were reversed, Clinton would think twice about asking Obama to be on the ticket- you know why?  Because she knows it would be a surefire winning match.  Obama's a fairly smart person as well- I somehow doubt he will take your hurt feelings into account over one remark.  Hell, Obama compared HRC to GWB at every turn- if there is one grudge to be held, its that one- what a fucking insult.

I have no problem with Hillary as VP so please get off of it. The one constant among the "behind the scenes" stories, seems to be that there is some level of personal animosity between the two. I'm sure some of that can be traced to Hillary comparing McCain favorably to Obama.

There is a very clear difference between attacking your opponent's policies ("voodoo economics") and serving as VP since at the end of the day the President will get his/her way, and the VP can concede that although he disagreed with the opponent during the primary, that the "voters have spoken" and that s/he will work to fulfill the winner's policies - and a situation where you call into question your opponents claim to the presidency itself. Even worse when you consider she did so by comparing favorably a candidate that any serious analysis will show would perpetuate the worst aspects of the Bush presidency. I've been thinking about it for several months, but to this day I have no idea how Hillary would answer the question, during a VP debate, of why she would agree to serve as VP to a candidate that she has said is not competent enough to be commander in chief. What "experience" has Obama brought to bear since the end of the primaries that Hillary could point to as the reason she has changed her mind.

OK, that's all. Back to party unity.

I have a ton of respect for you LM, but the anger on the left over Obama's recent actions has probably helped him more than you know.  I could give anecdotal evidence based on the number of people I meet at my work who are now on board because they do not think he is "a crazy left wing nut job".  But here is my honest analysis.

By going to the center this early he is going to force McCain to fight him on his terms.  You will pay less in taxes under Obama's plan if you are not loaded, so McCain has to explain why the rich deserve more help than we do.  On Iraq McCain will have to explain why he wants to stay indefinitely and will have a hard time labeling Obama as a cut and runner.  The only issue he has a good chance on is energy, and I am hoping Obama can find a good way to counter the ridiculously simplistic "Drill Now, Drill Here, Pay Less" crap that the right is spewing.

Obama is acting like a good politician, and while that may make some of us sad, it is a good thing.  If McCain is forced to fight Obama on the grounds of O Man's choosing, we win big.  

I hope you do not think I am making light of your anger at his shifting, but I think long term it is for the best.  

I preface all of what I just said with the belief that Obama is basically full of crap on most of his shifts and is just trying to win and will govern the way we all expect come January.

PUMAs do not want her to be his VP and will refuse to vote for him even if she is his VP!  

We fear she will be blamed for any "mistakes" or "missteps" he might make as President.  To be sure, the "Clinton Rules" will apply, especially since Obama's camp was so willing to adopt them throughout the primaries.  HRC will be vilified by the Obama supporters and by the Right.

Basically, HRC can't win for losing, as her vote against the FISA BILL proved today when some in the Obama camp (at DKos) accused her of trying to upstage Obama by voting against it!  THIS WILL BE THE PATTERN THROUGHOUT AN OBAMA/CLINTON ADMINISTRATION.  

He should ask her to be his VP out of respect and she should turn him down and still campaign for him as she has said.  

Really!  He needs to pick someone else!!  

I swing back and forth on that, but she may be in a position to bring attention to some issues more as a VP.  The VP position would have to be more like the Bill Clinton/Al Gore model, though, than the traditional figure head from the past to really make it a good thing for Hillary to do.  If it is the figure head VP status she would have, it would be such a major waste of intellect and possibilities, that it wouldn't be worth her while.

McCain will name his VP first.  Kerry should have waited with Edwards so he got more media play out of it.  The Olympics are also coming up and there is no point naming your VP anytime close to that.  So I am betting if we don't hear something in the next week it won't be until after the Olympics.

I put one in there before the quote to TPM, but added yours in there too.

Wouldn't it be interesting if Obama picked Chuck Hegel (sp?) and McCain picked Sen Clinton?  Now that would be a presidential race worth watching!  

That is what I have been thinking for a couple of weeks now.

Obama is playing hard to the center trying to pick up indies and non-Bush Repugs.  Hillary can come in and play to the left with FISA and women's rights.  Democrats will be happy and come out in force.  Indies and Repubs that don't hate the Clinton's may stay for Obama.  We win in a landslide.

He will lose some Clinton hating repubs but there may not be that many people who would vote  
Obama/(generic Democrat) but not Obama/Clinton.  My mom is one of these people but I am working on her just in case.

I don't usually complain about troll ratings. But if you want to claim to be a paragon of free speech and a champion of the right to dissent then troll rating me for this comment makes your free speech efforts suspect.  

Why wait until the convention and dilute the bump? Get a bump from the pick at the end of this month, say high single digit lead, then get another, monster bump from the convention that almost blows McCain away.