Let’s be honest, this election is the Democratic party’s to lose, specifically Barack Obama. The amazing thing is, it is actually a distinct possibility. The Democrats aren’t very good at choosing “winnable” candidates, but that is a discussion for another day. The topic at hand is who are the Vice Presidential choices for Obama.

Before we get to names, let’s discuss what attribute Obama needs in a running mate. First, Obama needs someone with ridiculous experience. Lack of experience is Obama’s biggest weakness. Also, he needs a person who can keep Clinton’s voters in his camp, who is fairly moderate, and has military or defense credentials.

The other question we need to ask is who is the best veep to help Obama win vs. who is the best veep for the Obama presidency. This is extremely important, as we get into the top choices, here is why:

1. Hillary Clinton. If Obama chooses Hillary as his veep, he is a shoe in for victory in November. He keeps Clinton’s voters in his camp, thus eliminating a huge potential voting block for McCain.

However, in the same way that Hillary would be great for getting him elected, she would be the absolute worst for him personally while he is President. The last thing Obama wants is a Clinton (Hillary or Bill) breathing down his neck saying “well, this is how we did it in the ’90’s”. Obama needs to and must make a complete break from the Clinton’s and begin his own era in the Democratic party. If I am Obama, I take the risk of a loss; there is no way I choose Hillary.

2. Jim Webb, Virginia Senator. He is an extremely popular Senator from a swing state. A state the Dems have an excellent shot of winning and taking from the GOP. He also is a military man and worked in the Reagan administration. He is a moderate Democrat as well.

However, he, like Obama, has very little experience. This could be his death knell. Obama must have an experienced VEEP.

3. Joe Biden, Delaware Senator. He has a ridiculous amount of experience and would actually be a solid President. He also is among the most experience in terms of international affairs. Also, he is a white male (like Webb) and a typical US politician. Usually that is a bad thing, but considering Obama, it might help even out the ticket.

His big weakness however is that he is divisive (the GOP HATES him) and really excites no one.

4. Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania. He has enough experience and is a governor, thus he has executive experience. Additionally, Pennsylvania is a state that is being targeted by John McCain in November, choosing Rendell would likely keep PA in Dem hands. (Note, there is a rumor that Tom Ridge, the former PA Governor is at the top of the list for McCain’s veep; I think it would be a terrible choice).

5. Gen Wesley Clark. He is a solid Democrat and a former Military general. He could potentially bring in a significant chunk of GOP voters whom don’t like McCain, but are wary of Obama’s defense credentials.

Other possibilities:
- Evan Bayh
- Michael Bloomberg
- Chris Dodd
- Bill Richardson
- Kathleen Sebelius
- John Edwards

One of the positives for Obama as he searches for a Vice President is that his veep choice is less crucial than McCain’s. People are excited about Barack and don’t need as much of a reason to vote for him. On the other hand, I don’t know anyone who is excited about a McCain Presidency. McCain needs to make waves with his veep pick, or at least choose a person that will help voters to logically vote for him.

The stars seem aligned for Obama as of right now. But the GOP was smart and chose the only candidate that could win for their party (which is a sad reality for me to come to, as I have a man-crush on Romney). John McCain has a very real chance to beat Obama, so Obama should not be too comfortable about his chances.

This story is the most ridiculous story to be covered by news media in a long time. And apparently Matt Drudge loves it because he constantly posts new updates. The story is that a man is pregnant and is on the verge of giving birth; making him the first man in the world to give birth.

But the short story line as I wrote above is completely full of inaccuracies. The story line should read, The story is that a woman who is in the process of having a sex change is on the verge of giving birth; making HER and the fact she is pregnant no more interesting than any other woman who is pregnant except that this is more disturbing.

That’s right, the man is actually a woman. So there is nothing remotely significant about this event. So what if the woman is crazy enough to get pregnant and go through a sex change? How does that merit media coverage? This story is no more significant that if the media came to my house and reported that “The wife of Swint is pregnant; only the third time in history that Swint’s wife has a baby.” She is no more a man than my wife is; just because you have a penis grafted on to your body, pump yourself full of testosterone, and reduce your breasts to look like a man’s chest does not make you a man.

There are two other things that bother me here. First is that if the she-man actually cared about the child she wouldn’t be parading this around the media. The woman is only doing this to make waves among the public and the media; to get her “15 minutes”. Is that any way to approach motherhood and child birth. I have the same problem with many women in Hollywood who seem to think that babies are fashion accessories.

The other problem I have, and this will probably rile up many of you extreme lefty types, is what chance does this kid have? This kid is going to be raised where both his/her mom and dad are the same person (although to be factual I believe the she-man has a girlfriend/wife). The kid is going to find out that its dad was once a woman and was actually part-man when it was born. And what do you think this is going to do to the socialization of the child? This kid is going to be picked on and made fun of by its peered mercilessly. Will the kid be able to handle regular school as a result? What a nightmare. Not to mention just the sheer confusion this kid will have about sexuality, marriage, and society.

This is the first part of a four part series (may or may not be consecutive) where I will write about McCain and Obama’s potential Vice Presidential running-mates then write about why McCain will win and why Obama will win. Each prospective VEEP brings it’s own positive and negative attributes to the campaigns. I will discuss the 3-5 best choices and list others under consideration.

First John McCain, Republican Senator, Arizona

The VEEP choice for John McCain will mean more for him than will Obama’s. John McCain needs to choose someone who can rally the base of the GOP, attract (or at least not scare off) Hillary voters who have been turned off by Obama, is strong where he is weak, can be President in the event McCain dies (his age is an issue), and can potentially help deliver “battle-ground” states.

His five best options are:

1. Mitt Romney. While Mitt does not accomplish all the criteria above, he covers more than any other. First, he has become popular with the GOP base, and while evangelicals don’t like him, it is unlikely, his presence results in a McCain loss in the South.

Mitt also is an economic genius, whereas McCain has readily admitted he is weak on economics. McCain could basically just make Mitt the economic Czar. Mitt also can deliver Michigan and New Hampshire (two states Bush lost in ‘04), as well as help the GOP hold onto Nevada and Colorado (due to the significant LDS population). Finally, he is the most qualified Republican for President not named John McCain (though I would personally argue that Mitt would be the best President from either party period, but I digress).

2. Sarah Palin. Who? You ask. Sarah Palin is the 44 year old knock-out, yet ridiculously competent, Governor of Alaska. Sure, Alaska is not a political powerhouse state and she has no more experience than Barack Obama, but her positives are off the chart.

First, she is a solid conservative and extremely anti-corruption. She took on the extremely corrupt and entrenched GOP leadership in Alaska and won. She is an excellent communicator and does not hurt McCain at all.

The best reason for her though is that she would capture the attention of the American, if not the World’s, media and people. She will undoubtedly attract significant swath’s of the female voters that were backing Hillary, despite her conservatism. She can help off-set Obama’s image and help McCain be “younger”.

Her down side is her lack of experience, would she be able to step in as President should McCain not serve all the way through. Also, she is among the leaders of the GOP’s future, why potentially stall her in a failed Veep run?

3. Mike Huckabee. Ugh, I personally despise Huckabee and if he is the Veep choice there is no way I am voting for McCain. nevertheless, Huckabee would not be a bad choice for McCain. He would solidify the evangelical vote in the South which may be needed if Obama chooses a moderate Southern Democrat (like Jim Webb). The South is wary of McCain and Romney wouldn’t help there either. Additionally, he is polling the best of all potential Veep options and could help deliver Iowa to McCain.

He has strong negatives though as well. He is divisive in the GOP. His economic populism is despised by fiscal and economic conservatives and he would not help in the least in delivering moderates to McCain; much of the American public views him as almost a Christian radical.

4. Bobby Jindal. Bobby is the current Governor of Louisiana and, much like Palin, is very anti-corruption and has cleaned up notoriously corrupt Louisiana. He gets a lot press right now and is very popular in the GOP. He IS the future of the GOP and a bright future that is. His only negative is his lack of experience.

He would excite the base as well and could bring in a good number of moderates and democrats. He is young and competent and would be a fine choice. Additionally, he is a minority (Indian descent) and could possibly offset that advantage for Obama (though minimally at best.

However McCain MUST NOT choose Jindal. Louisiana needs him now and for the next 4-8 years. The GOP needs him in the future. In 2012, look for a Jindal v. Palin race for the GOP nominee for the Presidency.

5. Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota. He is a great and popular governor and could deliver Minnesota for the GOP, a huge deal that would be. He also has been a staunch supporter of McCain’s, even through McCain’s collapse last year and McCain loves loyalty.

However, he does little to exite anybody and, while he has no real downside, he won’t help either. He would be a ho-hum pick. However, like Jindal and Palin, he has a potentially bright future in the GOP.

Others under consideration:

Mark Sanford, Georgia.
Meg Whitman, former CEO of Google
Charlie Crist, Florida
Fred Thompson
Condoleeza Rice
General Petraeus
Kay Baily Hutchison
Rudy Giuliani

All in all there are some great options for McCain. Palin may be the best overall choice, due to her lack of major negatives. But Mitt Romney is what McCain and the country needs. What are your thoughts?

It is a popular thing to wish for America’s demise as a superpower and to see the weakening of Western civilization and capitalism. The grass is always greener isn’t it? Well let’s see what how green the grass is indeed on the other side.

The reality is there are four countries/unions that have a legitimate shot at replacing the United States as the world power. They are, ordered by likelihood:

1. China- I think everyone agrees that China is the most likely counter balance to the United States.

2. Russia-Putin is attempting to re-establish the USSR. We’ll all regret not doing anything about it. Putin IS the most dangerous person in the world.

3. India- A considerable step below China and Russia, but they are more free than the former and that may prove to be valuable in the long run. I am a big fan of India.

4. EU- As they continue to consolidate they seem like a likely successor, but Europe has never been able to get along, what makes us think a unified Europe is stable for the long term? Besides, as the US goes, Europe goes. Europe, er NATO, is too reliable on the U.S.

Now consider the fact that India and the EU really aren’t viable when compared to China and Russia. What we have is the world’s future in the hands of either the US, China, or Russia or a combination of these with lesser, though significant, powers. Take some time to consider what your preference would be.

Alright, for those of you who chose Russia or China over the US consider the following:

China: “China’s All Seeing Eye”

Over the past two years, some 200,000 surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the city. Many are in public spaces, disguised as lampposts. The closed-circuit TV cameras will soon be connected to a single, nationwide network, an all-seeing system that will be capable of tracking and identifying anyone who comes within its range — a project driven in part by U.S. technology and investment. Over the next three years, Chinese security executives predict they will install as many as 2 million CCTVs in Shenzhen, which would make it the most watched city in the world. (Security-crazy London boasts only half a million surveillance cameras.) The security cameras are just one part of a much broader high-tech surveillance and censorship program known in China as “Golden Shield.”

With its militant protests and mobile population, China confronts a fundamental challenge. How can it maintain a system based on two dramatically unequal categories of people: the winners, who get the condos and cars, and the losers, who do the heavy labor and are denied those benefits? More urgently, how can it do this when information technology threatens to link the losers together into a movement so large it could easily overwhelm the country’s elites?

The answer is Golden Shield.

So take this, along with the well documented human rights violations, especially against the Tibetans and Uygurs and then ask yourself if that is how you want to live?

Now let’s have fun with Russia. Consider the following:

Putin’s opponents are made to vanish from TV

It is also a striking indication of how Putin has relied on the Kremlin-controlled television networks to consolidate power, especially in recent elections.

Opponents who were on television a year or two ago all but vanished during the campaigns, as Putin won a parliamentary landslide for his party and then installed his protégé, Dmitri Medvedev, as his successor.

When some actors cracked a few mild jokes about Putin and Medvedev at Russia’s equivalent of the Academy Awards in March, they were expunged from the telecast.

Political humor in general has been exiled from television here.

Way to go Russia. That’s just the kind of society that I want to live in. But that’s not all, consider the following from Instablogs own Kim in New York:

So, not only is Russia’s “prime minister” able to simply wave his hand and raise the nation’s wages (so much for the idea of capitalism in Russia! — and so much for the idea that Putin no longer rules it!) but he thinks the way to combat devastating double-digit consumer price inflation is to . . . wait for it . . . give people more money.

Yup, I can’t wait to live under the influence of China and Russia, it will be great.

But the greater concern is not that one of them could be the power, it is that they currently are strong allies and they will rule together and there secondary allies, countries who are regional powers, would be strengthened considerably. So let’s quickly consider what their closest allies have been up to:

Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday that the “Zionist regime...will soon be erased from the geographical scene. Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started.” This from a country that would simply become THE regional power in the Middle-east under a Russian-Chinese world.

The there is Venezuela; wonderful, wonderful Venezuela. Whose benevolent President, Hugo Chavez, took personal control of Venezuela’s intelligence operations and is requiring citizens to spy on each other and report remotely seditious activity to the government.

So, go ahead, keep trashing America, keep calling for the end of America’s influence. Continue to denigrate capitalism, which for all of it’s faults, has improved the quality of life of everyone influenced by it (capitalist poor aren’t as poor as socialist, communist, or authoritarian poor).

The fact is, it is in the World’s best interest for Western power to continue. Sure, it may be overall beneficial for a bi- or multi-polar world, but within that multi-polar world, the United States must be the preeminent player. For all of America’s faults, it is still the world’s greatest proponent of freedom and the leader in economic development and poverty reduction. The last thing I want, or any of us should want, is to live under the influence of China, Russia, and their ilk.

Today the Texas Supreme Court ruled that all of the Children removed from their parents at the Yearning for Zion Ranch of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the right decision.

Undoubtedly there will be much outrage and criticism of this decision. Further, there was undoubtedly various dimensions of abuse going on in their community. However, the way the raid went down and the children were removed was completely unconstitutional and the State of Texas had no right to remove ALL of the children from the compound.

In the same way that there were certainly instances of abuse in the compound, there was undoubtedly a majority of parents were and are loving and caring people. On average they most likely will raise their children more lovingly and carefully than any foster parent could.

So where do both the state and the FLDS go from here? If the state truly is concerned about the Children they need to perform investigations on an individual level and only base those investigations on probable cause. Just the fact that a family lives on the compound should not qualify in such a matter. If there is probable cause and an investigations justifies removal of the Children , so be it.

The one concern I have is what the level of justification would be for removal. I think it needs to be based on legality purely, if the family chooses to raise their Children based on their religion and educate them on such a curriculum that should be their right. Generally speaking, parents, especially in America, should be free to raise their children in any manner they choose within the law.

The FLDS folks also need to be proactive to protect their interests. They need to not only submit to a measure of oversight, but they should invite it. They need to be more open to local law enforcement and build a cooperative and friendly relationship with the law and the local community.

Undoubtedly the local community is concerned about having the FLDS compound there. They fear another Branch Dividian situation. There is no better way to alleviate these fears than by being more open and welcoming. Perhaps they should take a page from the Amish community in Pennsylvania. They are free to educate and raise their kids in a bubble, in a manner that they please. If the FLDS pursue this course they should expect a prosperous future wherever they choose to reside.

This shouldn’t be the least bit surprising to anyone. In fact, one wonders why this is considered news at all. Hasn’t it been common knowledge that Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations fully condone the use of weapons? Apparently not. Either that or most of the world don’t care, don’t believe it, or have simply forgotton the intentions and threats posed from Al Qaeda and their ilk. The most likely reason why this is not common knowledge across the world is actually a combination of those three reasons due to blindness created by many people’s disdain for America and the Bush administration.

Despite the fact I live in the Washington DC area, I don’t feel threatened by Al Qaeda personally. However the threat I know to be real is the threat to modern, progressive society as a whole. Not that Al Qaeda will destroy our countries, systems, or culture but they are undoubtedly constantly seeking to attack and spread fear and they are not just focused on America. Any country that espouses freedom, liberalism, capitalism, freedom of speech and religion is a target. Even any country that is simply not Muslim is a target.

Yet, most of the industrialized and developing world have no problem blaming America for all the worlds ills, despite all that America and the evil capitalist Western world has done for the poor and developing world. Never mind that capitalism has spread wealth around the world to more people than socialism ever can, never mind that democracy and freedom to protest and speak your mind has been spread to so many that never had it due to the “American experiment”. Never mind that the largest givers of international aid and support for freedom, human rights, eradication of AIDS, poverty reduction, and economic development come from the United States. No, America is still the bad guy, America is the evil empire. This immature and irrational bitterness towards America, and perhaps more specifically, the Bush administration has blinded so many into forgetting or not caring about the terrorist threat.

Now, there is certainly much about America and her foreign policy to be frustrated and upset with. Any country with the prowess, power, and stature of America is going to have tons of negatives and positives. Not only that, people love to hate the big kid on the block, just like American sports fans love to hate the New York Yankees or Dallas Cowboys so to speak. Nevertheless, there is much too much blaming America without ever considering the positives she also offers. When Al Qaeda strikes again, who will the world turn to? America. Who will the world then blame 5 years later for whatever ills the world faces? America.

As the saying goes, “no news is good news” and so it has been with the Iraq conflict. The only time Iraq gets major news coverage is when things are going bad for America and the coalition. As a result, it is very easy to assess how things are actually going.

Using this ‘method’ it is quite easy to judge that Iraq is going quite well. I mean how much have we heard about Iraq in the past weeks? Very little.

So today, the suspicions of an increasingly improving Iraq were confirmed. General David Petraeus, the out going U.S. Commander in Iraq (leaving to take command of U.S. CENTCOM), announced that he expects to recommend further troop reductions prior to leaving his post.

The amount of troops expected to be withdrawn was not announced and it is doubtful to be a huge number, nevertheless, there are a couple of positive things to take from this.

The first is that it demonstrates the increased ability and aptitude of Iraqi security forces and police. They are taking a majority of the leads on raids and rooting out insurgents and are providing significant enough security for most Iraqis and for commerce and the economy to flourish. Even Basra, the site of one of the more recent major battles, is experiencing a pleasant period of peace and stability.

The second is that it demonstrates the continued weakening of insurgent groups like Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and the Sadr Militia (the latter partially a result of Muqtada Al’Sadr’s cease fire). AQI is currently being rooted out of their last semi-strong hold in Mosul in North Iraq. This seems to be AQI’s last stand. There is no where else for them to go and they have been defeated in every location they have previously been.

It seems readily apparent that the “war” portion of the conflict is coming to an end. Since General Petraeus took command the U.S. military has carried out, with the aid of Iraqi forces, one of the most impressive military campaigns ever. Urban warfare of this sort is practically unprecedented in history, not just for America. It took too long for them to figure it out, but now that they have, they have nearly secured a military victory.

As Iraq becomes increasingly secure and safe the next steps are political rectification and economic development, both which have been actively pursued since the start of the conflict. However, as Africa can attest, economic and political stability cannot be attained without some respective level of security. Now that Iraq is acheiving that the sky is the limit for Iraq and the sooner U.S. and coalition troops can fully withdraw.

It was announced today that U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with malignant cancerous tumor in his brain. The tumor was discovered after he suffered a seizure on Saturday and was admitted to the hospital.

I am no fan of Ted Kennedy. I complete disagree with his politics and from what I know of his personal life and personality, I find him repugnant. I have found Ted disingenuous, selfish, a bully, and so on and so forth.

All that being said, I feel sorrow for he and his family. No one can deny the significant impact that he and his family, for both good and bad, has had on the United States of America. Is there a more significant family name in America than “Kennedy”? Not even the name “Bush” has reached such a level.

I hope and pray that Ted will make a full recovery from this affliction. I also encourage all people, especially conservatives in the US who despise Ted, to not hope for him to die or say that “it’s about time he died”. Please be mature and respect life for what it is. Some things transcend politics, at least in America, and this should be one of those things. Do not trifle with life and death.

After all, he has not only written the script for his constitutional coup d’etat, but staged the play and given himself the starring role as well.

Of course, he has given a walk-on role to Dmitry Medvedev, his personally anointed successor.