• remind me again - why is hillary not the VP selection?
• remind me again - why was carolyn kennedy put in charge of the VP selection committee
• remind me again - how does biden, a guy with 35 years partisan politics behind him, represent the sort of change obama promises?
• remind me again - what has ted kennedy done to deserve his lionization as the face of the democratic party?
• remind me again - are democrats for or against renewed oil drilling?
• remind me again - why is mccain trying to blanket the airwaves with ads during demcon week? don't they come off as shrill and desperate at this particular time? (wouldn't democrat ads during the republican convention deserve a similar response?)

i'm honestly NOT energized by either party or candidate at this stage.

just tell me when the troops are coming home, and how much taxes are going up. that'll help me get grounded on where i stand politically.

As a Canadian observer

• ditto on the Hillary
• why your "generational change, post partisan" candidate choose someone more like the dad that shakes his head at the young folks?

Hillary is not VP because there are too many racist macho scumbags who won't vote for a black man with a woman on the ticket. He needed a while man and since John Edwards had to go and cheat on his wife they picked someone else. Carolyn Kennedy because she is a strong supporter and wants to do what is best.

They picked Biden because he has been in Congress 35 years, and although he is from Delaware cannot be called an "elitist". He has also been critical of Obama in the past which I think they will use to say that now he knows him blah blah blah he does feel that he is ready to lead to country.

Democrats (I believe) are saying they are for drilling because people think that will help lower prices, (although it won't) because oil is not the limiting factor it is actually the refineries and the things they put in the oil that is bringing up the prices.

I have a serious question about politics that neither my husband and I understand. How can people really be undecided? Pick three issues... any three. If one candidate believes the way I feel on those issues is there really much deciding? I don't care if you are democrat or republican but if you have a perspective on specific things won't you support the person who believes the same?

magicienne:

Carolyn Kennedy because she is a strong supporter and wants to do what is best.

I think They picked Caroline Kennedy because it gives the impression that whoever she chooses has the JFK stamp of approval. It says, "If my dad were alive today, this is who he would want you to vote for."

magicienne:

They picked Biden because he has been in Congress 35 years, and although he is from Delaware cannot be called an "elitist".

I think They picked Joe Biden because they believe enough people will confuse him with Jerry Brown, who used to date Linda Ronstadt, so they'll think he's cool.

Remember when Hillary was First Lady? Everybody thought she was actually running the country and that Bill was just a figurehead. Obama doesn't want that opinion of his years in the WH.

Biden is a decent choice because he hasn't been involved in a scandal in the last 10 years (that we know of), and he has the experience that Obama lacks. He will be able to help guide Obama and teach him what he needs to know to run our country.

The name "Kennedy" still has power in american politics and Ted is currently the head of that family (isn't he?).

Does it really matter whether the dems are for or against drilling?

McCains' ads are there to remind us all that he is still out there and running for the same office as Obama. When the RNC starts up, Obama will have ads for the same reason. It's kind of like the guy in the back of a crowd shouting and waving his hands to get attention.

Neither party has a clue what is best for the public at large (the same goes for the lesser parties). Less than 30% of those eligible to vote will bother to do so anyway. No matter who you look at, if you can dig deep enough, you will find they are out only for themselves, not for us.

The troops are not coming home. It is going to turn into another 150 year war, just like the crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries.

Completely agree about Caroline Kennedy. How long will the family name continue to invoke a magical era though?

mermaid33:

I think They picked Joe Biden because they believe enough people will confuse him with Jerry Brown, who used to date Linda Ronstadt, so they'll think he's cool.

Possibly, but only in California. Does the rest of the country even know who Brown is?

biden explained - all theory, no actual facts . . .

some sort of back office control was exerted somewhere. obama represents enough of a risk that the democratic national committee reigned him in, and made it clear that he'd have their backing in controlling hillary's anger of a woman scorned only if they got a majority vote in the veep process. that explains why a political nobody (caroline kennedy) was put forth as head of the search committee - to conceal the real "deciders"

fair and balanced - i doubt if mccain is 100% in charge of his own Veep selection either. his problems are money, not a vengeful runner up, so the republican committee is undoubtedly vowing "win or lose" campaign debt retirement if they have the majority vote on who's veep.

that would of course completely rule out lieberman. if liebernan is named, i'll have called this completely wrong.

my guess is pawlenty, or some other unknown though. the republican party wants to run away from controversy, if they can.

okay, you're on . . .

• immediate iraq pullout - i'm for it. apparently neither are obama or mccain
• lower taxes - we know the answer to this one. i'm with mccain
• school vouchers - this one too
• reproductive choice - i'm for it, so i should be against mccain. but does anyone believe that after reagan and 2 bushes it'll be mccain who overturns the apple cart? not me. this is a false issue
• bipartisanship - i'm for it. obama and mccain claim to be, too.
• gay marriage - i'm for it. both are against it
• gun control - i'm for it. both are against it
• death penalty - i'm against it. mccain is for it. don't know about obama
• "unilateral repeal of nafta" - obama favors this, so i'm going with mccain

i think taxes are my top issue right now. as a single working mother, i'd like to keep more of what i earn to spend on my family, rather than send it to kansas to subsidize ethanol production, which apparently has done nothing to help us achieve lower fuel prices or energy independence.

footnote - mccain was one of the few senators to vote against ethanol subsidies. most republicans couldn't wait to vote yes on that one, along with all the democrats

• emind me again - why is hillary not the VP selection?

Bet she turned it down, but also bet the DLC thought it would be a bad idea to have two junior senators on one ticket.

• remind me again - why was carolyn kennedy put in charge of the VP selection committee

She wasn't in charge.

• remind me again - how does biden, a guy with 35 years partisan politics behind him, represent the sort of change obama promises?

He's the attack dog, the expert on international politics, early and well informed critic of the Iraq war, and a real family guy. He'd make a crappy presidential nominee, and he usually never makes it through the primaries because he's too mean, but he's perfect for a national election, for the same reason. But he needs more self control.

• remind me again - what has ted kennedy done to deserve his lionization as the face of the democratic party?

Are you SERIOUS???? Check out wiki! Look at his record of service! The guy has done more for everyone from the handicapped to schoolkids to the middle class to single moms to soldiers than anyone else.

• remind me again - are democrats for or against renewed oil drilling?

Against drilling in protected areas: the oil companies want contracts for those areas, although they already have massive contracts for good oil in easily reached areas that they're not drilling in. They want it all. The drilling they might do in those areas won't really affect the price of our gas, for reasons that are readily apparent: it's not that much oil, it'll be sold on the open international market, and it'll be sold by international oil companies that have no obligation to sell it cheaper to the Americans who want to ruin what's left of the Florida coast to get it.

• remind me again - why is mccain trying to blanket the airwaves with ads during demcon week? don't they come off as shrill and desperate at this particular time? (wouldn't democrat ads during the republican convention deserve a similar response?)

He's hoping to foul the convention bounce. It's an experiment courtesy (I bet) of Carl Rove.