Some more Beltway, not so idle, speculation on the possibility of McCain asking Lieberman to be his running-mate. As with Tom Ridge who had his name floated out there recently, a pro-choice candidate would not sit well with the radical right.
Personally, I agree with other pundits who think this is just all smoke to make some other perhaps obscure republican look a whole lot more palatable. But McCain is also signalling that he wants someone he will feel comfortable with, which probably excludes Romney or Huckabee.
Deep thinkers such as Rush Limbaugh hate the idea, while other equally brilliant rightwingers like Rich Lowry of The National Review think it sounds marvelous.
Whatever your own take on the situation of a VP for McCain it does seem odd that there should be such hand-wringing for the republicans (and the democrats, for that matter) this late in the game. The last time the republicans waited this long to announce a running-mate was in 1988 when George Bush Sr picked Dan Quayle during the convention.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican official tells The Associated Press that Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman will be speaking at the Republican National Convention.
The GOP official said Wednesday that Lieberman would deliver a speech as Republicans gathered in St. Paul to nominate John McCain for president. The official requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to make an announcement.
It's now becoming clear that Georgia invaded South Ossetia with the encouragement of the U.S., leading Russia to repel the invasion, stirring a conflict that is tearing that region apart, and sparking an international crisis.
What caused the crisis -- and what do Joe Lieberman and John McCain have to do with it? As the facts unfold, answers are becoming clearer. It seems that Bush and McCain provoked a war in Georgia, in part, to help John McCain's presidential hopes, and Joe Lieberman is acting as spin master and cheerleader. All this while thousands in South Ossetia suffer as their lives are torn apart.
In news that could eclipse the announcement of either party's Vice Presidential running mate, McClatchy reports:
Now come at least three men - coincidentally all in the Bigfoot business - promising evidence at a Friday news conference in Palo Alto, Calif., that the elusive creature has been found at long last.
"A body that may very well be the body of the creature commonly known as 'Bigfoot' has been found in the woods in northern Georgia," says a news release. It describes the carcass as that of an animal 7 feet 7 inches tall, weighing more than 500 pounds that "looks like it is part human and part apelike."
Stay tuned as we follow up on this historical event tomorrow. And if there really is a Bigfoot, he (or she) will undoubtedly be more exciting than any of the names I have seen leaked as potential running mates for the 2008 election.
"In my opinion, the choice could not be more clear: between one candidate, John McCain, who's had experience, been tested in war and tried in peace, another candidate who has not," Mr. Lieberman said. "Between one candidate, John McCain, who has always put the country first, worked across party lines to get things done, and one candidate who has not. Between one candidate who's a talker, and the other candidate who's the leader America needs as our next candidate."
Just because Obama hasn't joined the neoconga line with you on the failed side of American party politics does not give you the right to question his patriotism.
People who sign up for McCain's program receive reward points each time they place a favorable comment on one of the listed Web sites (subject to verification by McCain's webmasters). The points can be traded for prizes, such as books autographed by McCain, preferred seating at campaign events, even a ride with the candidate on his bus, known as the Straight Talk Express, according to campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.
...snip...
More chillingly, dissidents alleged earlier this year that the Chinese government has paid Chinese citizens token sums for each favorable comment about government policies they post in chat rooms and on blogs.
During the awkward exchange, with several lengthy pauses, McCain said he had no immediate knowledge of the vote. "I've cast thousands of votes in the Senate," McCain said, then continued: "I will respond to--it's a, it's a..."
"Delicate issue," the reporter offered, to a relieved laugh from McCain.
"I don't usually duck an issue, but I'm--I'll try to get back to you," he explained.
"Let me give you a real, live example, which I've been hearing a lot about from women. There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover birth control medication. Those women would like a choice," she said.
But as the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America was happy to point out, McCain twice voted against measures that would have required insurance companies to cover birth control -- in 2003 and 2005.
The Republican said Wednesday that he did not recall those votes. "It's something that I had not thought much about," he added.
A campaign aide who refused to speak by name said the Arizona senator opposed all mandates.
The Washington Post fact-checked McCain's comments and advertisements claiming that Obama snubbed American troops, and found that they're a bunch of lies:
McCain Charge Against Obama Lacks Evidence For four days, Sen. John McCain and his allies have accused Sen. Barack Obama of snubbing wounded soldiers by canceling a visit to a military hospital because he could not take reporters with him, despite no evidence that the charge is true.
Seeing that Chris Shays claims that he would be one of Obama's "natural allies" in Congress, I wonder if Shays, who is the chairman of McCain's Connecticut campaign committee, will publicly denounce these shameful tactics.
Will Shays defend the truth -- or defend McCain, as any partisan Republican would?
An ally in the state legislature, House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, said he interpreted Lieberman's endorsement of McCain as the end of his career in elective politics.
"He obviously is making a statement he is not running again," Amann said.
Lieberman's Senate seat would be quite a prize for an up-and-coming Democrat, and based on Amann's comment, it would appear the Democratic Party would rally behind that candidate -- as it should.
And if that weren't clear to Lieberman before, it certainly should be now.
Via The Hill: and TPM, who calls it "a real doozy": ~
The Hill:
Jewish Democrats are anxious that Sen. Joe Lieberman's support for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) will hurt their own nominee's chances with voters of their faith.
Their increasing frustration came to a head Wednesday when liberal activists and bloggers dropped off a petition calling for Democratic leaders to remove Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut who caucuses with the Democrats, as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the next Congress. The petition contained 43,000 signatures.
And why does this make them so mad?
When asked about concerns he is creating the impression that Obama would not be a friend to Israel, Lieberman responded: "It's my way of thinking that if I've concluded, as I have, that John McCain is best for our country, then why wouldn't I do that?"
TPM:
That seems like a pretty straight-up admission by Lieberman that his Obama's-bad-for-Israel nonsense is pure propaganda designed to help McCain.
Rasmussen filed a poll the other day that has Obama 52, McCain 35 in Connecticut, sharply reversing their previous poll a month ago which supposedly (*cough* BS) had it a close race, Obama 47 McCain 43. This makes the third poll which has Obama up by between 17 and 22 points, effectively putting Connecticut out of play, if it ever was in play.
Obama is viewed favorably by 62%/37, McCain 54%/43.
Research 2000 has released another poll which confirms the earlier Quinnipiac poll, that Connecticut is not hospitable to John McCain or his (un)trusty sidekick Joe Lieberman.
Also of note for Not-so-smokin' Joe Lieberman is that Ned Lamont would defeat him handily if the 2006 race was re-run. If wishes were horses and all that but Lieberman's future remains in doubt, especially if McCain loses in November.
Obama 57
McSame 35
Undecided 8
Poll conducted 30-Jun 2-Jul 2008. 600 likely voters interviewed state wide by telephone margin for error 4%
Doug Schwartz says Connecticut ain't buying the McCain-Lieberman dog and pony show.
"At this stage of the campaign, Sen. Barack Obama is rolling over Sen. John McCain in Connecticut. Quinnipiac University also has conducted surveys in seven swing states in the last two weeks and Sen. Obama is ahead in every one" said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D.
"It still is very early in the campaign and Obama gets a bump from not having to run against Sen. Clinton any more, but for now, the Connecticut landslide looks like part of a trend."
"Obama is winning among the demographic groups where he seemed to be having problems when he faced Sen. Clinton: white voters, especially whites with less than a college degree," Dr Schwartz added.
If McCain picks Sen. Joseph Lieberman as his running mate, only 14 percent of Connecticut voters say they are more likely to vote Republican, while 32 percent are less likely and 52 percent say it won't affect their vote.
56-35 contrasts with a likely dubious Rasmussen poll which had it 47-44 last month. This should put to rest the notion that Connecticut is somehow in play, once and for all.
In front of constituents earlier this spring, Chris Shays couldn't have stated his position on Iraq any more clearly:
Before the start of the discussion, Mr. Shays explained that he recently returned from his 20th trip to Iraq since the war began five years ago. He said progress is being made and he believes Iraq can find unity, despite years of violence. “I support the President on Iraq,” Mr. Shays said.
He acknowledged that polls claim two-thirds of Iraqis want Americans to leave. But Mr. Shays said he has never gotten that sense from any of his visits.
Q: If it’s working, senator, do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?
McCAIN: No, but that’s not too important.
One day before Chris Shays is scheduled to co-host a John McCain fundraiser in CT, Jim Himes released this statement about the importance of bringing our troops home:
"John McCain's comments this morning are not only sorely out-of-touch, they are also hurtful to the families of troops serving in Iraq for whom nothing is more important than knowing when their loved ones will come home.
"If Chris Shays was serious about bringing our troops home, he wouldn't be co-chairing John McCain's campaign in Connecticut. Just like his party's standard-bearer, Chris Shays is deeply confused and out-of-touch when it comes to Iraq. In 2006 he promised voters he would support timelines, only to vote against them three times in 2007. Now, in 2008, he says he supports President Bush on Iraq and is working hard to elect an administration that clearly intends to keep American troops in harms way in Iraq for years if not decades.
"Connecticut families know we cannot afford a third term of the Bush-McCain-Shays policy on Iraq. It is long past time to give the Iraqi government a clear timeline for the full redeployment of American troops so we can start focusing on the challenges that face us here at home."
There's a new poll out today by Rasmussen showing Obama only ahead by 3 percent (47-44) over McCain. This is down from a 12-point lead in March.
Rasmussen speculates that the drop is due to the Rev. Wright scandal (which happened shortly after the last poll), but I wouldn't have thought CT voters would be so swayed by that issue.
Another possible explanation is that CT is home to lots of Hillary supporters who took the whole losing thing pretty hard...hard enough to switch to McCain in the general.
A Quinnipiac poll, also from early March, gave Obama a comfortable 52-35. It'll be interested to see if they do another CT poll soon. Markos speculates that once the primary mess is over and ex-Clinton supprters warm to Obama, his lead will go up.
But on the heels of some Mass. polls that put McCain close, I'm starting to wonder if southern New England is really as blue as people might think. Are Rell's indy and Dem supporters clinging to McCain now?
as Steven R notes, "Vets for Freedom is a smear group using an injured vet openly in a slime commercial accusing Barack Obama directly of not meeting with veterans while wanting to meet with people who "Hate" America".
At least now we know Lieberman's official function in the McCain campaign: Joe Lieberman, McCain Bearings Checker. NBC's Jonathan Capehart loses it while answering Andrea Mitchell's question.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the Democratic Party's 2000 vice presidential nominee, is leaving open the possibility of giving a keynote address on behalf of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) at the Republican National Convention in September.
Republicans close to the McCain campaign say Lieberman's appearance at the convention, possibly before a national primetime audience, could help make the case that the presumptive GOP nominee has a record of crossing the aisle. That could appeal to much-needed independent voters.
McCain has yet to ask Lieberman to speak, either in primetime or elsewhere, at the convention. But if McCain thinks it will help make his case for the White House, as some of his allies suspect, Lieberman would be willing to speak on his behalf.
"If Sen. McCain, who I support so strongly, asked me to do it, if he thinks it will help him, I will," Lieberman said in a brief interview.
Lieberman said he doubts McCain will ask him to give a keynote address, but acknowledges the subject has yet to come up in the two senators' discussions.
A Lieberman aide said even though there are no plans for the Independent to give a speech at the convention, it is a "likely possibility" he will address the Republican audience in some form.
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