Dem Campaign Chatter 8-19-2008

George Wenschhof

Today, Obama is in Orlando, Florida and Raleigh, North Carolina - hopefully, Orlando is out of the path of Tropical Storm Fay. He speaks to the VFW in Orlando in the morning then attends a town hall meeting in Raleigh at the state fairgrounds.

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Russians slow to withdraw from Georgia - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili continues to use the media and U.S. representatives to plead his case of Russian aggression into Georgia. Although, it was his order of military action into South Osettia that provoked the Russian action.

So far the action by the Bush administration has been measured, helping to broker the amended cease-fire and focused on humanitarian relief. This reaction by Bush, although he is somewhat limited due to other U.S. commitments, has been a pleasant surprise as opposed to the cowboy mentality of Senator John McCain. The Foreign Policy Association has a good analysis of the situation here.

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In Pakistan, questions abound as to the stability of the country and the future relations with the U.S. - It is likely a struggle between Ali Zardari, the husband of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and current leader of the People's Party and Nawaz Sharif, the former Prime Minister who was deposed by Musharraf in 1999. The Bush administration spent Billions propping up Musharraf with some wanting a more solid accounting for the money - doubtful that will ever happen now. McClatchy.com has more here.

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McCain to announce his VP on August 29 - no big surprise as to the date - it is Friday, one day after the Democratic Convention ends. It also happens to be McCain's birthday - number 72. The plans are for a Rally in Ohio. The following Monday, September 1, the Republican Convention begins in St. Paul, Minnesota. The idea is to try to blunt immediately, the momentum Obama will receive following his acceptance speech the day before on the last day of the Democratic Convention. Politico.com has more here.

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Senator Biden returns from Georgia, will he be the VP pick? - the buzz heats up as the Senator returns home seeking a 1 Billion relief package for Georgia. With the focus recently on international events, Biden as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, seems like a logical pick for VP to many in the guessing game. Stay Tuned, we will all know soon. The Chicago Tribune blog Swamppolitics.com has more here.

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Senator Clinton remains in debt - She has not released the July numbers, but at the end of June, her campaign was 25 million in debt. The latest attempt at raising money - a email to supporters that a donor would be chosen to spend the week with Clinton at the Democratic Convention. CNN.com has more here.

All the Clinton attention, whether it be her sizable debt, the need to have headliner time at the convention, her supporters with an attitude and the push to have her on the ticket with Obama all may well be more harmful than good come Election Day.

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Gallup daily tracking poll has it Obama 46% and McCain 43% - taken from August 15-17. Obama is now back with a three point lead. However, with the margin of error, it is still basically a tie. Gallup.com has more here. What will be important to watch after Obama names his VP and following the Democratic Party Convention is whether Obama can crack the 50% approval barrier. So far, he has been unable to do so.