Lets get to it. Yesterday, Barack Obama gave a passionate speech in Michigan (obviously one of his prime targets) about America's future; I urge you all to check out the video of it, if you can find it. But he was in Michigan for a more important reason:
--> Surprisingly, Senator Obama picked up the endorsement of Former Next-President Al Gore, only 3 months after it would have mattered. Of course, Gore could be a big force in this race, with such a strong following. Chances are, he won't be interested in serving as Obama's running mate, but he would be a major player on environmental policy in an Obama presidency.
--> According to insider, anonymous sources (EDC's favorite), John McCain has expressed a private preference on his choices for running mate. If he had his way, he would apparently choose either former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge (R) or Senator Joe Lieberman (R...I mean D...I mean I). Of course, he (and the rest of his party) is pretty sure that he couldn't get away with either of these choices. Both would bolster his views on security and national defense, but both are pro-choice, and Lieberman is liberal on most social issues. The evangelical base of the GOP would lose their minds, and not show up at all in November. Of course, either of these picks (especially Droopy) would reinforce McCain's image as a bipartisan politician. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
--> Tony Schwartz passed away yesterday at the age of 84. While the average citizen would probably not know who he was, he was the architect of one of the most effective attack ads in history, "Daisy." Made for the Lyndon Johnson presidential campaign, it depicted a little girl picking flowers peacefully, when suddenly a nuclear countdown starts, and a zoom-in on her pupil depicts a nuclear explosion when the countdown reaches 0. The implication of the ad was that you couldn't trust the nutjob conservative Barry Goldwater (R-AZ: sound familiar?) with his finger on the button. Of course, it was aired only once, but its impact was a major factor in Johnson's landslide victory. Watch the ad here. When you see ads this fall trying to scare you into voting against either Obama or McCain, think of Tony Schwartz and then feel free to wet your pants.
Poll Bowl:
Time for another installment of my presentation of meaningless statistics that probably have no bearing on the eventual outcome of this race, but can give us a rough view of what this race looks like now, at least in terms of the Electoral College.
--> A new poll shows Obama with a BIG lead in Ohio, 50% to 39%. This is a big turnaround from Public Policy Polling's last Ohio poll, but if Obama has that big a lead in Ohio, McCain is in serious trouble. He absolutely needs Ohio - Obama doesn't. Remember that the inept John Kerry won 252 electoral votes. If Obama holds all of his states (and really only Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania could possibly be in danger), he only needs a few more states to win this thing. Ohio itself would give him victory. A combination of Missouri and Colorado would also do it. Or Iowa, Colorado, and New Mexico. Or Virginia and Iowa. Obama doesn't even need to contemplate Florida to give himself a win. McCain desperately needs Florida, and probably also needs to hold Ohio in order to have a chance to win, since Obama seems favored in Colorado, Iowa, and New Mexico.
--> Speaking of swing states favoring Obama, Virginia is very tight, as Rasmussen shows Obama with a narrow lead, 45% to 44%, over John McCain. This will be a huge battleground, which is why there's been so much speculation that Obama might pick either Governor Tim Kaine or Senator Jim Webb as his running mate to help with this state. If Obama can pull off a win in Virginia, it might be all but impossible for McCain to stop him without winning both Ohio and Michigan (and then some).
This'll be a fun race. There will be more tomorrow. For now, I'm off to work.
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