1) ho hum. not very exciting.

2) Old white guys rule!!

3) I saw some pollsters on CNN the other day who said that 27% of Hillary supporters were supporting McCain. Biden is not going to help curb that slide. It will be interesting to see how much of a stink Hillary causes at the DNC convention.

But, from an objective point of view, Biden isnt a horrible pick. He does have foreign intelligence experience and will bring some "gravitas" to Obama's campaign that is surely lacking right now.

I think McCain has to counter with Romney.

4) I don't buy that 27% for a second. Those bitter, old blue-hairs are still Democrats, and they will not vote for McCain in the end. They're just mad that their candidate didn't win. Now they can crawl out of dreamland and enter reality.
If McCain picks Lieberman, he may pick up some of those votes, but he would upset the Republicans so much that I don't think he'd have a prayer. I don't think he has one anyway. It's a long way to November, and a campaign can't be won by picking on the other guy for being popular and answering every question with 'umm, drill offshore?'. Insert ridiculous fake smile here-

5) McCain's going to pick Romney.

6) I really liked Biden in the debates. I worry that he didn't pick someone from the South though.
S

7) I'm disappointed. I was really hoping for something more exciting than foot-in-mouth Biden. I think he is extremely well-qualified but is still that old white guy and doesn't point toward the future. I think Hillary would have done a fantastic job but Bill is too much of a disability - Obama would never have invited that kind of messy potential into the mix. Surely her supporters can see that.
Also, I agree, Matt, no way in hell Hillary supporters will vote for McCain but they may stay away from the polls, which isn't good, either.

Ho-hum is right.

8) This could be a GOP landslide now. How does Biden help?

How does 35 years in the Senate equate with bringing change?

How do you pick a VP guy who said as recently as a year ago you were too inexperienced to be President? Ain't YouTube grand?

The Convention is going to turn into a largely "Hillary was so close" spectacle, taking even more enthusiasm away from the ticket.

9) This pick doesn't even begin to measure up to the brilliant picks of Gore (1992) and Lieberman (2000) for veeps.

10) Joe Biden brings experience and wisdom to the ticket. That's what his 35 years in the Senate mean.

11) Matt: Hillary has the blade out and it aimed straight at obama.s back. My prediction for John McCains VEEP, it will be Kay Bailey Hutchison from Texas because she can swing the women vote away from obama because of the way obama has done Hill.

12) Thirty Five Years in the Senate does little for him in my eyes because I have a quaestion about "Ole Joe" and obama: Have either one of them ever served their country in the armed and either of them suffered at the hands of the North Vietnamese?

13) By the way, wasn't "Old Joe" the name of the camel on the Camel cigarette pack?

14) Brian's comment says it all about obamabiden because they aren't as strong a ticket as either Gore and whoever, and john Kerry and "john boy edwards". AAs RL has said many times, it is the same old L-------l thoughts and nobody is buying it.

15) Nancy you are right: Old White Guys and Gals Rule!!!!!!!!!!

16) Beancounter:
"Have either one of them ever served their country in the armed and either of them suffered at the hands of the North Vietnamese?"

If the answer was yes, would we have less people living in poverty? Would all US Citizens have affordable health care? Would everyone have equal rights?

17) I am thankful for all that time W spent in Vietnam chasing communists. It really gave him an accurate gauge of what war does to people and nations. Thank God he had all of that experience. Oh...wait, the only thing he was chasing was coeds and he may have spent a little time in a county jail for a dui.
I think that the reality is that ALL of those arguments are totally insignificant and have been played out over and over. Hillary tried the experience thing. It obviously didn't work. Our nation is a wreck because of a bullshit war which Iraq is kicking us out of as we speak. No one trusts the government because they can now listen to our phone calls and lock us up for any reason they choose, or no reason at all.
America is pretty naive and forgiving at times, but the republicans have abused their power by historical amounts, and I don't think you have a chance. We'll see. You could still tamper with the recalled voting machines that won the last two elections.

18) Doesn't W have an MBA, from Harvard, It seems that obama was very educated because he seems to have no business experience and judgment because all is talking about is raing taxws and putting small business in more of a hard ship than they are now. He wants tax Windfall Taxes" oon oil companies. If he wants tax all wind fall, whay does he think that there will be any wind fall profits to tax. I can't stand to think that there may two lawyers on the "Flip-Flop" party ticket because that is all we in charge is two lawyers.

19) Carrie: The majority of people who live in poverty are there because of prior events in their lives. Sickness and Mental Illness need help ;however, those have never held a job and have earned a living don't deserve a lot of help. Plus the illegal aliens that enter the US every year hoping to have children on US , so they can be citizens of the uNited States of America. Those who help themselves deserve help; however, those that don't help themselves, don't deserve any help. It is o.k., if you members of the younger generation want to be so Liberal, just look at your paychecks and see how money you are taking out of your check goes to government spending, the majority of which to Welfare.

20) BC,
Rather than generalize and throw you into the "older generation wanting to be so conservative", I"ll speak directly to you. Yes, many people in this country don't work as hard as they should and can "feed" off the system. These people are vastly outnumbered, though, by a group called the middle class. People working their asses off to just get by; sometimes skipping bills just to put food on the table. Then there are the people you are referring to... living in poverty b/c of prior events. That prior event would be BEING BORN INTO POVERTY. So how do we fix the vicious cycle? By continuing to turn the other cheek? Here's the deal. I'll look at my next paycheck to try and figure out the problem if you look in the mirror and do the same. Eventually, we'll figure out the "me me me" society only goes so far.

Now tell me again, how does Obama's lack of military involvement make him less of a qualified president?

21) Carrie- it's a little like being made the manager of McDonald's, when you've never even had a Big Mac before, much less worked the drive-thru.

Does it make sense to put someone at the top of something they've never, ever participated in? Commander-in-chief makes him the boss of our generals and commanders who have been doing military work their whole careers.

That said, I don't feel like robust military service is a pre-requisite. The problem for Obama is that McCain's resume is so strong in that area, the only shot he's got is to treat it as without value, which could come back to bite him.

22) McCain's military record doesn't mean much when all he has is a "We'll kick their ass!" attitude. He definitely lost my vote my he started spouting all that ignorant crap. Last thing we need is his senile self pushing the button. And, believe it or not, I tend to vote Republican more often than not. That's the beauty of being an Independant.

23) Oh BeanCounter37...
Social security, which old farts like you are starting to drain from my paychecks, and welfare, make up a small portion of total income taxes compared to military spending.
I was lucky enough to have been born into a family that could feed and clothe me, and cared about whether or not I'd be a productive member of society. Many Americans (and humans for that matter) are not so lucky, and I am happy to contribute to such a fund, although I think it could be run more efficiently.
I'm tired of the self-centered mentality from which you come and I hope it dies soon. I am a liberal, but I also believe in karma and reincarnation, so I believe in helping others who have less than I do. You may be in for a big surprise next time around when you have different cards dealt.

24) World War II turned out fairly well for the Allies, if I'm remembering my history classes correctly. What rank was FDR?

25) 'because that is all we in charge is two lawyers.'

Huh?

If you attempt to make some sense, I might start to consider your point of view. Well, not really, but seriously though, I'm going to have to start editing your comments when you're on my site.

26) After my "ho hum" response this morning I had the opportunity to hear Obama and Biden speak today. I am happy with his choice and I get it. Despite what was said when they were competing against one another they obviously respect each other enough to run together. I feel they want the best for America in the next four years. All the haters out there just sound scared to me. So spew your headlines from FOX. I'm still voting the same.

27) "I think that the reality is that ALL of those arguments are totally insignificant and have been played out over and over. Hillary tried the experience thing. It obviously didn't work...."

Matt, how can you possibly say that the "experience thing" that Hillary tried didnt work? It did work, Hillary got more votes than Obama did.

Obama is even admitting weakness in the experience category by picking Biden.

McCain will continue to hammer the "experience thing" and play youtube snippets of Biden attacking Obama and life will be good come November.

28) As I have said before, Hillary has the dagger aimed at obama's heart.

29) Can a happy Canuck chime in?

I'm not sure that Hillary has a dagger aimed at Obama. If she is truly as devoted to her party as she claims, she won't do anything to upset his chances at a victory come November.

As for experience, I think it is valuable if it's used properly. McCain has oodles (yes it is a word!) of military experience which is great, but it seems like he's all about winning the war. Any war. Any place, any time. And um, if I may quote Dr. Phil, how's that working out for y'all? Not great right now. It seems to me that a new person with fresh ideas might be able to bring some new perspective to the problems in the middle east, the war in Iraq, the ecomony and so forth. But hey, that's just me, and I don't get a vote in your election.

Just for the record, I don't even like Dr. Phil. And Mattpike has me laughing my freaking head off right now!

30) Brian,
I see your point, to an extent. To play devil's advocate, though, the President is really in charge of the entire country, right? I mean, McCain isn't any sort of financial genius (by education or experience) yet he's the one that makes the final decisions on our financial future.

I really want to know how long can he play the "POW" card? By no means does that mean I don't sympathize with those that have suffered, but I don't like the fact that for a long time, he was trying to win this race with that card. He even uses it tonight on Jay Leno in response to the "7 houses" question.

31) What makes Obama a financial genius? What experience does he have in that area?

I don't see McCain playing the POW card. He is simply asked about the experience. It was life defining. I'd be more worried if he didn't talk about it at all. It seems to have taught him most of his life's lessons. I didn't see Leno, so I can't comment on that.

32) Matt- I'd love to see a blog in which you outline your beliefs in karma and reincarnation in detail- how you came to those conclusions. Those beliefs have always tended to depress me when considered- considering the ant/mosquito populations far out number the human race....what's the likelihood of your next journey? or if not a blog, maybe we can chat about it via email sometime....

33) You don't Ms. clinton, remember that she and "Bubba" didn't give any thing but lip service to Kerry Edwards in 2000. Her supporters are in disarray and there is a McCain showing a former Hillary supporter that will vote for McCain.

34) Maybe I'll write a spiritual blog one of these days, but it's too complex and time consuming to go into right now. It's far from depressing for me. I basically believe that God is in and is everything, including mosquitos. That is why I cannot support a war of any kind.
It may be very hard for me to translate my beliefs to you or most people, as they are truly my beliefs, based on faith and experience only, and not derived from any particular religion or teaching. Most people that think so loosely about religion and spirituality are probably atheists, but I am far from being a non-believer. I just don't know what to call it.
I'd be happy to delve in further, but it will probably just frustrate you!

35) Brian,
Nowhere in my response did I say I believed Obama was a financial genius. I was trying to state the obvious in defending the point that lack of military experience for a candidate means they wouldn't be a good president. Once all the white hairs pass on anyway, there will be less and less men and women with that experience, as they are no longer forced to serve. So do we pick the best overall candidate or the best candidate who served in the military?

If you don't think McCain isn't playing the POW card, then you didn't see any of the commercials he put out for the first 2 months. Here's the clip from Leno: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q37O08IJstQ
Leno didn't ask him about his experience as a POW. Of course that question was prepped. How else would he go from his original ignorant/arrogant mistake to turning it into "Cindy's an angel"? It's one thing not to talk about it all but c'mon, now you're moving to the other extreme end.

36) Brian: McCain is getting offensive to a lot of Veterans, the way he keeps pointing everything back to him being a POW for 5 1/2 years. He mentions it in every interview, but he went way out his way on Leno. His peeps need to reel him back in.

37) You have to see this video at www.eyeblast.tv/Public/Video.aspx?rsrcID=2036 I just saw it and it blows me away!!!

38) http://www.eyeblast.tv/Public/Video.aspx?rsrcID=2036