Election Issues Today

YES, BILL CLINTON is still the BIG GUN!

I won’t say that Bill and Hillary gave Barack Obama a “luke warm” recommendation because they both made all the right sounds and gestures.  But how enthusiastic can they truly be?  Think of the dreams they had; the place in history they would hold if Hillary became the first female U.S. President and a former First Lady at that, and Bill became the First Man to sleep next to the President!

Joe Biden will do his job, both in the debates and on the stump.  He is the “establishment” man to add creds to Obama’s perceived weaknesses and lack of experience.  We shall see.  I’ve never really felt that a VP really added much to a ticket’s electability, with maybe two exceptions: LBJ with JFK in 1960 and George Bush as Reagan’s VP.

I continue to read so much about “sour grapes” and “we nominated the wrong candidate” that the Democratic Party Ticket will face a very strong challenge this autumn.  The challenge is not so much posed by the GOP, but by the challenge to become UNITED in their drive to unseat the GOP from the White House.    There was a tremendous amount of “lip service” to the ideal of unity but I think the two leading contenders just ripped the heart out of their supporters.  The only ticket that would have worked in the general election would have been Hillary for Prez and Obama for VP.  That ticket became impossible to form once Obama gained the edge in the primaries.  Prior to Super Tuesday, Obama would have been really happy with the VP spot.  For Hillary, nothing but the Presidency would have satisfied her ambition.

Now, just the big extravaganza in the Denver Stadium remains before attention  will be on St. Paul and the GOP Convention next week.

One thing that will be watched closely by both political camps and the media: Will Obama see the expected Convention “Bounce”?