Sorry, Congressman Cleaver, but this is a primary, and that’s the way it goes. So sit back and enjoy the show!

Nick, you don’t understand. Democrats, especially here in Missouri, detest contested primaries in which real people get to choose the nominee. State party chair John Temporiti is busy trying to eliminate as many contested primaries as possible on the state level. They like to have their “experts” (i.e., party insiders) decide what’s strategically best for the party to win the general election, so they’ll have lots of goodies to hand out to the favored, and they don’t want any pesky voters screwing things up for them. That’s why Nixon looks like he’s getting a free ride to the gubernatorial nomination, why the skids are greased for Page for the lt. gov. nomination. Occasionally he and his assistants fail (which is why rank and file Democrats will have an actual meaningful choice for the atty gen nomination), but it isn’t because they aren’t trying. Contested Democratic primaries are just for the seats that are so dominantly Democratic (like the 5th senate district) or Republican that the choice of candidate won’t affect the outcome in November. Efficiency trumps democracy.

In fairness, Republicans would also like to accomplish the same thing, but they aren’t as persistent or as successful in doing so.

You underestimate me, Oracle. I know his motive, but neither HRC nor Obama made it to a hair’s width from the Democratic nomination by backing down or taking one for the team.

You’re right about the Republicans, though. I still remember the debacle of the Webster-Blunt-Bailey primary.

Even tho Hillary cant win the nomination, if we all agree that the two of them together would be the strongest Democratic ticket, and we presume that Hillary wont agree to be VP, the unselfish thing for Barack to do would be to agree to be hers, and presumably she’d accept that tho you never know with her; if she wont, superdelegates should give it to him; and no one could blame him if he wouldnt agree to that; but that doesnt mean it still might not be the best thing for all concerned for him to do.

Bill-I like your thinking! As a progressive dem I like the idea of a dream ticket. I think Clinton should be at the top of the ticket too. Obama can gain experience as her vp for 8 years and then run in 2016! That seems like a better long term plan for the DNC in my opinion. Honestly, I think she would take him as her vp choice in a New York minute if it meant she could become the first female president of the United States. Lol! Gotta love a girl with ambition!

Bill Haas,

If Hillary can’t win the nomination, and Barack wins the nomination, I am having a hard time understanding why the unselfish thing would be for Obama to say, “thanks but no thanks. I want to give Hillary the nomination” because it is the unselfish thing for me to do.”

That’s not being unselfish, that’s being foolish.

It doesn’t appear that Hillary will be able to win the general election as the elected President even if Obama ran on the ticket with her as her Vice President. The question now for Democrats I would imagine is do they want a Democrat in the White House as President?

Most people see the disaster of having a strong willed woman and a strong willed man both attempting to wear the pants in the White House. Human nature will set in and what drama we will witness in this country. Our country is in no shape to risk this bid conflict and battle of the sexes that will certainly take place between her and her husband. We will not at all be getting two for one. Why isn’t people thinking realistically here?

Oh, just hand it over to Hillary because she is having another one of her childish temper tantrums and will not calm down and behave rational until she gets her way? That’s the only behavior that I have seen being displayed with Hillary Clinton, certainly not experience, professionalism or Presidential material.

Hillary needs to stop being so self-centered and start thinking about the divisions that she is causing in the Democratic Party, and the disgrace she is bringing upon herself.

Lastly, it was Conservatives playing their dirty little games that kept Hillary in the game by her wins of Texas and Ohio. Conservatives still have not learned their lesson, it was dirty tricks, deception and games by them that gave us Bush, now here they go again.

Conservatives are determined to cause this country to be brought to ruins and, their flocks are still blindly allowing themselves to be lead into damnation.

well, D.Walker, you certainly make good points and the other side of the arguments well, tho I’m not smart enough to understand the references to conservative dirty games in Texas and Ohio and Hillary. My thoughts were developed partly as a result of the talk I”ve heard about people trying to put them on the same ticket because neither is going into the convention with enough delegates, and I was thinking how they might end up together. so the suggestion is what if the superdelegates dont want to give it to Obama, and cant give it to Hillary, what do they do and how. Also, which is the stronger ticket, Hillary at the top with Obama or Obama with someone else? Hard to say, perhaps? Hillary has negatives, but Obama positives, so how does it shake out? Also, that avoids the risk of an untested, more or less, Obama having to go against those crazy republican conservatives in the general; who knows what they will do and how he will handle it? well, we hope, but you never know. Also, he has some potential negatives on horizon, that land deal and like that, and tho Hillary has the library and tax returns, she’s used to that sort of thing. I dont particular like how she handles them, but voters dont seem to mind. Theyve sort of earned the right to be on the ticket together, dont you think? One other possibility is Hillary’s superdelegates saying to her, take the VP shot or we give it to Obama, but they dont have the cahonnes to do it, plus she wont take it. Just some thoughts. If I were smart enough, I’d be the next congressperson from the 2nd; oh, that’s right, I’m going to be.

and speaking of Temporiti, someone ask him to return my several emails and phone calls asking for a meeting; I just wanted to give my respect to the party chair and like that; but he’s a busy guy, I guess; his secretary said she’d talk to him and get back to me; good luck with that plan; maybe after I win the election, he’ll deign to return my call; ask him to speak to my scheduler. In 2009.

actually, that was meant to be “in 2010″. As soon as that 787 on the math SAT kicks in, I’m going to be a lot more impressive. think I’ll go finish my mornng coffee; long overdue; obviously.

You left-wing dreamers are really living in another world. Do you really think that a ticket with Obama, who National Journal ranks as the most liberal member of the Senate - more liberal even than socialist Bernie Sanders - and Clinton, with all her baggage - really has a chance? Either one of those will be a huge target for McCain, and should the two of them run on a ticket, that will be an even bigger target.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, we have McCain, a moderate who has stood up to the Bush administration, earning the ire of the right, but solid centrist creds. McCain, who has co-sponsored legislation with Kennedy and Feingold, demonstrating an ability to work with members of the other party - something his opponent, whether Clinton, Obama, or both, will completely lack. McCain, who has the best relationship with the media of any Republican candidate since Reagan, earning him an affectionate profile in a recent issue of the New Yorker, which has savaged President Bush since he was Governor Bush.

This will be so easy I don’t even think the Republicans can screw it up, though I’m sure they’ll make an outstanding effort. You lefties need to practice saying “President McCain.”

Haas,

You’ll right. However, it is a nightmare nevertheless. The Clinton team has brought a complete nightmare to the Democratic Party. But, as bad as that may be, Conservatives are just plain frightening, not McCain so much, but the Conservatives who control the Party and is why I cannot even consider going there at this time because Conservatives will torment McCain into continuing on with their disasterous agendas, or it will be bye, bye McCain.

Nick,

Yes it is thrown around in the Conservative political circle that Obama is the most Liberal candidate, based on his voting. The term Liberal has become a Conservatives lingo (pure psychological) attached to Democrats to imply something dreadful.

Could some knowledgeable Conservative out there tell us the definition of what a Conservative is? Because, I don’t think our average voter do, including those themselves who proclaim that they are Conservative. I know I don’t as an Independent. Could someone share with me what’s the true proclaimed stand/mission and definition of Conservative Republicans? Or, even the Republican Party?

It appears to me that the words Liberal and Conservatives are nothing more than lingo’s used by Conservatives to falsely imply that being Liberal is sinful and evil, where being Conservative is saintly and good.

So will one’s out there correct any misunderstandings that I have concerning what it means to be a Conservative in the context of a Republica? And what it means to be a Liberal in the context of a Democrat?

Also, why is it that those who claim to be true Conservatives have so much disdain for McCain, making claims that he is not really a Conservative?

No way in the world should Obama be her V.P., everyone knows that Bill will be the real vice president…She has made it clear on more than one occassion that Bill is her top advisor (unofficially) and would be the last person she consulted before making important decisions because he has held the office before (sounds alot like he will be calling the shots to me), but she says he is an asset that any president would be lucky to have. So why would Obama want to have to put up with her hubby, if she wants to be president- Win the nomination!

Nick you are half-way right about McCain, he used to stand up to Bush and got admiration for it, but now he is falling in line and pandering to the right- he cant have it both ways. Flip-Flopper to the fullest, all of a sudden the things he was against he is now for. If he were a true republican i really doubt that Kerry wouldve have had a meeting with him in 2004 with the possibility of him being V.P. (which McCain did consider). I guess thats why he got so made at the reporter on his plane for bringing it up.

True Obama is very liberal, he doesnt deny it. I know this is why you conservatives cant understand why independents and moderates republicans like him. Try to follow me now, Obama believes in the old way of government where democrats and republicans worked together and passed bills that were fair to both sides; being that the country is roughly 50/50 split. He wants to end the pattern of when dems are in its their way and when the repubs are in its their way; because either way you are alienating half of the country when you govern that way. You can sense if someone is fair or not, even republicans from the illinois and U.S. Senate have said that he would be a fair president that would listen to both sides and even appoint republicans into his cabinet, and thats why he will beat John “I used to be a moderate-now im a conservative” McCain. You republicans better hope Hillary wins the nomination…….because they will have to be more creative than droppin the “Hussein” bomb to beat Obama.

I second Nick–no doubt Hillary and Obama are out.

McCain is the only viable candidate by all means. A third of the people are frightened by Obama–mainly Seniors. And about a third of the American people are tired of the Clinton machine and their hit lists.

McCain does not have that many issues that the American people can criticize him.

This is the most exciting presidential race is in a generation… and it’s getting a new generation of Democrats registered to vote. These two candidates aren’t fighting over ideologies, since there’s little difference between the candidates positions. It basically comes down to demographics. But in the end, regardless of who gets the nomination, the Democrats will sail to victory in November…Obama has all the passion and poetry, while Clinton has the the intelligence and methodical caution that comes with hard experience…He speaks to the country’s desire for change, and she speaks to the practical, older, middle-class who are suspicious of McCain’s Macbethian portrayal of four more years of W’s disasterous presidency…

McCains [first] TV ad was shown last night on CNN. It starts with Winston Churchill saying: “We Shall Never Surrender…” Followed by fragmented highlights of a WWII film with “Allied” soldiers dying on the battlefields of Europe…..

That’s a good idea for a political ad, and it’s certainly appealing to young voters under the age of 71.

D. Walker - National Journal explains how they calculate the score. A detailed analysis by a reputable political journal isn’t the same as “thrown around in the Conservative political circle.” It may be convenient for one of your predisposition to misrepresent and mislead people about this ranking, but I’ll take National Journal’s word over yours on this one. National Journal provides details about how they calculate their ranking. If you are really curious, go to their site and read it.

http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/methodology.htm
http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=con_composite&o2=desc#vr

Bill: (post #4)

Please do EVERYTHING you can to get that ticket put together.

PLEASE!

As a life long Republican, it’s my ‘dream ticket’ too.

To run against….

PLEASE BILL!

Nick: (post #10)

My friend there you go again… trying to throw facts into the wet dreams of the typical Democratic Party voter.

Pig Singing, Nick

The point of McCain’s ad is that he continues to show that America is not a pansy country. We need to continue this war until our mission is complete. The soldiers who enlisted want to fight for our country and we would be disrespecting them and the fallen soldiers if we pulled out now. The USA has been much safer since 2001 and soldiers who enlisted who are not satisfied should have looked past the financial gain of the incentives offered to enlist.

As far as Obama’s poetry—it will and has become old and stale. The Clintons have not demonstrated any methodical caution in the past why should they start now? Bill sure doesn’t use caution when preying on young female interns while Hillary looks the other way. They have a myriad of below the board financial dealings and people taken down because of the power bestowed upon the President you can have people killed without any ramifications.

Having a female President won’t go over so well with the Iraqis and Iranians either. And I’m sure they will show us how much they disagree with our value system and gender-switching roles. Talk about their jealousies about our freedom what about our women leading the country.

It seems to me that the Florida and Michigan delegate problem should be manageable. Seat delegates in proportion as the other 48+ states voted, so they wont affect the outcome, or seat the delegates who were elected but apportion their votes similarly. Then they’ll be part of the team, but the parties point will be made, and the rules would seem to have been followed.

Marie….you want to continue this war?
The recruitment office is located at 2331 N. 10th Street.

#10 Nick,
The only people who pay any attention and are affected by those “national rankings” by partisan or special interest groups are their members/subscribers. The average voter doesn’t give a rat’s butt about that.

No thanks, Garrison. I’m too old and don’t need the money. You sure are familar with the address though…maybe you should enlist…or boycott. But no you would rather disrespect all the soldier’s past and present efforts and risk another 9/11 attack because of your irrational fear of guns.

Garrison- I send plenty of money and care packages to the troops..I don’t need to enter the city, North County nor North St. Louis to make my contribution to the war.

You are the one constantly shooting off your mouth…one day someone may direct something more at you with your poor, opinionated personality.

What have you shown for our country except blogging this site continually.

I’ll continue to show my support for the soldiers by supporting McCain you fool. Maybe if you did some volunteering you could get out of the house and do something productive.

How will you support them…by blogging all 7 people on this site?

It’s all the hate in these blogs that drive open minded bloggers like me away. We can agree to disagree without the personal attacks. When people resort to personal attacks they do so because they have no debate left in their bags. Hate wears thin in a hurry.

#2, your claim that the democrats “detest contested primaries in which real people get to choose the nominee.” To what do you base this assumption? We’ve many contested primaries throughout the state. Lt. Gov, Page and Carter, AG Koster, Harris and Donnelly, Treasurer Simckes, Zwiefel, 9th Congressional, Baker, Gaw, Bode and soon Jacobs. This list does not even include the State Senate, nor the house races with many contested primaries as well.

What was offered to Lt. Gov Peter Kinder to get him NOT to run for Gov.? What about Hanaway and AG? Why are they not following their dreams of running for higher office? It takes courage to go against your own party regardless of which party you are in. It’s encouraging to me to see so many candidates working hard to win the primary. Contested primaries are the truest test of a democracy. Not the strong armed tactics of ANY political party suppressing competition for office.

Marie, you should be commended for your support of our troops. I have a question for you. What were your feelings about the purple heart bandaids passed out at the Republican National Convention in 2004? As an election judge I was very upset to see a man come through the polling place that I worked at with a purple heart bandaid on his hat.

I’m not sure if it’s the same group that attacked Kerry for his service in Viet Nam but there is a group attacking Senator McCain http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/ What you do if POW pajamas were passed out at the Democratic National Convention in 2008?

Another question for you? What are your thoughts on the privitization of our Veterans Hospitals? Now that they are “for profit” many of our wounded warriors are having to pay for their lunches and phone calls while recooperating in these for profit hospitals. Our troops were sent off to a war without the proper protective gear. Our president spent how much to do a tail hook landing on an aircraft carrier 36 miles off the coast of San Diego and proclaim “Mission Accomplished”. How does that make you feel?

The Local union I work for has donated over 800lbs of toiletries that have been donated by our members. We’ve sent over 800 50 qt. coolers to the brave men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. The coolers are jammed packed with everything from tea and coffee to socks and baby wipes. Even girl scout cookies when we can get them. We send the packages to anyone serving. I was even standing in line at a Post Office one time and a lady was in front of me with a small child on her hip and another clinging to her leg. She placed a small box on the counter and asked how long for it to get to Iraq for her husband’s birthday. I asked her if she would share his address with me so our union could send him something. She did we did and he receved a cooler care package. Thats just one local from our area, all the locals of my union are doing similar things for our troops.

It is possible to hate the war and still love the troops. It is possible to question the leadership provided by this president without questioning the patriotisim of our troops.

Had to delete a post by Garrison because used a certain four-letter word not allowed on this site. (Combining it with another word doesn’t cut it.)

Feel free to repost the comment without the offending word.

Sorry Jo….
Next time I’ll use “carpola”.