We came way too close to a President Rudy Giuliani.  I'm not saying he was ever really the most likely winner, but the fact that it was ever even plausible scares the hell out of me.

Anybody else really want to consider how amazingly lucky we are here?

Good afternoon, all!

John McCain's not a bad guy, really.  As Republicans go, well, we could easily do worse.  I'm okay with him having a government job, good health care (he needs it, frankly), and a healthy retirement plan.  The good news is that this honorable public servant already has a job - he's a Senator.

Let's keep him there.  I don't want to promote him.  Anybody here think he's done a good enough job to warrant a better office?  New digs are nice and all, but I think he's got a good gig now.

Yep.  This issue has basically taken over at least one (if not two) diaries.  It should be discussed on its own.

I'll take the Obamacans over PUMA right now, folks.  Seriously I cannot stress this enough.  I'll take a reluctant ally over an eager opponent any day of the week.

Oh, by the way:

There's like a ton more Obamacans than PUMAs.

Yep.  $52 million.  Wow.

I want to be clear here.  A good number of Senator Clinton's top donors have been helping, and I appreciate what they're doing.  We have a race to win and they're doing their part.  Also, nobody is forced to give money and if somebody really doesn't want to give to Senator Obama's campaign I completely respect that.  I ain't kidding, either.  Donations are personal, and they signify a strong belief in a candidate or his/her views.

All that being said, I hope Hillary's Bundlers Get a Clue!

Senator Obama has reiterated his pledge to drive up African American turnout by 30%.  He also said that he'd drive up the youth vote by similar numbers.  

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080716/ap_o n_el_pr/obama_winning_the_south

If he can pull it off he will obliterate John McCain.  I cannot stress this enough.  If there's anything that the Obama campaign has been able to do it has been to drive turnout.  I think he's probably on the money here.

A storm is gathering...

Can the media actually comprehend that a consistent lead, one that averages somewhere around five points, is not neck and neck?  I'm absolutely flummoxed here.  If Senator Obama beats Senator McCain 52 to 47 that would not be a small victory, as it would probably be a 50+ EV spread.

How wide of a margin does Senator Obama need in these damned polls to get the mainstream media to treat it like a meaningful lead?

Yep.  We're kind of boned.  I suspect we'll be well and truly boned shortly.

The dollar's in the crapper.  Oil is flirting with $150 a barrel.  We're fighting two wars at the moment and either we or a close ally will probably strike Iran by the end of the year.  We have entitlement spending spiralling out of control (and both parties are to blame for that, thank you very much Medicare prescription drug "addition").  We are long on demand for mass transit but short on infrastructure.

We're really in some trouble here.  I think we need to soberly assess what we need, what we want, and what we can afford.

Good evening everyone!

I am going to lay out the case for Chuck Hagel as our Vice Presidential nominee.  I want to be clear about something, though.  I am not endorsing Chuck Hagel for this position.  I am warmer to him than most here but I do not think he would be the best choice.  I am writing this diary because no one hereabouts is willing or able to understand why Senator Hagel would be a compelling choice from a certain point of view.  I don't want to get attacked for writing this.  Instead, remember that I'm trying to foster some useful dialog and maybe broaden some perspectives.  You don't have to agree with the premise of this diary to be better for having read it.

Interested?  Read on...