Today, John McCain announce the Republican vice presidential nominee around midnight, if press reports are any indication.  Here are the favorites:

1.  Tim Pawlenty

2.  Mitt Romney

3.  Joe Lieberman

I think Pawlenty is the pick for the following reasons:  He is young, articulate, somewhat moderate (or at least perceived that way), compliments the head of the ticket well (by look, temperament, and geography), and probably puts Minnesota in play (as if it was not already).  The risk her is a perception of inexperience and of trying to "young up" the ticket.  Also, he will have a tough time against Biden in the one debate.  I think the latter point is overdone, since one debate, even a really bad one, won't matter  (See Reagan in 1984; Quayle in 1988; Dubya in 2004)

Romney has a clear shot because he has a success story as a family narrative, is right on social issues (at least since 2006), and is good on the stump.  But the barbs between he and McCain are legendary, and McCain does not like him.  But he will be good on the debate, and will shore up the economic credentials of the ticket, just like Biden helps Obama in foreign polict

I am as big an Obama fan as anyone, and think their web presence and prescience has been top notch.  However, the roll out of Joe Biden as veep should have been accompanied by activation of www.obamabiden.com or a similar website.  If you go there all you see is something from GoDaddy regarding the site being parked there.  

Now, I am sure the Obama campaign owns the website, so this is just perplexing.  We now have a ticket, with Obama on the top, but a ticket nonetheless.  Plus, for those dedicated Biden fans (and there are plenty) it seems this is a slight.  If nothing else, typing in Obamabiden.com should direct you to the campaign's official cite.

CNN.com has a poll asking simply who will win the presidency, Obama or McCain.  As of this moment, the poll is 60-40 for Obama.  I think that all of us owe a duty to country and the internets to make this a clear online blowout.  

Oh, and for a little humor, check out the dead enders at hillary is 44 for a good laugh.  It is clearly populated by the same women (not meant as sexist, but go over there and you'll see what I mean) who were at the RBC meeting last Saturday.

A simple poll question now on http://www.cnn.com/ right now with a simple question:  Who will be better in the general election, Clinton or Obama.

We gotta get over there and start voting, if you have not already.  I know it is symbolic, but perceptions are important, especially on a night when Hillary had her best night in months.

Philadelphia's NBC affiliate has an online poll on presidential preferences for the primary.  

Right now, Hillary leads 52-42.  Kossacks, take action.  I know it is an unscientific poll, but perceptions are important.  Obama needs the keystone state, or at least needs a very good showing to end this thing.

And keep this post going with recommendations:  not for me, but for Obama (or Clinton if you are so inclined).

Well, it seemed just a few days ago that Obama was forging a significant 8 - 10 point lead in both national tracking polls.  Now that is gone.  Rasmussen now has Obama down one point (46-45) and down 50-42 to McCain (he was up 2 a few days ago).  And most of that data was before the recent overblown "bitter" story getting widespread media attention.

Similarly, we have Gallup.  Now their tracking poll is not out yet, but yesterday his lead had shrunk, and they ominously stated:

The latest results are based on interviews with national Democratic primary voters conducted April 9-11 and represent Obama's sixth straight day of leading Clinton by a significant margin in Gallup Poll Daily tracking reports. Obama's lead is substantially narrower in the two most recent days of interviews, however, suggesting the race could tighten in the coming days.

I know and have read many posts here.  It is no secret that most Kossacks are big supporters of Barack Obama, and most also don't care too much for team Clinton.  Count me among those who feel that way.  But one has to be aware that this is still a close race, and while Obama is leading, he will not wrap this thing up after Puerto Rico in early June.  He will need many more super delegates to ensure his nomination.  With that being the case, it is hard to fault Hillary Clinton for doing what she can to get the nomination.  

Cnn International has a poll on how we think of the Iraq war.  Well, let's tell the world how Kossacks think about this war, and by extension, this horrible administration.  The choices are, and I am not quoting:  great, o.k., or complete shit storm.  

And keep the rep's coming to fill up this poll.

There is  an online petition here that calls for the Clintons to release their tax returns, something they have not done for 8 years.  You know that Howard Wolfson made a huge deal about transparancy  and tax returns in Hillary's 2000 run for the Senate against Rick Lazio.  She went so far as to have an Uncle Sam character follow him around at campaign events, and really used it as a way to show New Yorker's who was more down with the people.  I, for one, think this is a big issue that Obama can use to get the "lunch bucket" Dems back in his corner.  This can also be used to force the issue on the Clinton presidential library, and other financial issues that I am sure the Clintons would rather not have out there.  The whole excuse by Hillary that she was "too busy" running for POTUS to get them out before April 15 is quite laughable.

So Kossacks, sign the petition and put a little "people powered Howard" behind it!

It is clear that most the visitors here supported Edwards, and then Obama after Edwards dropped out. It is also axiomatic that Hillary is not well liked among the progressives that frequent daily kos.  After what happened last night, the prospect of Hillary Clinton as the nominee is very real.  If so, then what. How will you vote:

Hey, I am a huge Obama supporter, so don't get me wrong, but he is on the ropes big time, regardless of the delgate talk here.
If Obama had slammed Clinton this weekend, instead of allowing himself to get slammed, this race would be over this morning. The “50 pocket super delegates” would have announced, and that would have been that. He had Texas in the bag, and Ohio within 2 points.

Yet another poll on CNN's homepage, so vote.  The question is simple, who would you rather have answering that phone call at 3:00 a.m.  McCain has a small lead over Obama, with Clinton a few points back, and Huckabee no where to be seen.  

On a side note, Al Giordano at The Field predicts a 27 delegate gain in Texas (with a 7 delegate loss in Ohio) today.  He also says that Obama will win the popular vote in Texas by 6 points, 53-47.  He predicts a 10 point loss in Ohio.  He has been very accurate and a conservative predictor of Obama victories (or losses) this year.  By that I mean Obama usually does a bit better than Al predicts.  We shall see.

The progressives here need to vote on the poll at CNN, asking who one is rooting for tomorrow.  So go there now.  Sorry, I know this is a lame diary, but I just want the kossacks to be heard.  Already Obama is the clear favorite, with Clinton not far behind.  McCain and Huckabee are way back.  
As an Obama supporter, I want a win in both Texas and Ohio.  I know today's polls are disconcerting for the most part, but looking inside some of the numbers (young voters; African Americans), I don't see the math.  

Go to CNN and vote

A new poll out this morning shows Obama nearly tying Clinton in her next Firewall.  Clinton leads 49-43

This primary is not until April 22, but it is yet another measurement of Obama's momentum. Just two weeks ago in Pennsylvania, Clinton led in this survey by 52 percent to 36 percent. During that time, voters under age 45 have gone from favoring Clinton by 11 percentage points to preferring Obama by 17 points. She leads among women, whites, older voters and those without college degrees; Obama leads among men, blacks and college graduates. A quarter of each candidate's supporters say they might change their minds about whom to back.

_

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted by telephone from Feb. 21-25. It involved interviews with 506 likely Democratic voters in Pennsylvania and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

Obama leading Clinton in Texas, according to
Feb. 20 and 21 statewide survey by Decision Analyst

Arlington, Texas (Feb 21, 2008)— Barack Obama has a double digit lead over Hillary Clinton in Texas, according to a statewide survey of 678 registered voters planning to vote in the March 4 Democratic Primary. The survey was conducted February 20 and 21 by Decision Analyst, a major national survey research firm. Decision Analyst projections indicate that if the election were held today Obama would win 57% to 43% over Clinton. The survey's margin of error is 3 percentage points, plus or minus, at a 90% level of confidence.

Here is the link: http://www.decisionanalyst.com/...
I don't know anything about the polling firm, but that is good news for Obama.

Survey USA has Obama up 10 points while Hillary down 11 points in a hypothetical matchup with McCain.  That is a difference of 21 points.  Does anyone here (and by here, I mean voters in a Dem primary coming up) not understand the death spiral of Clinton as our nominee.

http://www.surveyusa.com/...

I know they are not worth much, and most predict with their hearts, not their heads (last time I predicted Dean would get 40%).

So, here goes for the Democrats and GOP:

Dems:

Obama:   37
Clinton:   30
Edwards: 22

Repubs:

Huckabee:  36
Romney:     31
McCain:       17
Paul:              9
Lazy Fred:     6
Hiz Honor:    3

Maybe it is because there is no draft, but it seems that most college students are politically apothetic and largely uninterested in the failings of the worst president in U.S. history, nor in the worst foreign policy decision in American history (the Iraq war).