Jim Johnson, who's done the job for presidential candidates in the past, has begun to look for a running mate for Barack Obama. Everybody is talking about it. But it's a secret.
“I haven’t hired him. He’s not on retainer. I’m not paying him any money. He is a friend of mine. I know him,” Mr. Obama said. “I am not commenting on vice presidential matters because I have not won this nomination.”
There's a petition circulating to "draft" Hillary. The petition apparently originates with talk show host Thom Hartmann whose knowledge of history surpasses by many lengths his political judgment. So far the reactions at his blog are about 98% negative.
Marc Ambinder reels off a list of possibilities "in no particular order."
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA), Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ex-Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), Ex-Sen. John Edwards, (D-NC), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS), Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ), Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) ex-Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN), Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH) and others.
Okay. Lots of mainstreamers with corporate America running in their veins. Personally I'd like to see someone who has some of America's biggest problems in his/her sights.
From the moment US tanks rolled into Baghdad, Cusack was a voracious consumer of news about the war. He took it deadly seriously, regularly calling independent journalists and asking them questions as he sought as much independent information as he could. Watching the insanity of the erection of the Green Zone and the advent of the era of McWar, complete with tens of thousands of "private contractors," Cusack set out to use film to unveil the madness. He wanted to do on the big screen what independent reporters like Naomi Klein, Nir Rosen and Dahr Jamail have done in print. Over these years of war and occupation, Cusack has become one of the most insightful commentators on a far too seldom discussed aspect of the occupation: the corporate dominance of the US war machine.
True. John Cusack 's from Chicago, too.
We're left with the possibility, some think, that Obama's going to win the popular vote by a much larger margin than Al Gore but lose the electoral vote. Followed by...
... Chelsea? Huh? Maybe she could start training now, as Obama's vice president?