Lieberman as McCain’s Running Mate

Ben Smith quotes lawyer A.B. Culvahouse explaining legal obstacles to Joe Lieberman's having been John McCain's running mate. "Five states have sore loser statutes ... [making] it very difficult for someone who's not a member of the Republican Party to become the vice presidential nominee if they only switch parties to become a Republican shortly before the convention,' Culvahouse said in ...

Pitching COIN in Afghanistan

In an op-ed in the Washington Post this morning, Sens. John McCain and Joseph Lieberman make the case for pursuing a counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan: Loose rhetoric about a minimal commitment in Afghanistan is counterproductive for another reason: It exacerbates suspicions, already widespread in South Asia, that the United States will tire of this war and retreat. These doubts about our ...

And Let That Be a Lesson to You

Joe Lieberman is going to keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee after all but, in a stunning rebuke over years of constant disloyalty to the Democratic Party, he's being stripped of his Environment and Public Works subcommittee. Ouch.  That's gotta sting.

Taking Separation of Powers Seriously

Glenn Greenwald, reacting to reports that Barack Obama has told Harry Reid that Joe Lieberman should not be stripped of his committee chairmanship and thus making it very difficult for him to do so, has written a long and passionate plea for a return to vigorous separation of powers with strong institutional jealousies. [W]hatever the outcome here is, it's vital that ...

Punishing Lieberman

Harry Reid, not unreasonably, is strongly considering stripping Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship after he campaigned vigorously for the Republican nominee for president. Reid, in a sternly worded statement after the 45-minute meeting, said no official decisions have been made. But an aide to the Nevada Democrat said Reid was leaning toward removing Lieberman as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security ...

Palin Most Qualified Recent VP Nominee

John McCain is getting some guff for his assertion on the Don Imus show that Sarah Palin is "the most qualified of anyone recently who has run for vice president to tell you the truth."  And, no, not for the syntax but the point itself. Steve Benen is incredulous: Dick Cheney, Joe Lieberman, Al Gore, Lloyd Bentsen, and George H.W. Bush? No, ...

The Angry Left

I caught a bit of the Republican Convention last evening, including the Ronald Reagan tribute and as much of the Fred Thompson speech as I could take before shutting it off. I TiVo'd Joe Lieberman but it's iffy as to whether I'll get to it. Matt Yglesias points to a sound byte that I first heard on NPR this morning: ...

Sarah Palin – John McCain’s VP Choice

BREAKING: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been tabbed as John McCain's vice presidential running mate, CNBC reports. ________________________ Earlier this morning, all signs were pointing to Tim Pawlenty as John McCain's running mate.  He even had issued the requisite "I'm not the guy" statement. His name has been on the short list all along and, while he's not an exciting choice, ...

VP Speculation Heats Up

All indications are that Barack Obama has made his choice for running mate and will announce it today. Through some combination of clever public manipulation to throw people off the scent and wishful thinking on the part of those with a stake in the outcome, the guesses as to who it'll be are all over the map. Obama's stated criteria: "I want ...

John McCain: Shadow President?

John McCain is taking advantage of Barack Obama's "foreign vacation" in Hawaii and using the crisis in Georgia to showcase his foreign policy prowess. He's dispatched his minions, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, to Georgia.  TPM's Greg Sargent figures, The idea is to showcase himself as a man of action during a time of international crisis and to remind people that the ...

What would be the boldest vice presidential choice John McCain and Barack Obama could make? (Updated)

Sam Nunn Joins Veepstakes

In the long months between now and the conventions, one recurring theme we'll see in the press and the punditocracy is speculation of who Barack Obama and John McCain will chose as running mates. None of us have any idea, of course, other than that Dick Cheney is not on anybody's list. But it's still fun to speculate. For ...

Lieberman Willing to Star a Republican Convention

The Hill has a breaking news story headlined "Lieberman willing to star at Republican convention." Gee, ya think? via Memeorandum

Barack Obama the Socialist

Barack Obama is a socialist. We were pretty sure this was the case after he made his remarks about how bitter people in small towns cling to religion. As Bill Kristol points out, this is very similar to Karl Marx' line about religion being the opiate of the masses, if not as eloquent as the original German "Die Religion ...

McCain-Rice Beats Obama-Clinton in New York

A John McCain-Condolezza Rice ticket would beat the Democratic "Dream Ticket" of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Clinton's "home" state of New York, a Marist College poll shows. A McCain/Rice ticket would edge out both a Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton ticket for New York’s 31, usually true blue, electoral votes: 49% of registered voters in New York State support ...