Full Speed Ahead!

As I have been telling people all week, all that will be remembered from this convention will happen Thursday night.

The size of the crowd was unprecedented in America's political history. Everytime there was a wide shot of the 84,000 people in the stands, I shook my head in disbelief. And that closing! It was inspired. I have no doubt whatsoever we were watching the next President.

Now, I say to the Republicans: have at it. Give us your best shot. (And I don't want to hear any of that crap about McCain and Hillary in some sort of conspiracy to guarantee a McCain win this time so she can run in 2012. That's just pathetic...and downright sick. You people need to seek professional help.)

To Barack: Full Speed Ahead!!

It ain't TV, it's politics.

Michael Gerson wrote in this morning's Washington Post: "Interviewed by the NYT during the 1960 Democratic National Convention, an unnamed 10-year-old boy spoke for generations of convention spectators: 'You know, this is really very boring -- but somehow, you aren't bored.'"

That's the way I feel every four years as I watch these conventions. In 1964, I watched Senator John Pastore (D-RI) deliver an impassioned keynote address and was hooked. I am fascinated by these political conventions because it is the American political process doing its thing as only it can do it -- simultaneously boring and fascinating.

The Republican convention will be no different. If you find yourself feeling bored at times, remember, this ain't TV, it's politics. I could not go to sleep until after Hillary finished her speech last night. She did well; she delivered a home run. Of course, there are some who think it didn't go far enough, or it went too far. Enough already. It doesn't matter what people say about it. She did what she needed to do and is moving on. Everyone who supported her should move on, too. There is no thinking person among the Clinton loyalists who will vote for anyone other than Barack Obama in November.

Bill Clinton and Joe Biden will be the "show" tonight. They will do well. But all of this is prelude to the speech Thursday night in Denver's football stadium (INVESCO Field at Mile High) when 75,000 will gather to hear Barack Obama. His speech will be THE most memorable moment in this convention. People underestimate this young man. He is not a fire breathing dragon who can't wait to eat the young of his opponent. However, he IS a tough minded intellectual who sees the big picture, has a broad vision of the potential remaining in an America crippled by 8 years of inept and reckless government activity on domestic and foreign fronts.

Going forward, others will be in charge of handling the red meat (Joe Biden) and Barack Obama will be in charge of sharing his vision with his fellow citizens and giving all of us hope that the best days of America are ahead of us. I pray our citizens will take the time to examine what this candidate has said, and is saying, for I believe they will discern in him the same qualities I have seen since I first heard him speak in 2004.

Will the Obama/McCain race be close?

Is this election close? Yes, right now the election is very close. Will it be close still in November? Maybe. Maybe not.

Here’s the way I see it:

Obama and McCain are virtually even. Both have about 44% of the vote. That’s 88% of the vote. The remaining 12% will likely go this way: 5% will be divided among Bob Barr (3%), Ralph Nader (1%), and one or two other candidates (1%). The final 7% is that small group of Undecideds and Independents who didn’t break earlier for either candidate. The battle over the next 60 plus days will be to determine who is able to persuade a majority of that group, just 7% of the vote, to join their camp. Remember, in 2000, neither major candidate got more than 50% of the vote. It was Gore with 48.38% and Bush with 47.87%.

I believe Obama-Biden will beat McCain-Romney 48.5% to 44.5%. It matters where the margin of victory comes from so the Electoral Map is the focus of both camps between now and Election Day.

By the way, Al Gore actually received 543,895 more votes than George Bush in 2000 but Bush was awarded victory through the electoral count – and in the final analysis, that is the only count that counts. The electoral count is the subject of a future posting, possibly done while listening to McCain drone on next week.

Republicans Wanted Hillary -- BAD!

All this talk about unrest and unhappiness and division in the ranks over Hillary not being on the ticket is just that – talk. Sure, there are hurt feelings among the Clinton supporters because their candidate didn’t win the nomination. But Clinton supporters know, in the end, they – and we – must be united in our effort to take back America from the POP party (Political Opportunist Party).

But Republicans are ticked! They wanted to run against Hillary. They have been salivating for years over the prospect of running in 2008 against Hillary. During the primaries, Republican strategists kept saying, “Hillary is tough; she would be the toughest candidate we could face.” Don’t you believe it! They wanted her! The McCain campaign is running an ad right now saying, “She got 18 million votes and isn’t even on the ticket!” In essence, they are saying, “We’re really upset with Obama for not giving us Hillary to bash.”

Here's what Republican strategist will never admit: If she had been on the ticket, the McCain campaign would have ignored Obama and run against Hillary Clinton. They would have re-run all the old stories about the Clintons. They had more negative Hillary material in the can and ready to go than they could possibly use over the course of the next 72 days. Yes, they wanted to run against Hillary --- BAD!

So, ignore the television pundits…and remember they are only repeating what the Republicans tell them about the “simmering division among Democrats.” Yes, some of the Hillary folks continue to be disappointed that their candidate is not carrying the banner for the party, but they know – we all know – as Joe Biden said last Saturday, “We LITERALLY cannot afford another four years of the Bush-Cheney-McCain” form of government. America CANNOT AFFORD it!

As you watch the Convention in Denver this week, no matter what you see or hear, here's one thing you can take to the bank: Democrats WILL be united in November and will be joined by many REAL Republicans and THINKING Independents in rejecting four more years of Bush-Cheney-McCain.

A person of substance, experience and depth

I have followed Joe Biden’s career since he came to the Senate with my friend, Sam Nunn, both elected in the fall of 1972. Joe Biden was the youngest member of the 13-member class that year, just 29 years of age when elected but 30 by the time he took the oath of office in January, 1973 -- and thus "legal."

The tragic death of Joe's first wife in December 1972 shocked his colleagues. All of us working in the Senate – staff as well as senators – admired Joe Biden for his resolve to commute by train back home every night to be with his family in Wilmington. That was tough for a young guy working hard all day to learn the ropes in the Senate. Putting family above all else when setting priorities spoke volumes to me. Today, he enjoys an international reputation as a serious, thoughtful senator who does his homework and knows his stuff. He enjoys longstanding relationships with practically all of the major leaders in the world. I could not say that about any of the other potential nominees for VP except Sam Nunn.

Most importantly, Obama chose someone who is ready to step into the job of President if needed on a moment’s notice, bringing with him the substance, experience and depth that the Nation expects in its Commander-in-Chief.

For Obama/Biden, it's full speed ahead! The country awaits your leadership!

OBAMA/BIDEN

America is now one day closer to the new day its citizens anticipate with unalloyed joy, patriotic pride and affection for their republic. All Americans -- even Republicans -- know in their hearts that these two men seek only to restore the rule of law, the principles and the values America has reflected so dearly to the rest of the world in our storied past!

Life is unfair, "my friend."

The McCain campaign claims the media are giving disproportionate attention to his opponent, Barack Obama.

Let’s consider one example: coverage of those darn Obama rallies.

Were the media supposed to ignore the 75,000 people who crowded into the park in Portland to hear Obama, or the 20,000 in Houston, or the 35,000 in Philadelphia, and what about the international crowd of 200,000 who listened to him at Berlin’s Victory Column? No American candidate has ever drawn such crowds. The media have to cover such events. When you can do the same, “my friend,” the media will be there.

Would you have the media say, “McCain Draws 300 to Rally; Obama Draws a Few More.” You’d like that, I’m sure, but it would NOT be fair or accurate.

As George Bush would say, “You need to understand” there is more than “pretty words” going on here. It is a movement, as Rep. John Lewis has observed, and it is clear, “my friend,” it is a movement you don’t get. This movement is the singular product of the fervent resolve by a majority of the American people to take back their country from those who have used it for personal and/or political gain. They are intent on taking back their country and employing all the “blessings of liberty” to secure their nation anew in order to pass it on to another generation willing to accept Ben Franklin’s challenge “…you have a republic if you can keep it.”