Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is rated number on CBS News’ latest ranking of potential running mates for Sen. Barack Obama. (Hat tip to Hog House Blog!)
1 Kathleen Sebelius | BioThe buzz around the Kansas governor is only growing. In a recent local TV interview, Obama offered some strong praise for her, saying, “I love Kathleen Sebelius. I think she is as talented a public official as there is right now.” Sebelius wouldn’t confirm that she’s being vetted, but Congressional Quarterly points out she is no longer denying it either.Kansas’ neighbor Sen. Chuck Hagel, Republican from Nebraska, is #3 with a bullet.
I'm still quite miffed at Barack for all his 180 degree changes recently. Actually, I'm in a snit. I might work out of it. But I'm an unhappy Obamamaniac right now.
I'm not the only one. I've talked to other BHO supporters who are no longer "fired up, ready to go" as they were because of Barack's pandering to the Right. We'll vote for him but he has to get back on the "change" and "hope" track if he wants us to get off our butts and our wallets.
Barack, I'm just sayin'.
Todd Epp
SD Watch http://www.southdakotawatch.net
(Rev. Jesse) Jackson's comments, though crude and incendiary, come at a time when Obama is accused of reversing his stand on the Iraq war, campaign finance, gun control, the death penalty, abortion and wiretapping without court oversight as he tries to position himself for the election against the Republican, John McCain.
Wow, all this "change" in less than two weeks!Yes, Barack Obama is the "change" candidate. He keeps changing his positions. Yes, he is the "hope" candidate. We hope he goes back to being the candidate of "change" and "hope."
Originally posted on SD Watch http://www.southdakotawatch.net
Technorati Tags: MSNBC, Barack Obama, flipflops
Barack Obama voted with the majority on the "compromise" FISA bill today.From Ars Technica:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL) voted in favor of the amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to the dismay of many of his own supporters. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) were among those who broke with their party's standard-bearer to vote against the bill.
A Democrat-led Congress hands George W. Bush a big victory in the dog days of his lame-duckery, and on a basic issue of Constitutional liberties, no less.
Originally posted at SD Watch: http://www.southdakotawatch.net
Obama supporters decorated a truck and participated in the Brookings Fourth of July parade.
The Obama truck was decorated with American flags and banners, red, white and blue ballons, and lots of Obama signs. It was a lot of fun decorating the truck and the entry was a great success.
Barack Obama doesn’t need me anymore.He knows he had me at “hello.”He knows he’s still going to have me.He knows that liberals like me are not going to vote for John McCain.And we’re not so stupid as to throw our votes away for Ralph Nader. (Been there, done that.)But he did need me and fellow Lefties during the primaries.This past week, besides trying to capture “the middle” (whatever that is), Barack also took several steps away from being something different to being something we see all too often—a pandering politician.Are you an evangelical? Then by golly, like President George Bush, Barack likes “faith-based” initiatives too!Are you afraid of terrorists slamming more planes into our skyscrapers? Then by golly, like President Bush, he thinks the FISA bill is just okey-dokey and giving up some more of your civil liberties is swell. Are you an NRA member? Then by golly, Barack seems to like the recent Supreme Court case on Second Amendment rights. (And here I actually probably agree with him, but in South Dakota, liberals like me like guns too, so I’m an anomaly.)Perhaps this is a winning strategy. Lefties like me alone will not get Barack elected this fall. He has to capture conservative Democrats, independents, and open minded Republicans. I get that.And maybe this is just his way of “taking out the garbage” of capitulating on some issues just before not only a Friday, but a 4th of July Friday.It’s all so coy, all so, well, political. Barack learned his political lessons well in Chicago.What seemed to separate Obama from particularly Hillary Clinton was that he was an agent of change, of politics NOT as usual. Hell, if I wanted politics AS usual, I’d have voted for and supported Hillary as she has that down pat. But I didn’t. And millions of others didn’t. We actually thought we were voting for HOPE and CHANGE.Perhaps we still are.But like my man crush on The Man Crush, after this week, those ideals have faded, if just a little.Photo: Ah, the good old days, when Barack Obama wanted me. This is the craziness on June 1, 2008—just a month ago—when Barack was about to take the stage at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.
Originally posted at SD Watch http://www.southdakotawatch.netTechnorati Tags: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, pandering, man crush, 2008 election, guns, faith-based initiatives, national security, FISA
From the home office at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the Top Ten Reasons why the 4th of July Rocks!10. You can legally blow stuff up.9. There are no presents to buy.8. We can remind ourselves that we don't have to speak with silly British accents had we remained English.7. If unexpected relatives show up, we can tell them to eat outside--and get rid of the potato salad that's sat in the sun all day to boot.6. We can be thankful that Sen. Barack Obama is our Presidential candidate!
5. We can watch politicians sweat profusely during the noontime 4th of July parade.4. It's a day off!3. The Boston Pops plays the 1812 Overture on PBS and fires off those big cannons.2. We remember that no matter what political party we belong to, what country our ancestors came from, what religion we believe in, we're all Americans.1. We get to celebrate the 232d birthday of the rockingest democracy the world has ever seen, the good ol' U.S. of A.!Enjoy the Fourth. Don't blow up any of your fingers.Uncle Sam graphic courtesy of HistoryImages.com. Originally posted at SD Watch http://www.southdakotawatch.netTechnorati Tags: 4th of July, July 4th, Uncle Sam, patriotism, Top Ten
Wow.That's about all I can say. In a heated exchange at tonight's S.D. Democratic Executive Board meeting in Oacoma, Hillary Clinton delegate Malcolm Chapman said--and State Chair Jack Billion confirmed--that the Clinton campaign offered a major fundraiser to the state party in exchange for two superdelegate votes.Chapman noted that he had almost "cut the deal" with the Clinton campaign. Billion said the price was "too high." He also said non-office holding superdelegates like him had to give a lot of consideration to Sen. Tom Daschle's, Sen. Tim Johnson's, and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin's position on the race as they are major financial benefactors to the local party.I'll post more as I learn more.
(Originally posted on SD Watch at http://www.southdakotawatch.net)
Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Malcolm Chapman, Jack Billion, superdelegates, South Dakota
This will include coverage of the selection of seven additional delegates from South Dakota to the national convention in Denver.
Go to SD Watch at: http://tinyurl.com/634rkw
On his June 23, 2008 show, Rush Limbaugh made the following statement about gays and blacks and the Democratic Party:
“I want to know how the Republicans don’t need Christians and conservatives, and they think we’re 30 percent. Twelve percent black people in the population. Ten percent — they claim — homosexuals in the population. Rush, honey, when did 30 percent get to be a small number?” Limbaugh responded, “You want to know why the Republicans are willing to say, ‘Screw you,’ to 30 percent or more of their voters (Christians and conservatives) and yet Democrats will bend over, grab the ankles, and say, ‘Have your way with me,’ for 10 percent and 2 percent of the population?” He later stated: “There is an answer to your — basic question is, ‘Why don’t the Democrats say, “To hell with you, you wacko nuts in the base,” like Republicans do?’ “
(Originally posted at SD Watch.)
Just got back from Topeka, Kansas, site of the annual Kansas State Bar Convention. One of the time honored traditions is a bar show put on by local lawyers and judges that includes lots of singing, dancing, acting, and satire.
The chief focus of the event was Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, governor of the great state of Kansas and sometimes mentioned as a possible running mate for Sen. Barack Obama.
If left to Kansas judges and lawyers, it seems Gov. Sebelius is the shoo-in for Barack's Veep choice. The series of skits ended with her sitting at a big desk with a huge "Vice President of the USA" and the VP seal in front of it.
Who's to doubt the wisdom of members of the Kansas Bar, I ask you?! ;)
Read more at SD Watch: http://www.southdakotawatch.net
President Bush called on Congress to lift a ban on offshore oil and gas drilling that has been in place since 1981, saying lagging domestic production has contributed to sharply higher gasoline prices. He also urged Democratic lawmakers to drop their opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and proposed streamlining the permit process for building new refining capacity in the U.S.Separately, the White House said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman will be attending a one-day meeting of oil producers in Saudi Arabia.For more information, see:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121379512215184123.html?mod=djemalertNEWS
Hey Al, nothing like getting out ahead of the power curve and being a trend setter!
I received the following email earlier today:
Dear Todd, A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama. From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States...Thank you for joining me, Al Gore
Dear Todd,
A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama. From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States...
Thank you for joining me,
Al Gore
Barack Obama did not grow up hunting and fishing, but he recognizes the great conservation legacy of America’s hunters and anglers and has great respect for the passion that hunters and anglers have for their sport. Were it not for America’s hunters and anglers, including the great icons like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold, our nation would not have the tradition of sound game management, a system of ethical, science-based game laws and an extensive public lands estate on which to pursue the sport. Obama recognizes that we must forge a broad coalition if we are to address the great conservation challenges we face. America’s hunters and anglers are a key constituency that must take an active role and have a powerful voice in this coalition.
Came across the following today:
German Crafts Obama Doll 11/06/08 06:21 from Politics from NewserA master German dollmaker and Barack Obama fan has paid tribute to the candidate with a doll, Der Spiegel reports. The craftsman admits that the creation—his first attempt at making a black doll—is far from an exact Barack-plica…
Through sheer luck, my friend and former Marine Lynn Hart of Flandreau invited Donna and I to accompany him and his girl friend (and my friend) Helen Gilbert, also of Flandreau, to Sen. Barack Obama’s Vets for Obama pancake feed at the Sioux Empire Fairgrounds this morning.Finally, I met the Man Crush!And yes, he’s even dreamier in person!
