What Were They Thinking?

What exactly was the New York Times thinking when they decided on this cover illustration for the upcoming July 21st issue:


If its not already been distributed, then I hope this public's outcry today will make them decide against it. I mean, what were they thinking! Sure they wanted to poke fun of the rumors and stereotypes against Obama, but to put this image on the cover of a national magazine, is totally irresponsible.

Fight The Smears.com

Have you heard about Senator Barack Obama's new plan to deal with the rumor mill? Confront it head on! Check out his new website fightthesmears.com

Here's some rumors put to rest:

Michelle Obama Says “Whitey” On a Tape

Barack Obama is a Muslim

Barack Obama Won't Say The Pledge of Allegiance/Won't Put His Hand Over His Heart

The March to 538

With Barack Obama all but securing the Democratic Nomination, the focus of the 2008 Presidential Election will turn to the General Election. With it will come countless polls, news articles, and, of course, guesses on how many Electoral College votes McCain or Obama will get. Remember, to win the U.S. Presidency, a candidate must win a majority of the Electoral College votes to win the White House.

Until now, it has been difficult to play along in this fun guessing game. Keeping track of Electors on a state-by-state basis is not fun and difficult without a spreadsheet. Luckily for you, me and any other politics lover, there is a new site called PredictNovember.com. It's free and fun, letting you make your electoral college prediction by clicking states on a map. Track your predictions, share with friends, or even embed your prediction on your blog or website. Here's my first guess:

Obama's New Democratic Party

Here's a crazy scenario that I heard about. It's a long shot and I don't think it will get to this point, but here it is for your pondering:

DNC Gives Hillary Clinton the Nomination Over Obama

What if even though Obama has won the popular vote and has more won delegates but the DNC still decides to push the nomination to Clinton? Its possible if enough Super Delegates are swayed. Why would the DNC deny the first Black Candidate of the Party? They wouldn't, but this is just a thought experiment.

OK, let's say it happens. Then what? An outraged (rightly so) Obama could break off from the Democratic Party and start a "New Democratic Party". A schism in the DNC would create a new party and perhaps bring them the first President. Would either "Democrat" have enough votes to beat a (unified) Republican Party? Probably not, but I don't think Obama should or would accept the slap in the face and let it pass.

Who is McCain's VP?

It's only a matter of time before John McCain clinches the Repuiblican nominee for President, so who will be his VP? I previously have written that I think it will be a Guliani / Romney ticket, but now that's certainly not going to happen. So who will it be? It came to me in a dream last night! Has anyone else written about it yet? What do you think about:


Retired General Colin Luther Powell!


The 65th United States Secretary of State, many thought Powell might make a run of the Presidency back in 2000. He also has been the National Security Advisor under Reagan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Bye Bye Rudy

Oh boy, the Republican field is certainly narrowing. Sure Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee are still in the race, but their chances are slim to none. Perhaps one of them will be the Vice Presidential candidate. Would Rudy Giuliani take it if offered? I think so. It seems to be right up his alley -- big title, not so much work. Kidding! Oh, let's see the Giuliani supporters comment now.

Are You Ready For Tomorrow?

And so the primary season begins tomorrow with the Iowa caucuses tomorrow, January 3, 2008. All eyes will be on the state to see which Democrat and which Republican win the first race of the election cycle. One the Democratic side, there is a three way statistical tie for the lead between Obama, Clinton, and Edwards. On the Republican side there are two front runners in Romney and Huckabee. Let's see what happens!

The Beginning of the End is Nigh

Well after months and months of pre-election rhetoric, we are finally within 3 weeks of the first caucuses. January 3 is the big date and we'll soon see which Republican and which Democrat takes the first votes for the 2008 Party Conventions. The race on the Democratic side is very close with a virtual 3-way tie between Obama, Clinton and Edwards. On the Republican side, it's a constant mix-up with Huckabee in the lead sometimes, other times it's Romney, with Giuliani following behind. Where's Fred Thompson? Don't ask!

Pat Robertson Back Giuliani!

Wow, that was a total shock and surprise. Rudy Giuliani, who is pro-Abortion rights and supports gay rights, can been given an endorsement by Conservation Christian Leader Pat Robertson of all people! The surprise announcement has caught many wondering why. What is Pat sayign about this? Not much. Earlier, before the endorsement, Roberton had said in an ABC interview:

Rudy’s a very good friend of mine. I think he’d make a good president.

What's next? An endorsement of Hillary by President George Bush Senior? I mean, he and former President Bill Clinton are good friends too.

The Ticket

Any predictions on the 2008 Presidential Election? Here's my picks and we'll check back after the conventions:

Democratic Party
President - Senator Hillary Clinton
Vice President - Senator Barack Obama

Republican Party
President - Rudy Giuliani
Vice President - Gov. Mitt Romney

What do you think about these picks? As far as the 2008 winner? I think it will be the Democrats, as long as the Poison Pill Redux does not occur. Then 8 years later, VP Obama would be the nominee for the Democrats.

The First Veto Override!

Some say President Bush would go his entire Presidency without a single veto override. He had a Republican congress the first little while, and then a divided and weak Democratic congress the rest of this terms. But the impossible has happened. Bush has had his first veto overridden by the Senate and House, not for the S-Chip Program or Iraq War funding, but instead over Water Infrastructure.

A $23 billion bill for new water projects was put into law with a veto-proof with a 79-14 vote in the senate. The Water Resources Development Act was earlier passed by the House 361-54, making it useless for the President to veto. The money will go to rebuilding "Hurricane Katrina, restore the Everglades and Great Lakes fisheries and build flood-control projects nationwide" according to CNN.

President Bush had threatened the veto because, as he said, it had too much pork, but no one in the Congress took his side in open floor discussions.

The Ron Paul Miracle

Did you hear how much money Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul took in in a single day this week? Try $4.3 million dollars in a single 24 hour period. The day was Guy Falkes Day, November 5th, and Paul used it to drum up a load of cash from over 37,000 donors. He even had a website for the event -- ThisNovember5th.com -- to publicize and galvanize the base. I just watched the video and.. well... I liked it!

Will Obama Accept the VP?

If things continue as they are now, Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic Nomination. Then the big question will be, Who will she ask to be the VP nominee? The customary choice is the runner up, which in this case could be Barack Obama. Would he accept? I think he should. His presence on the ballot could help Clinton win the Presidency which would keep his chances for a future Presidential bid alive. Think about two terms of Hillary, and then the VP getting the nod. Obama doesn't seem to have the experience to be elected President, but with 8 years of VP under his belt, he would look that much better.

"The Most Important Government Office You've Never Heard Of..."

That's what Newsweek magazine called the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel. Why?

According to Newsweek magazine, the OLC:

is the most important government office you've never heard of. Among its bosses -- before they went on the Supreme Court -- were William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia. Within the executive branch, including the Pentagon and CIA, the OLC acts as a kind of mini Supreme Court. Its carefully worded opinions are regarded as binding precedent -- final say on what the president and all his agencies can and cannot legally do.

("Palace Revolt" by Klaidman, Taylor Jr. and Thomas. Newsweek, February 6, 2006)

Why is it so powerful? Well the historical commission of the office was to advise the President on what was legal to do. This would apply to all executive orders and proclamations the President made. For example, if the President wanted to make a treaty with another country for such and such, the Office of Legal Counsel would advise him on the legality of it. If it was illegal, then the President would not do it. Sounds nice, right?

Well in the Bush Presidency, the role has slightly changed, that according to former head of the office Jack Goldsmith. In his new memoir The Terror Presidency, Goldsmith claims this role was nuanced slightly. Instead of advising on the legality of the President's potential actions, the office started using their memos to justify the President's actions by finding legal precedence or extrapolating that legality through existing (but sometimes extraneous) legal documents. For instance a definition of severe pain used in defining unacceptable torture practices was extracted from a medical insurance legal document citing death and organ failure. This way, if the President did anything that turned out illegal, he could say that he was only acting on advise from his lawyers, who "must have gotten it wrong" when they said it was legal. See how this works? Deniable culpability which gives the President Carte Blanche to do whatever he wants....

Poison Presidential Pill, Redux

I wrote earlier about how the topic of gay marriage led to President Bush's 2004 re-election. Could another issue lead to a Republican victory in 2008? It very well could! But this time it will not be an "issue" but instead a person. And who is that person? Senator Hillary Clinton.

What?!? Well the theory goes as follows. The country is generally fed up with Republicans after 8 years of Bush. This looks like a Democratic Presidential victory is guaranteed but the nominee for Democratic President could push the vote the other way. But Senator Clinton is hated as much as she is loved. Sure the Dems seem to love her, but there are just as many Republicans who don't and maybe even some of her own party. This means a Republican Strategy for 2008 would be to HELP GET Hillary the nomination with the idea that it would mean certain defeated for her (and victory for the Republican nominee) in the general election.

Poison Presidential Pill

How did George W. Bush win re-election in 2004? Well many think it was due to the topic of Gay Marriage. I tend to agree with this theory. It goes as follows: Karl Rove came up with a great plan to re-elect the President. If the Republicans would push the subject of Gay Marriage and make it an election issue, states would put in on the ballot. Whether that vote was to ban it from their state constitutions or allow it, the end result was a huge turn out by Evangelical and Far Right Conservatives at the polls. Although no one really thought Gay Marriage would be legalized, the plan got Republican voters out to the polls. This Poison Pill (or "Hot Button") issue ensured that more Republicans would turn out to vote than Democrats since most Democrats are Laisse Faire on this issue. Brilliant, Rove!

Mitt Romney in the Lead?

Only 14,000 people showed up to the Iowa straw poll a week ago. That's over 10,000 less than did for the last Republican poll back with GW Bush. Is that significant? Does it lessen Mitt Romney's victory?

I don't think so and here's why -- only people who pay for the dinner get to vote. This year it was $35 a head. Candidates usually reimburse their supporters for this price and even offer to bus them in from other areas. Guliani and McCain boycotted this year's event, so the people they would have bussed in were not present. That was probably a few thousand a piece if not more if their supporters came on their own.

Presidential Facts You Didn't Know

Unless you are a political geek or history fanatic. No seriously, here's two facts I recently learned which I found to be remarkable.

Félix Faure
Félix Faure was the President of France back in the last half of the 1890s. Here's the kicker -- President Faure died of an aneurysm during his Presidency... while he was receiving oral sex from his 20 year old mistress Marguerite Steinheil... while in his office. And you thought President Clinton was the first? At least he didn't die from it!







William Henry Harrison
Name sound familiar? Well hopefully it does since William Henry Harrison was the 9th President of the U.S. Isn't it amazing how most of us don't even know about these early nineteenth century Presidents? Well President Harrison had the distinction of being the first President to die in office. He also is the shortest serving U.S. President at only, get this, 31 days? And his death makes this story even worse. He dies of pneumonia which many believe was contracted due to his 2 hour inauguration speech! It was a cold and rainy day and President Harrison was not wearing a coat!

The Fred Thompson Effect

Here's a term that I will coin -- The Fred Thompson Effect. You know Fred -- the politician, lawyer, lobbyist, and actor. The former Law & Order star is threatening to enter the U.S. Presidential race as a Republican. So what's "The Fred Thompson Effect"? Well it is the effect which will reverse, or at least limit, the current trend in U.S. Presidential politics, namely that the campaigning for the 2008 race began for all intensive purposes in late 2006! Are you bored of the race yet? Well thanks to early campaigns by Hillary, Obama, Edwards, and Romney, we have another 15 months before the election. So what about the 2012 election? Will people start campaigning in 2009 or 2008? Well this is where The Fred Thompson Effect comes in. By staying out of the official race until later, Thompson is letting his competitors spend a lot of money (re: McCain). The Fred Thompson Effect will serve to hold back future Presidential hopefuls to enter the race TOO Early. Of course the final power of The Fred Thompson Effect will be determined by the actor's ultimate success as a 2008 candidate. But if he wins the Republican nomination The Fred Thompson Effect will be in full force!

Who's on First?

It's still not clear which state will hold the first primary or caucus and when it will happen. OK, actually it is clear -- sort of. New Hampshire must be the location of the first U.S. presidential election primary. Why? It's written into their state constitution. Isn't that silly? Well New Hampshirians don't think so. But what about Iowa? Well they don't have a primary -- they have a caucus. So this much is known -- Iowa will be first and New Hampshire second, but the date is not yet known because other states like Florida are jostling around their dates to be one of the first. Could you believe ti that a 2008 primary could be held in December?