July 21st, 2008
The campaign finance news from our own Aaron Chambers says that Mayor Larry Morrissey’s mayoral campaign fund had $125,441 on hand as of June 30. That’s according to the semi-annual report required by the state election board.
Morrissey, according to Chambers, says he hasn’t decided whether to seek re-election in 2009.
I believe that Morrissey is running in 2009. The kinds of things he talks about will take more than one, or even two terms to accomplish. And you don’t maintain a permanent campaign fundraising apparatus unless you intend to use the money.
Morrissey, like any politician, deserves to have to fight for re-election, but as of today, I have not heard any credible names of possible opponents. Sure, someone or someones will run, but will they have the organization and money to make a race of it?
July 21st, 2008
I’ve been watching the cable blab shows tonight, and now the pundits are saying they don’t think McCain will pick a veep candidate this week. They seem to think that the initial speculation, fueled by a Bob Novak column, is overrated, or something thrown out by McCain’s campaign to take media coverage off of Obama.
They are saying on a CNN panel that McCain would be better advised to pick a veep after the Democratic convention, when the GOP will know who Obama’s veep will be.
Some more specualtion from the pundits on McCain veep maybes: Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota, Carly Fiorina. former head of HP.
July 21st, 2008
With Barack Obama getting major press coverage on his Mid-East and Europe tour, John McCain has been left in the lurch. The New York Times wouldn’t publish his op-ed piece about Iraq (it published a piece by Obama) and McCain has been reduced to criticizing Obama instead of presenting his own initiatives.
So, what’s McCain going to do about it?
Here’s what:Â On Thursday, the day Obama gives a big speech to perhaps a million people in Berlin, McCain is likely to name his vice presidential pick. That’s a big story the media have to cover with prominent positioning — equal to the treatment of Obama.
SO, who will it be? McCain could play it safe by choosing Mitt Romney, or even Rudy Giuliani, but if he wants to be really daring, he’ll go to Baton Rouge and in a dramatic news conference, announce that he’s choosing Louisiana Gov. Piush “Bobby” Jindal, the new, corruption buster from the land that vice built.
With Jindal, we’d have the first Indian-American candidate for vice president. Jindal was born in the U.S. of Indian immigrants. He’s young, still in his 30s, and he’s Roman Catholic, always an important constituency. And he’s both a social and economic conservative.
One downside to Jindal: He’s inexperienced. Jindal was elected governor in October 2007. McCain would be 72 if were to take office in 2008, and people will have to have confidence that Jindal could step into the top job with ease.
If Jindal were to be McCain’s VP, the transformation of American presidential politics would be even more remarkable than it already is, with both an African-American and an Indian American on the respective tickets.
