Someone Get Rachel Maddow a Sandwich

Rachel Maddow has shown a bizarre fascination with the meals of politicians recently -- from mocking the National Committee for a New America for holding a town hall meeting at a pizza parlour to practically swooning over Barack Obama and Joe Biden treating a bunch of White House press pool reporters to lunch at a burger joint (an obvious photo op if there ever was one).

One would wonder what to make of this fascination if the answer weren't plainly obvious -- she's just very, very hungry.

Someone get that poor woman a cookie or something.

Quid Pro Quo On a Global Scale

Compromise could pave the way for MacKay

With the election of the replacement for NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoof Scheffer slowly approaching, a breakthrough that would allow Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay to win the job seems to be on the horizon.

“I don't think that traditions, in the sense of geography, should be a restriction on any position with NATO,” MacKay has recently said.

An unofficial NATO tradition is that a European will hold the office of Secretary General, while American commanders will maintain control of various military commands throughout the alliance.

American Vice President Joe Biden has reportedly offered a compromise to European leaders that may finally put this tradition to rest. Under Biden's compromise French commanders would assume control of several NATO commands in exchange for MacKay being elected Secretary General.

The likelihood that Biden's offer could be accepted is enhanced by the lack of a consensus amongst Europeans about which European candidate should be elected.

Polish Defense Minister Radoslaw Sikorski appears to be the strongest of the European candidates, but agitation between himself and Russia may undermine his candidacy.

Then again and by the same token, MacKay's recent verbal joust with Russia over bomber flights near Canadian airspace may make his own candidacy more questionable, considering that NATO is currently trying to strengthen its relationship with Russia.

MacKay has never lobbied Biden for his support. “I've never had a discussion with Vice-President Biden about this,” MacKay explained. “What I can tell you is that there is growing appreciation and I would even go so far as to say renewed respect for the role that Canada plays in NATO, not just in Afghanistan, but the fact that we have been an active participant and a founding nation for NATO in its 60 year history.”

Not to mention the direct leadership role Canada took in the creation of NATO.

With Biden's support -- knowing that Barack Obama isn't that far removed -- MacKay's candidacy for the job is far from a done deal, but it's become solidly within the realm of possibility.


Other bloggers writing about this topic:

James C Morton - "Peter MacKay as Secretary-General of NATO?"

Chucker Canuck - "Lefties: Here's a Chance to Show Europe Some Love"

Chris Tindal - "Sit Tight, Elizabeth"

Biden pick alienating anti-war movement?

Nomination of Biden a "betrayal"

Coming once again via the Real News Network, Stephen Zunes highlights what some have viewed as the refuttal of the anti-war movement inherent in Barack Obama's nomination of Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential ticket.

Zunes gives voice to the distress of many self-styled progressives at Obama's embrace of various conservative Democrats -- whom Zunes describes as "hawks".

Of course, Zunes is overlooking a key element of electoral politics -- the fact that, at one point or another, a candidate simply has to play to their base.

Obama has clearly sought to embrace the American progressive movement as his base. But with Ralph Nader and the Green party in the race, Obama cannot count on American progressives to support him exclusively against John McCain.

After all, thousands of people cast their ballots in favour of Ralph Nader in 2004 -- even after Bush's popularity numbers tanked so spectacularly.

In the end, whether the progressive movement likes it or not, Barack Obama's base will be the Democratic party. As such, Obama needs to unite liberal Democrats -- who oppose the war in Iraq -- with conservative Democrats -- who support it.

Nominating an individual like Joe Biden was the best way to accomplish that task.

Last but not least, it wouldn't be the first time in history that a presidential nominee has thrown the progressive movement under the bus in order to help achieve a presidential victory -- although it still could turn out to be history's most spectacular example of this exploding in a candidate's face.

Biden's Speech to the DNC

Biden takes moment in the spotlight as an opportunity to fade into the background

Of the numerous speeches being delivered at the Democratic National Convention, that of newly-nominated Vice Presidential hopeful Joe Biden was almost certainly one of the most anticipated.

In delivering the speech, Biden had his work cut out for him: former President Bill Clinton delivered a barnburning speech, complete with his traditional campaign song ("Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" by Fleetwood Mac) and a trip to "a place called hope".

In the course of his speech, Biden hit on all the basic themes: the disappearing American middle class, the war on terror, loss of international trust in the United States, and the fading of the American dream.

But instead of making his case to be Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden instead took the opportunity to denounce "his friend" John McCain and cheerlead for Barack Obama.

Which is rather unfortunate. Many of Biden's policies (including his support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq) have posed serious philosophical challenges for the Democratic ticket.

Biden certainly couldn't have helped his reception amongst the anti-war movement when he referred to American military personnel as "the bravest warriors in the world".

Nor would his story about his mother telling him to "bloody the nose" of neighbourhood bullies be likely to win them over. After all, a hawkish mother would almost certainly be expected to raise a hawkish son -- at least in the perception of the anti-war movement.

These are questions the Obama/Biden ticket will need to answer if it expects to continue benefiting from the "progressive infrastructure" previously described by Naomi Klein.

Which is unfortunate. There's a general belief that the Vice Presidential candidate on a ticket tends to be unimportant during a Presidential Election. Yet when a President is rendered unable to continue in office, the Vice President takes over as President.

Joe Biden may prove to be a rather disconcerting figure for the anti-war movement should any misfortune ever befall Barack Obama. And unfortunately, one plot against Obama's life has already been uncovered.

In the end, the only way Biden could top Clinton's speech is with a "surprise" appearance by Barack Obama -- one that had been speculated on hours in advance.

Obama, Huckabee Draw First Blood

But super sunday will tell the tale

After months of nail-biting anxiety, the United States presidential primaries have kicked off.

Republican Mike Huckabee claimed a crucial first victory on the first primary of the season, the Iowa straw poll. Barack Obama beat out his Democrat competitors.

Obama won the support of an impressive 38% of Iowa voters, while Clinton and John Edwards claimed 29% and 30% of the vote, respectively. Huckabee won 34% of the vote, with Ames straw poll winner Mitt Romney settling for 25%. John McCain, who left Iowa for a jump-start on the New Hampshire poll, tied Fred Thompson with 13%.

Already, candidates have begun to abandon their campaign, as Democrats Joe Biden and Chris Dodd have both elected to drop out of the race.

Things are about to get very interesting.

Although claiming a first win is a crucial feat, the Presidential picture will likely remain murky until the February 6 "super Tuesday" primaries, when California, Alaska, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Conneticiutt and Delaware all go to their caucuses.

In the meantime, however, the race will begin to take on its first signs of political intrigue, as New Hampshire, Nevada, Michigan, Florida and South Carolina will all have held their own primaries. As victories are claimed and other candidates realize they can no longer win, support will inevitably be lent to other candidates. Things will get interesting as people begin to speculate what price has been paid for the endorsements of drop out candidates.

Even for those who rarely pay attention to American politics, the coming months will most certainly make them sit up and take notice.

First blood has been drawn in the race to determine who will contest the 2008 presidential election, but the show's only begun.

Need a VP? Barack's The Man For the Job

Obama's mastery of Senate precedents a key skill for Vice President

If one takes polls at face value, there's little question about it: Hillary Clinton is going to be the Democrats' presidential nominee.

She leads her nearest competitor, Barack Obama, by a margin of 44 to 25 percent.

As such, it's probably unsurprising that Clinton has begun searching for a running mate. However, she's had less luck than a politician in her situation should have finding one: her ascendency to presidential candidate is almost assured, and she's almost guaranteed a massive advantage over whomever her Republican opponent would be.

Yet, Senator Joe Biden has, surprisingly, turned Clinton down.

"If I don't win the nomination, the likely nominee is going to be Hillary," Biden, a fellow presidential nominee, said. "And I love Bill Clinton, but can you imagine being vice president?"

Biden currently polls at 3%. Call him brave, call him optimistic, just don't call him opportunistic.

Beyond that, Biden has said he would prefer to continue serving as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Biden has also noted that Bill Clinton would likely be an omnipresent, overpowering influence in a Hillary Clinton White House (insert sexist who-wears-the-pants-in-the-family joke here). Not to mention Al Gore creeping around every other corner. Perhaps not the most secure position for a Vice President.

This, of course, leaves Hillary Clinton in search of a new running mate, and she shouldn't look any further than her most immediate (however remote) threat -- Massachusetts Senator Barack Obama.

There are many reasons why Obama would make an excellent Vice President (perhaps even a better VP than President).

First off, the buzz surrounding Clinton and Obama would be positively huge. Hell, even Fidel Castro says he has goosebumps at the very thought of it.

Historically, a Democrat's choice for Vice President has turned out to be more important than a Republican's, as a Democrat Vice President has proven more likely (at least in more recent history) to have to take over the Presidency. To this end, the Democratic party would be better off to have its number-two contender serve in the role. If he were forced to assume the presidency, Obama could continue to capture the imagination of Americans in the same vital way he and Clinton do.

Most importantly, however, one of the Vice President's most important jobs is to preside over the Senate.

Obama has spent a good deal of his Senatorial career familiarizing himself with Senate precedents -- which one senior Democratic senator once described to him as "the keys to the kingdom". That alone would make him a force to be reckoned with as Vice President.

There is, of course, the argument that having Obama as a running mate would hurt her ability to attract voters from fickle conservative voters who prefer to vote for white males. This in itself is a silly argument, and for obvious reasons. Not only are the Democrats unlikely to attract these voters, but Clinton herself doubly so.

By running with a black man as her running mate, however, Clinton could reap the benefits of having the force of history as a "third running mate". There would be vast appeal to many voters knowing that not only could they elect America's first woman president, but also its first black vice president.

Of course, this argument is no less fickle than the previous. The difference for Clinton, however, is that it remains pertinent.

In the face of an ongoing campaign, Clinton may not yet be ready to admit that she needs Barack Obama. But she does.

Of course, the greater challenge may be convincing Obama to quit his campaign prematurely; something he would be doing no matter how unlikely the prospects of him closing a 19-point gap between himself and Clinton are.

In other words, both candidates would need to swallow their pride a little bit. The benefits of doing so are very tangible inded.

The greater question is whether or not the're willing to do it.