Obama’s trip from Springfield, Illinois, where he will introduce his running mate, to the convention in Denver will go from Eau Claire, Wisconsin to Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa to Kansas City to Omaha, all across the state of South Dakota to Billings, Montana. Then they will head south through Wyoming.
Everyone is trying to read the tea leaves from this itinerary. One thing that is readily obvious is that the trip is designed to get electoral votes. Iowa and Wisconsin are competitive states that are polling very well for Obama. Missouri is a winnable state that is polling well for McCain. Nebraska, like Maine, divvies up its electoral votes by congressional district, and Obama is competitive in two of the eastern districts. Montana is polling very well for Obama. And Wyoming is just on the way to Denver.
Having said this, at least three potential picks have connections to Kansas City. Tim Kaine grew up there, McCaskill got her political start there, and Sebelius governs the Kansan side of the city. Kansas City also represents a significant southern detour on the road from Illinois to Montana, so it could be significant.
On the other hand, the bus ride will traverse the entire state of South Dakota and, even though there are no scheduled events in the state, it offers a perfect stage for a surprise Obama/Daschle ticket.
If anything can be read from the itinerary, it looks good for Kaine, Sebelius, and Daschle. It looks bad for Bayh, Biden, and Clinton.
Speaking of Daschle, he’s scheduled to appear at a health-care forum in Denver on Wednesday. Also in attendance? Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. Also:
CHICAGO — Sen. Barack Obama, having chosen his running mate, is still torturing almost everyone else.
“Most of the higher level people in the campaign still don’t know,” former senator Tom Daschle, a close Obama confidant, said on Friday morning.
But Daschle surely does know. Could it be Chet Edwards? Well, dude, we just don’t know.
Am I the only one starting to get angry with the frustration of waiting? (I’m talking hours in the doctor’s waiting room mad, not John McCain insane.)
yeah, that sums it up. I’m going go shop for some good eats.
Not really. I’m having fun with Housegate. If he wants to put off the veep selection a bit, it’s fine by me. I kind of get the sense that we would’ve known by now if not for Grandpa’s big screw-up.
Not mad at all…in case you mean that it’s mad funny that the MSM is sweatin’ him hard about his pick.
Eh. We’ll know about the VP pick when he tells us.*
I’d rather discuss that wrinkly white haired KEPT dude, Exxon John. I think the talking heads should talk more about Obama’s new ad that slams Johnny boy’s country club economics. That’s more important, and I’m glad he’s not stepping on this very important message by announcing the VP. I, too, believe he was going to announce it yesterday or Wednesday, but vetting McSame’s country club economics is more important.
*(Which isn’t to say, however, that I don’t have my cell phone on my person instead of lost somewhere in my purse. Because I DO!)
🙂
Does it really matter whom he selects? Obama reminds me of Popeye before the spinach. Unless he gets some steel in his spine, I think the whole campaign becomes academic, no matter who his veep candidate is. His drop in the polls is troubling, indeed.
Obama-Daschle?
what a yawn…totally uninspiring. Keep Daschle for Chief of Staff-Political Adviser…connections to The Hill.
Kaine or Sebelius means change….and Sebelius has been working her butt off ever since.
Obama needs to get fired up. He sounds very tired, speaks as if he’s distracted. He needs to overlook McCain’s attack that he’s a celeb, or the One or Moses whatever.
If John Kerry was labeled a Gigolo, what does that make John McCain?
Obama needs to get fired up. He sounds very tired, speaks as if he’s distracted.
Remember that scene in The Candidate when Redford’s character is riding in the back of the car, on his way to another campaign event, rehearsing his lines, and he finally just starts babbling? I imagine Obama is starting to feel like that by now.
I’m OK with Chet Edwards. Not much in the way of old baggage, and he looks enough like a conventional white guy to calm the fears of those who think Obama is Muslim or something. He’s from Texas, which could help Obama in that state. If McCain loses there he’s toast.
If it’s Daschle or Biden or Bayh or any of the other tired horses then we have a clear signal that Obama isn’t about Change after all.
Holy crap, his name really is Chet?
Check.
the obama “community blog” is down “for maintenance”.
tonight maybe? would get it in the friday news dump and pick up the pace for the road trip.
Heh. That would be my guess, too, though if you had to do maintenance, you’d do it on a Friday night before the big week begins.
But still. Your Spidey senses are kicking in, and my Spidey senses agree.
I really feel it’s going to be Kaine.
Okay, okay. I think he’ll pick the guy from the midwest who was photographed standing in a wheat field wearing jeans.
He spoke fluent Arabic too.
I wish I could remember his name.
Scott Kleeb?
Yes. I knew you would probably know.
Well, it’s NOT Kaine, evidently. I’m hearing on the news that he’s been told he’s not it. I hear the same re Bayh.
That makes it Biden. If I had any money, I’d put money on that now.