Several new Rasmussen Pres. swing state polls

FL-Pres

McCain (R) 47%

Obama (D) 47%



http://www.rasmussenreports.co…

OH-Pres

McCain (R) 48%

Obama (D) 47%



http://www.rasmussenreports.co…

PA-Pres

Obama (D) 50%

McCain (R) 42%



http://www.rasmussenreports.co…

CO-Pres

Obama (D) 49%

McCain (R) 48%



http://www.rasmussenreports.co…

VA-Pres

Obama (D) 50%

McCain (R) 47%

http://www.rasmussenreports.co…

Solid numbers for Obama in all five states.

Rasmussen LA-SEN: Landrieu still cruising (up 13)

So much for the republicans only shot at a Senate pickup this year.

http://www.rasmussenreports.co…


Poll taken 9/25/08:

Landrieu (D) 54% (53)

Kennedy (R) 41% (37)

Favorables:

Landrieu (D) – 61/36

Kennedy (R) – 50/39

http://www.rasmussenreports.co…

Bonus find (LA-Pres):

McCain (R) 55%

Obama (D) 40%

Obama down only 15 actually seems to be good news.  If he can hold it to a 15 point loss in LA it should help us in places like LA-04 and LA-06.

 

The Democratic VP Pick – Joe Biden?

That seems to be the general thinking as of this moment.

MSNBC is reporting that their sources say it’s not Bayh or Kaine.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26…

ABC News is reporting a charter jet from Chicago to New Castle, DE

http://blogs.abcnews.com/polit…

It looks more and more likely that Biden is the guy.  I actually do like the pick.  Biden seems to be a good compliment to Obama.  An added bonus is that we don’t lost a Senate or Governorship with Biden as we probably would if Kaine or Bayh were the pick.  What do the rest of you think of the possibility of a Obama/Biden ticket?

Breaking: John Edwards admits to extramarital affair

I’ve always liked Edwards and voted for him in the primary in 2004 and 2008.  Good thing he didn’t get the nomination.

http://insidebny.bankofny.com/…

— Former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards admitted to an extramarital affair in an interview with ABC News, the network reported Friday. He denied being the father of the woman’s child, as had been alleged in tabloid reports.

Sen. John Edwards told ABC News that he had an affair with Rielle Hunter, seen above.

1 of 2  Speaking to the network for a story to be aired Friday night, Edwards acknowledged the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter, which began after she was hired to make documentary videos for his campaign, ABC said.

He said that he has not taken a paternity test but that the timing of the affair rules out the possibility that he could be her baby girl’s father. A former campaign aide has publicly said he fathered the child.

When the tabloid the National Enquirer first reported the affair in October, Edwards flatly denied it, calling the claims “false” and “ridiculous.”

Contacted through a former aide by CNN on Thursday, Edwards had refused to comment on the reports. He also dodged reporters at a recent event in Washington.

In a July 24 appearance in New Orleans, Louisiana, he would not answer a reporter’s question about whether he had provided financial support to the woman or to former campaign staffer Andrew Young, who says he’s the child’s father.

“I have no idea what you’re asking about,” Edwards said. “I have responded to, consistently, to these tabloid allegations by saying I don’t respond to these lies.”

Edwards, 55, of North Carolina, told ABC that his wife, Elizabeth, and other family members have known about the affair since 2006.

Don’t Miss

Election Center 2008: John Edwards

Edwards’ voters up for grabs

Edwards endorses Obama, praises Clinton

The vice presidential candidate during Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential bid, Edwards had been mentioned as a potential running mate for Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee this year, and as a possible attorney general or other high-ranking appointee if Obama wins the November election.

But Don Fowler, a former Democratic Party chairman, said this week that Edwards might be forfeiting a major role at the party’s upcoming convention in Denver — or in a future Democratic administration — unless he cleared the air.

“I think the longer these allegations go unanswered and unresponded to, the more difficult it is for the people producing the convention to give him a prominent spot,” Fowler said.

Fowler, of South Carolina, served as Democratic chairman from 1995 to 1997 and will be a party superdelegate at the Denver convention in late August. He said he had no input into whether Edwards addresses the convention, “but I would expect that he would not speak or have any role at the convention unless this is cleared up.”

The former North Carolina senator announced in January that he was dropping out of the 2008 Democratic presidential race.

“It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path,” he said in New Orleans.

With his wife and children at his side, Edwards said he couldn’t predict “who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” but he said it would be a Democrat.

Edwards endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on May 14 during a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He trailed Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama in the early contests. He came in third in key races in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Edwards had campaigned on the message that he was standing up for the little guy, the people who are not traditionally given a voice in Washington, and that he would do more to fight special interests.

After dropping out of the race, Edwards asked Clinton and Obama to make poverty a central issue in the general election and a future Democratic administration, something both agreed to do.

Edwards is a South Carolina native with an undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University and law degree from the University of North Carolina.

Before entering politics, winning a Senate seat from North Carolina in 1998, Edwards was a lawyer representing families “being victimized by powerful interests” and gaining “a national reputation as a forceful and tireless champion for regular, hard-working people,” according to his campaign Web site.

Say hello to Bob Kelleher, republican nominee for Montana Senate seat

I just had to do a diary on this story.  It’s simply too incredible to believe.  We all knew that republicans had no serious challenger for Montana’s Democratic Senator Max Baucus, but they did have a state Representative Michael Lange was was supposed to win their primary with little trouble.  Well, that didn’t happen.  In fact the guy who won the republican primary this week by a 13% margin could more accurately be called a socialist or Green party member than a republican.  

Meet 85 year old Bob Kelleher.  Until this week when he won the primary Kelleher didn’t even have his own domain website.  He had what amounted to an AOL personal webpage and essentially didn’t even campaign for the nomination.  Basically everything on his new website is “under construction” with dead-end links.

Here is Kelleher’s prior electoral history:

http://www.ourcampaigns.com/Ca…

1968 – Ran for MT-02 congressional district as a Democrat.  Lost the general by a 68-32% margin

1980, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996: – Ran for Montana Governor as a Democrat.  Lost every primary with less than 26% of the vote.

2002 – Ran for U.S. Senate as a Green and received 2% of the vote.

2004 – Ran for MT Governor as a Green and received 1.9% of the vote.

2006 – Ran for MT Senate as a Republican and received 4% of the vote.

That’s right- he’s run for office as a Democrat, Republican AND Green.

http://www.bobkelleher2008.com/

Some of his stances I pulled off of his old website before it was taken down:

http://www.votesmart.org/speec…

– In one of the republican debates Kelleher blasted his rivals for not pushing for serious gun control legislation.  Uhh… ya.  I’m sure pro-gun control candidates are wildly popular in Montana.

– Supports legalization of marijuana and other drugs.

– Anti Social Security Privatization

– Pro healthcare reform, apparently supports universal healthcare.

– In favor or eliminating the Bush Tax Cuts.

– Staunchly protectionist and anti free-trade.

– Wants the U.S. to change it’s government to European style Parlimentary form.  Yes… I’m dead serious.

– Wants immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

Needless to say this should be one of the most entertaining races of the cycle.  We have a republican candidate who is running on a more liberal platform than his democratic opponent Max Baucus, in a republican leaning state.

And one last thing, Kelleher has some kickass eyebrows.  I’d probably vote for him over Max Baucus, that’s for sure.

Udall killing both R candidates in SUSA NM-SEN poll

According to the lastest Survey USA poll Tom Udall is crushing both potential republican foes.  In head to head matchups Udall leads Pearce by 24 points and Wilson by 26.

http://www.surveyusa.com/clien…

Udall (D) – 60

Pearce (R) – 36

Udall (D) – 61

Wilson (R) – 35

In the Republican primary poll Pearce currently leads Wilson by 3.

Pearce – 49

Wilson – 46

My money is on Pearce winning the republican nomination rather easily given he is more conservative than Wilson.  It seems to matter little though which candidate Udall faces, Wilson and Pearce have bloodied each other so badly that neither can win the general.  Then number that really jumps out at me is Udall carrying >70% of the Hispanic vote.  That is HUGE in a state like NM.