ProConPundit Ready for 3 a.m. Call

Much has been said about Barack Obama’s readiness as President for a 3 a.m. emergency call. Obama has yet to prove that he is capable of receiving such a call. As of today, we know he is capable of sending a text message in the middle of the night. And the ProConPundit, believe it or not, was on the text message distribution list.
The text message came in around 2 o’clock Chicago time this morning. I felt a combination of emotions: excitement, mild irritation to be awakened, and stupidity to have asked for this.

I promised two friends, Marc Jaeger and John Olenick that I would forward the text to them. Jaeger, who only owns two homes was at the cape of Wisconsin Dells. He doesn’t have a computer there and apparently not a television, either, so he was relying on hearing from me. It should be noted that some parts of Wisconsin do actually have television sets and computer access. I did forward the text message to them but after I went back to sleep for four hours.

The text message was a good application of technology to a political campaign and a good way to include people, even skeptical ones, to the announcement.

Congressman Kirk Predicts Bayh for Obama

The ProConPundit attended a small fund raiser for U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL 10th District) last night at the University Club of Chicago. Actually, I was on the host committee. Congressman Kirk is a great representative, having served since 2000. When he is not in congress, he spends free time and weekends in the U.S. Naval Reserves. He is a fine public servant, my kind of Republican and a good representative of the people of Illinois in Washington.

When asked who he thought Obama would name as a running mate, he spoke rather matter of factly that he thought Evan Bayh of Indiana would get the nod. We are all circling around Bayh-Biden-Kaine. The Obama camp has also predicted that the running mate would be predictable. Is that a little too predictable?

Meanwhile Rush Limbaugh is breathing fire threatening wrath to McCain if he doesn’t pick a running mate to Rushbo’s liking. What difference would a pro-choice running mate actually make? Well, it could help bring in swing voters and pro-choice Republicans in the fall. At the same time, the Vice-President’s divergent view on abortion would mean absolutely nothing in the administration. For whatever real and perceived grievances conservatives have against McCain, his pro-life/anti-abortion credentials are absolutely unquestionable and above reproach. He has earned the right to name whatever running mate he wants.

Obama To Announce Running Mate Wednesday

The Obama Campaign has announced that it will announce its running mate as early as Wednesday and that it won’t be a surprise. Assuming that is true, then it will be Kaine, Bayh or Biden. Obama desperately needs experience and a fighter in his running mate, which leaves Kaine and Bayh out. Using that criterion, it will be Biden.

ProConPundit Endorsements/Predictions

for McCain Running Mate

John McCain should pick whoever he wants as his running mate. That the likelihood of his being elected our 44th president has increased significantly in the last month means that he probably won’t give in to making a selection he’d feel forced into like Mitt Romney. Likewise, I think selections like Pawlenty of Minnesota and Portman of Ohio are cosmetic selections–picking someone younger, etc.

John McCain’s instincts would be to pick the person he most feels comfortable with to take over should he die in office and to have his back while he is in office. An added factor, given his age, is to choose a Vice-President with an eye toward that person assuming the presidency or running in four years presuming McCain retires after one term.

I believe the following are McCain's favorites. The first three are my picks.

1. Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina. He has been joined at the hip with McCain every step of the way of the campaign. Many conservatives would be well pleased with him while others are off put by his support of the gang of 14 and immigration reform. His name does not come up in the media as a running mate and I tend to support surprise picks. Given McCain’s reliance on Graham, I think he may be tapping him for White House Chief of Staff or Attorney General.

2. Tom Ridge, former Pennsylvania Governor and first Secretary of Homeland Security. Ridge would be a superb choice, stellar debater and would probably win Pennsylvania for McCain, which could be the ball game. Kerry narrowly carried Pennsylvania four years ago. Ridge would be a huge boost to McCain in the election, a loyal and excellent Vice-President and McCain’s heir apparent. He is pro-choice which is a deal breaker to a lot of conservatives but I think his strengths out weigh this.

3. Sen. Joe Lieberman, exiled Democrat and all around American patriot. He would be a fine, fine, Vice-President. He would bring a lot of Jewish votes to the GOP and he is the BEST, bar none, debater against Obama’s running mate! (Two Democrats debating!) That said, for all the right wing hoopla that McCain is not really a Republican, I can’t see him naming a Democrat as his running mate. McCain has reached across the aisle a lot, but this would be a real stretch.

4. Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin. This would be a good pick for McCain to shore up conservatives, on the one hand. On the other hand, McCain would make history by the GOP delivering the first woman VP. I don’t favor symbolism over substance. She is not prepared to assume the presidency.

ProConPundit Predictions for Obama Running Mate

Its hard to know what is believable but with the media bias in favor of Obama we risk not realizing how in jeopardy his candidacy is. Wise people in all quarters are predicting a Clinton scheme to still rob Obama of the nomination. I would not bet the lunch money that they will wrestle the nomination from him but I will bet this: they will weaken him to the point of a decisive enough defeat for him in the fall that Hillary can return in 2012.

I think Obama needs to do something surprising in his VP pick and that would be to not choose one of the three people everyone is predicting: Bayh, Biden, Kaine. Personally, to that end, the ProConPundit favors Sam Nunn or Chris Dodd. That their names have evaporated tends to make me think they are the top contenders.
When is the last time a nominee picked someone predicable?

Kerry picked Edwards and Dole picked Kemp. Those were was predictable.

But consider this:
Bush unpredictably picked Cheney.
Gore unpredictably picked Lieberman.
Bush I unpredictably and pitifully picked Quayle.
Clinton unpredictably picked Gore.
Dukakis unpredictably picked Bentsen.
Mondale unpredictably picked Ferraro.
Reagan unpredictably picked Bush I.
Carter unpredictably picked Mondale.

My money is not on a predictable choice. That said, I think Kaine would be a SUPERB choice for electing McCain. Picking a 5 minute governor of Virginia with no foreign policy experience is a ticket for disaster. I am personally VERY fond of Bayh and Biden and would appreciate either of them being picked. Bayh would bring Indiana into play for the Democrats which could mean the ball game. Either of them would be excellent Vice-Presidents and Joe Biden would be THE BEST debater against whoever McCain picks as his running mate.

No one could bring more foreign policy credibility than Biden. He is known by leaders of foreign countries and is also known by most Americans. Bayh has foreign policy experience, is not known to other foreign leaders, and is virtually unknown to most Americans.

John McCain Will Become our 44th President

Because I stuck with McCain when his political obituary had been written, many of you have been asking me in the past couple of months whether I thought he could pull it off and actually win the presidency this fall. Others have asked if I thought anything could rival the Obama mania.

I have had my doubts and there have been low moments. For the first time since John McCain clinched the nomination, I truly believe that he will, in fact, win the presidency this fall.

Consider this...
1. McCain has done an effective job of showing Obama as a celebrity phenomena but not a serious person for the presidency of the United States. This premise will continue as the celebrity event/football stadium extravaganza of the Democratic convention unfolds. McCain has gotten ahead of the curve.

2. In 1988, Dukakis was 18 points ahead of Bush I coming out of the Democratic convention and went on to get creamed. Keep that in mind as we move forward.

3. The Obama Campaign has orchestrated a celebrity extravaganza for the Democratic convention. Between the Clinton speeches looming large over the convention and Hillary Clinton’s name being placed into nomination in the raucous setting of a football stadium, I think things are not moving in a good direction for Obama.

4. John McCain scored decisively over Obama in the Rick Warren interview. In the warmup interview before the interviews, Andrea Mitchell said that Obama insiders felt good about their prospects because he was really comfortable with Rick Warren and this interview while McCain, she said, was begrudgingly participating. After McCain creamed Obama, the next day Mitchell said just the opposite: that Obama’s people knew it would be a bad forum for them and a good one for McCain. The liberal intelligentsia is absolutely apoplectic over the fact that Obama is on the ropes.

5. MSNBC has finally found a way to raise its ratings–suspending all programming. For two weeks, all MSNBC programming has been cancelled in order to cover the Olympics. The ProConPundit has tended to like MSNBC because of the great interviews that take place. Little by little, MSNBC has gotten rid of any semblance of balance. There is now such a reactionary, volatile reaction to anything that criticizes Obama that cancelling their programming seems like a great cause and a sure ratings climber.

6. Thank God for Russia! Thank God that the Russian invasion of Georgia is happening now and not later. Obama’s reply was to say that the United Nations needs to take a strong stand. United Nations? Hello? The only thing united about the UN is that they stand with tin horn dictators, terrorists and thugs and that the U.S. picks up the tab. John McCain, incidentally, has reiterated what he said a year ago: that Russia should be kicked out of the G-8.

ProConPundit Breaks Silence

and Embarrassment to Endorse Obama

The ProConPundit has taken a long break from the blog this summer. This has been, in part, because I have been really busy. Mostly, though, I have remained silent because there hasn’t been much to say. I have been generally non-plussed by the activity of the campaigns and pundits the last couple of months.

The other reason for my silence has been apprehension about the McCain campaign. I’ve not wanted to answer the question many of you have asked me: CAN HE DO IT? IS IT OVER? I am ready to tackle these issues now. So let me begin with my endorsement of Obama.

I have vacillated many times on endorsing Obama. I endorsed him early on in a Democratic debate when he was asked how he would respond to an attack on the U.S. He responded by saying he would call Civil Defense people, talk to local responders, etc. It was then that I issued an endorsement of Obama as mayor of a mid-sized city like Indianapolis or Peoria.

When he spoke in Berlin of our imperfections as Americans, then I came close to endorsing him as President of the European Union. But after his lackluster, if not dismal, performance in the interview by Rick Warren, I am now clear and unequivocal in my endorsement of Barack Obama.

Therefore, once and for all, the ProConPundit issues an unconditional endorsement of Barack Obama to be PRESIDENT of ANY high school student council anywhere in the U.S. or any other country he holds allegiance to.

When Rick Warren asked Obama to name three close advisors he would rely on as President, the first two were his wife and his grandmother. GRANDMA? Yes, GRANDMA. The next time planes fly into buildings, its reassuring to know that the President can rely on Grandma to see him through. McCain’s first response was David Petraeus.

Rick Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church and author of mega best selling book, PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE. The first line of the book is "IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU." The book is generally a great rebuking of the baby boomer credo that the world revolves around us. In answering one of Warren’s questions, Obama rambled on and on and finally said he came to realize that "its not all about me." Warren quipped, "I am always glad to hear that." The entire congregation (audience) erupted into laughter while the self-absorbed Obama didn’t get why they were laughing. He considers himself a friend of Warren and even the most cursory background or prep work on being interviewed there should have informed him about the premise of this book. Obama looked silly and uncomfortable through the entire interview.

My endorsement stands: any time, any high school: Barack is our student council prez.