<p>For all their bellyaching about how bad a Democrat in the WH would be for the nation’s security, I find it hard to believe that conservatives would withhold their votes to spite McCain.</p>
<p>I think that if republicans find that McCain is lagging they will come out in droves. It is funny we should be more worried about our MOC’s but care more about the president. I predict this will be a high turn out, Dems want the WH and Republicans don’t want to let go. Let the games begin :D</p>
<p>I think you’re right. Turnout will be high. I think the rank-and-file won’t turn the backs on McCain.</p>
<p>I think republicans will choose whoever they think would be the best of the 2 choices it’ll come down to and that’ll mean McCain. But, there probably is something to be said for excitement and enthusiasm getting more people to actually get out and vote. The apathetic or disappointed might tend to not go to the effort to vote even if they would vote for McCain. It seems as if the excitement and enthusiasm is working pretty well for Obama right now in his race with Hillary and if he gets the nod, will probably continue through the actual race. I don’t see McCain generating that kind of enthusiasm among Republicans. Maybe an exciting running mate can help.</p>
<p>I used to think more highly of Condi than I do now. She has not proven herself to be a good manager, which is why she was swamped by Cheney. What she did have that Powell did not was the ear of the President. And that she has begun to make her mark has more to do with Cheney’s being weakened than by her anything she has done.
In so many ways, she is an enigma. Who knows what her views on a whole raft of domestic issues are? But that is what voters, Republicans as well as Democrats would want to know. Abortion? Gay marriage? Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? prayers in school? creationism? health care? how to tackle the deficit, fix social security? No Child Left Behind?
Another thing is that she has never campaigned. It is hard to imagine her in campaign mode.</p>
<p>I think you are wrong…McCain will excite the moderates. Republicans will come out to keep the WH. </p>
<p>My favorite quote for today is:
Joe Klein from Time magazine said “the Obama campaign all too often is about how wonderful the Obama campaign is”</p>
<p>I believe Obama is a great orator, but at the end of the day, how does he rack and stack against McCain?</p>
<p>^^ I hope you’re right bulletandpima.</p>
<p>Marite:</p>
<p>Of course, you’re right - we don’t know how Condi would do campaigning although she seems to present herself well and speak well and we don’t know her stand on all the issues although there’s some history on her views on some points. I lend weight to issues a President has a great deal of control over more than those they can do little about regardless of how emotional they seem to be for some people.</p>
<p>I find her interesting though and would like to learn more if she decides to run for office.</p>
<p>All this talk of an African-American on the ticket with McCain misses the point that having an Africa-American on the ticket would depress the Republican turn out in some Republican precincts in the suburban north and the rural south.</p>
<p>So are you saying that Republicans are racists or just ignorant?</p>
<p>The only ones that are making race an issue are the Clintons! They are now banking on the “Latino” vote. They are trying to polarize the country even further by targeting the Latinos.</p>
<p>It is interesting that the reason the Latinos are theoretically in favor of Hillary is because of what Bill did for this group during HIS administration.</p>
<p>So much for Hill doing it on her own! 
</p>
<p>From Post number 70 So are you saying that Republicans are racists or just ignorant?</p>
<p>Neither . I am saying that by having an African-American on the ticket it will depress the Republican vote in some precincts. At the same time it could increase the Republican vote in other precincts, the question of whether it would be a net plus or a net lose and in what states and the affect it would have on the Electoral College are questions that would need to be looked at.</p>
<p>On Thursday, the nation’s retailers turned in their worst January in almost four decades</p>
<p>It is a tough time to be the incumbent party. </p>
<p>Here is a sign of how shaky the economy is becoming: Wal-Mart says its shoppers are redeeming their holiday gift cards for basic items — pasta sauce, diapers, laundry detergent — rather than iPods and DVDs.
Merchants had hoped that shoppers with gift cards would provide a lift after a slack holiday season, partly because they tend to spend more than the value of the card. But that did not seem to happen last month, and retailers are feeling the pain.
On Thursday, the nation’s retailers turned in their worst January in almost four decades as high gasoline and food prices, the slumping housing market, tighter credit and tougher job prospects pushed some consumers to the edge.</p>
<p>Read more: <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/business/08shop.html?_r=1&ex=1360126800&en=d0d8b847f82cbe37&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/business/08shop.html?_r=1&ex=1360126800&en=d0d8b847f82cbe37&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin</a></p>
<p>It is not about skin color, it is about credentials. If the VP has great credentials and has been vetted properly, Republicans will still come out. </p>
<p>I live in what you might call rural south, we all don’t have missing teeth, and trucks with shot gun racks and the southern flag.</p>
<p>Quote: "I am saying that by having an African-American on the ticket it will depress the Republican vote in some precincts. "</p>
<p>Why??</p>
<p>ucsd-ucla-dad:</p>
<p>I, too, would like to know more about Condi Rice’s views on a whole host of issues. I am reserving judgment as to whether she would be an asset to a presidential ticket or as vice-president; as I wrote, I read that she has not been a good manager at the NSC and in the State Department. I’d been far more hopeful when she was named to succeed Colin Powell that she could achieve more than he did.
Another concern is that the strengths of both McCain and Rice lie in foreign affairs. McCain reportedly gets bored by economic details. He needs someone whose strengths complement his, not duplicate them.</p>
<p>“Another concern is that the strengths of both McCain and Rice lie in foreign affairs. McCain reportedly gets bored by economic details. He needs someone whose strengths complement his, not duplicate them.”</p>
<p>That was my thought as well.</p>
<p>On Rice versus Powell as SoS, the one thing I like about Rice is that she is willing to travel and meet with heads of state all around the world. Powell seemed very reluctant to travel. Maybe there’s something to be said about having a single person as SoS.</p>
<p>I think she is dynamic. Her resume is amazing, but I don’t think she wants the political life…she’ll go and write a book, accept speaking engagements and finally say the football team she is a fan of…yes, she is a big sport fan</p>