Obama’s VP, who will it be?

 

So, the wait could finally be over, Obama according to news sources is finally ready to announce his choice for VP.

I am on the edge of my seat.  We could know THIS WEEK, the other half of an Obama presidency. This man or woman (probably not) would be part of a historic campaign and an even more historic presidency.

Oh why, oh why couldn’t it have been me?..lol

I have a sneaky suspicion that his choice will be someone that we didn’t even suspect was in the running or even hone in on but at the same time I’m pretty certain it wouldn’t be the dream ticket choice of Hillary Clinton, but hey he could surprise us all and choose Ms.Clinton.

Former Senator Sam Nunn’s name has been bandied around left and right and many have floated the possiblity of a Joe Biden vice presidency but I really don’t like either of these choices but for the same reason.

While Sam Nunn and Joe Biden have significant foreign policy experience neither man can help Obama win states that he couldn’t have won without them. So in my book they should be ruled out simply because they don’t bring enough to the table.

Senator Evan Byah of Indiana and Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia on the other hand could help Obama win their  respective home state come November. Since they are not only popular with their base constituencies but also with independents and moderate leaning Republicans they could help Obama solidify and reassure skeptical white working class men and women about an Obama presidency. And while we can wish it wasn’t so or even try to wish it away at the end of the day Obama does and will need to calm any fears within this particular constituency in order to win the election and Byah and Kaine can help him to do so.

In the long run, Obama’s lack of of foreign policy and national security experience, can be compensated for with a campaign focus on national issues which are of greater importance this election cycle and in the end he must win the election and carry the electoral college in order to become President and that must be the central focus of the campaign.

Clinton needs to get out the way..

So, Clinton vows to fight on after losing North Carolina, barely winning Indiana with dwindling campaign finances and personal loans to her campaign, she’s out to prove that she’s no Eight Belles (I know, I know bad taste but I couldn’t resist..I mean Big Brown, Eight Belles..lol)  well that’s her choice but if I were a member of Obama’s campaign or a ‘superdelegate’ this is what I would be saying/ singing right about now..

 

  
 

and from the looks of things they are telling her too...lol

May 6th, do, die or delay day for Obama..

 

 

Obama must win at least one of the two primaries tomorrow and based on recent polling in both states Obama continues to lead in North Carolina while Clinton leads him in Indiana.

A win by Obama in either of the two states must be by a big enough margin, at least 10 points, for it to be considered a real victory and if he doesn’t, (I’m afraid to say it) and instead looses both primaries he will be handing the nomination to Ms.Clinton, who will then look to be the safer choice between the two, when their cases are brought before the super delegates.

If he wins one and she wins one then we’re looking to yet another primary  on May 13 to be a decider, yet another delay and yet another week of this drawn out process, with the result being less time for the democratic nominee to prepare for the general election and more time for John McCain to marshal the troops and deploy the scouts to gather ‘swift boating’ information.

Obama and his campaign are at the edge of a cliff looking over and the only thing that will stop them from careening over the other side will be victories by significant margins. Losses could ultimately end his campaign, ( as unfair as it is, we have always known that the deck has been stacked against him) this is unfortunate, since the same rules haven’t applied to his opponent.

N.B It’s good to see that the campaign has abandoned the large rallies for more intimate, one on one voter settings…if he does win Indiana tomorrow, it will be because of this change in strategy..

 

 

Obama’s tune up..

 

Barack Obama said today that he’s going to fine tune his campaign in order to reach those low income, white voters that will be critical to winning the presidency come November after losing them by a pretty high margin to Clinton, once again, this week in Pennsylvania.

Obama as I have said on numerous occassions and in earlier blogs needs to reach out and connect with this demographic on their terms and in their communities in order to make inroads into Clintons’ base.

In order for Obama to win this constituency he must convincely and sincerely convey who he is and what he stands for since many even at this late stage still claim to have little or no knowledge about Obama.

Now, I don’t profess to know the inner workings of a presidential campaign or any political campaign but I do believe that if a candidate has had consistent problems with a particularly crucial demographic, like Obama has had with the white working class, he/she should work harder and consistently speak with the members of this group in order to understand why he/she isn’t at least breaking even with their opponent especially if they are both offering pretty much the same policies and ‘promises’.

This is what Obama needs to do.

He should be doing more impromptu stops. He should be greeting the farmer in his fields. The waitress at her dinner and the construction worker on the job site. And more importantly he should look comfortable doing it. He sometimes looks as though he doesn’t know what do in those settings and it comes off as if he’s uncomfortable around everyday folk he can’t appear that way anymore. This is the end game. And in the end game every thing matters.

His novelty, has started to wear off and he’s now got to show them, the white working class, why he’s the best and only man for the job and not just some black guy, with a Harvard degree and a funny name who is the democratic party’s flavor of the month.

I concede Obama, may never win the majority of them over completely for a number of reasons including race.

But, if he fights tooth and nail with Clinton and then McCain for every single white working class vote and he’s willing to convey that he understands and show that he respects that God and guns sometimes go hand in hand in many places in this land, without compromising his own core positions on specific issues like gun control I’m willing to bet the same people that are now voting for Clinton and have voted for a Republican in almost every single presidential election since 1977, wouldn’t ‘hold their noses’ and vote for him come November but will actually on voting day march to the polls in greater numbers than we expect and cast their ballots in support of the black guy, with a funny name because they know that he’s the best man for the job and he earned their votes and their respect just like any other candidate.

Ultimately, for the first viable black presidential candidate it boils down to if he can earn their respect he’ll gain their vote!