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The media was all over last night’s convention speeches for not attacking Bush and McCain enough. Tonight, that’s is not the case…

Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona (YouTube video)…

Barry Goldwater ran for president, and he lost. Mo Udall ran for president, and he lost. Bruce Babbit ran for president, and he lost. For this next election, that’s one Arizona political tradition I’d like to see continue.

Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas…

John McCain’s version: There’s no place like home…or a home…or a home…or a home…or a home…

Sen. Bob Casey, Pennsylvania (YouTube video)…

John McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush more than 90% of the time…that’s not a maverick, that’s a sidekick.

and…

The Bush-McCain Republicans inherited the strongest economy in history and drove it into a ditch. They cut taxes on the wealthiest of us and passed on the pain to the least of us. They ran up the debt, gave huge subsidies to big oil companies, and now they’re asking for four more years.

How about four more months?

Mark Warner, former Governor of Virginia and Senate candidate…

People always ask me, “What’s your biggest criticism of President Bush?” I’m sure you all have your own. Here’s mine: It’s not just the policy differences. It’s the fact that this president never tapped into our greatest resources - the character and resolve of the American people. He never asked us to step up.

Think about it: After September 11, if there was a call from the President to get us off foreign oil, to stop funding the very terrorists who had just attacked us, every American would have said, “How can I do my part?” This administration failed to believe in what we can achieve as a nation, when all of us work together.

and Warner does a great summing up what this election is about…

This election isn’t about liberal versus conservative. It’s not about left versus right. It’s about the future versus the past.

Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio, made a great baseball analogy…

You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he’d hit a triple. Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base–and then he stole second. And John McCain cheered him every step of the way.

Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana, is really hitting McCain hard on being in the pocket of Big Oil and against renewable energy (and having a great time while is at it)…

After eight years of a White House waiting hand and foot on big oil, John McCain offers more of the same. At a time of skyrocketing fuel prices, when American families are struggling to keep their gas tanks full, John McCain voted 25 times against renewable and alternative energy. Against clean biofuels. Against solar power. Against wind energy.

This not only hurts America’s energy independence, it could cost American families more than a hundred thousand jobs. At a time when America should be working harder than ever to develop new, clean sources, John McCain wants more of the same and has taken more than a million dollars in campaign donations from the oil and gas industry. Now he wants to give the oil companies another 4 billion dollars in tax breaks. Four billion in tax breaks for big oil?

That’s a lot of change, but it’s not the change we need.

In Montana, we’re investing in wind farms and we’re drilling in the Bakken formation, one of the most promising oil fields in America. We’re pursuing coal gasification with carbon sequestration and we’re promoting greater energy efficiency in homes and offices.

Even leaders in the oil industry know that Senator McCain has it wrong. We simply can’t drill our way to energy independence, even if you drilled in all of John McCain’s backyards, including the ones he can’t even remember.

Hillary Clinton caps off a fantastic night with a fantastic speech that stressed the need to elect Barack Obama. She nailed McCain with this line…

It makes a lot of sense that next week John McCain and George Bush will be together in the Twin Cities, because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.

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Barack Obama is supposed to announce his VP candidate this evening or tomorrow morning by text message to supporters. There will be an event in Springfield, Illinois tomorrow afternoon with Obama and the Vice President candidate.

I am predicting that the choice will be Joe Biden. Biden is known to talk a lot and, except for a comment midweek that he’s not the guy, he has been pretty quiet the past couple weeks. Biden is coming off a trip to Georgia where he talked to leaders in the region about the conflict with Russia. Biden best quality in my opinion is that he isn’t afraid to throw elbows and go on the attack.

Bayh and Kaine’s names have been put out there before Obama made campaign stops in their respective states and the buzz wasn’t always positive. I think that was basically a test run and the campaign has decided against those two. Another reason that going against Kaine is that Obama just spent two days campaigning in Virginia, a key battleground state, so it wouldn’t make sense to announce your naming the Governor of Virginia VP at an event in another state.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Hillary Clinton gets the nod. This diary at Open Left makes the case that Obama will name Hillary Clinton that makes a lot of sense.

If, in June, Clinton told you she should be your VP and you were seriously considering it, what would you do? You would probably tell her that the only way it could happen is if you wholeheartedly endorse me, make it clear you have gotten over the joint ticket idea, have those under your influence (such as the “Vote Both” folks) drop all of their efforts on HRC’s behalf. You’d say, I can’t look weak by picking you, like I was forced by circumstance. It must look like a choice I made that I didn’t have to make but I did because I’m such a big person and I care about the country and I care about victory.

There are three candidates that I would most like to see be named vice president. I would love for Obama to name Kathleen Sebelius, who was campaigning in Iowa yesterday, is still a choice, but there hasn’t been much buzz about her lately. And Tom Harkin is pushing for Chris Dodd, which I think would be a great choice. Finally, I have been a little surprised that Bill Richardson hasn’t been mentioned as much. I think he would bring a lot to the table.

Then it could be a complete dark horse candidate like Tom Daschle, John Kerry, Mark Warner, or Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer (one of the battleground states Obama is visiting after the announcement is Montana).

Now it’s just time to sit back with my cell phone in hand and wait for the announcement.

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Political Insider says vice presidential candidates rarely are named from people who have been running for president.With many presidential candidates being touted as possible vice presidential nominees should they lose their party’s primary, such as S…

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I know, I live in Iowa, so a defense of the caucuses that comes from me is just going to seem like I’m greedy.  I should say that before I moved to Iowa for college four years ago, I shared the opinion that the importance of the caucuses is unjustifiable, and that a national primary […]

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There has been some speculation about the connection between Tom Vilsack and Hillary Clinton.  Perhaps some of the ’sack staff will move to the Clinton camp, and that would be a huge boost to Clinton if it happened.  But while the staff might go to Clinton, it is way too early to assume that Vilsack’s […]

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The Harkin Steak Fry is this Sunday and the main speaker is Barak Obama. The main program also includes Tom Vilsack, Chet Culver, and other candidates running for office in Iowa. Mark Warner decided to attend the event, so he will be speaking at a pr…

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