Roadtrip! Springfield, IL

by: Hopeful

Sun Aug 24, 2008 at 01:01:53 PM EDT

(Actually, except for the shirt, that was my plan all along. The Obama campaign provided Blue Jersey with media credentials.)

My wife, from Hawaii, donned her Hawaii shirt.  We were fired up! (She was excited because she went to high school a block away from Obama, but had never heard him speak.) We drove all night, it was a beautiful drive. The radio confirmed the choice was Biden somewhere in Ohio as the Sun rose.  It seemed like nearly every car in Illinois had an Obama sticker.  The Midwest farmland looks great but Salem County is more beautiful.

We miraculously found a place to park a block from Abraham Lincoln's house.  Everyone noted our New Jersey plates and commented on our shirts, even the park rangers.  Our media credential got us past the enormous line, and allowed us to stand behind the army of photographers, cameramen, and reporters, as well as a small tree:

The Reckoning is Now - Obama/Biden Team in Springfield

by: Rosi Efthim

Sat Aug 23, 2008 at 03:34:58 PM EDT

As I sat down, I heard Biden say these words:

The reckoning is now.

This is the place where Abraham Lincoln began his political career - Springfield, Illinios. Chills.

Anybody else out there watching this? What are you thinking, Blue Jersey?

Nobody texted me, but the nets are all calling it: Obama picks Biden for VP

by: Rosi Efthim

Sat Aug 23, 2008 at 01:28:54 AM EDT

Boom. It's Joe Biden.

In Biden, Obama gets a street fighter whose toughness may serve as a needed counterpoint to Obama's smooth, gentlemanly style. He also gets a running-mate who possesses the longevity on the national scene that Obama lacks; Biden is the fouth-longest serving Democrat currently in the Senate. Obama prevailed by making the primary about judgement, not "experience," but now that he's got the nomination sewed up, it will not hurt to have Biden standing beside him, considering that McCain will likely try to throw "lack of experience" at Obama, as Hillary Clinton tried to do, with some success.

The scorecard on Biden's judgment is mixed. He is Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and you would think that perspective would lead him to more diplomatic solutions in the days after September 11. Yet, Biden voted for the war, jumping on the Bush bandwagon blaming Saddam Hussein for the World Trade Center, though only after a failed bi-partisan attempt (with ranking Republican Richard Lugar) to persuade the President to go to war only after diplomatic solutions failed.

Voters will also remember Biden's chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he presided over the media-saturated confirmation hearings of both Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.

Biden's support of the credit-card company-backed Bankruptcy bill is fairly criticized as doing the bidding of the Delaware credit card industry. In another bit of unpleasantness, incidences of plagiarism will undoubtably surface again, but it remains to be seen whether the public will be swayed by them.

In a year where a bunch of Dems ran for president, only to watch the bloodfight between Clinton and Obama grab the headlines and the votes, Biden's own candidacy didn't attract much attention. But  Biden is still seen as a very good utility player, the kind of guy who's been around long enough that nothing shakes him off his game. Biden is smart, tenacious, imperfect and substantial.

This is an Open Thread. Have at it, Blue Jersey.

Please, Barack, text me your VP soonish (repost)

by: Rosi Efthim

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 02:31:14 PM EDT

Update #2: You know it had to happen. Somebody just hacked into the Obama VP notification number and sent me this text from 62262: Announcing my running mate! I am nominating Michael Phelps to be my Vice President. Thank you, and God bless Kerri Walsh - - Barack Obama           ... Uhhhh... Frankly? I suspect Shields. - - Rosi

Political obsessives all over New Jersey are signing up to get a text with the name of Barack Obama's VP choice, in a shrewd strategy to ensure that the campaign can later reach out and pull in those same people for last-minute GOTV efforts.

Cell phone numbers are not generally available for public searching, which increasingly makes phone-polling problematic as more and more people - especially those under 30- drop their land lines entirely. But cell numbers are also expected to play a critical role this cycle in making sure Obama supporters actually vote in November, and this makes Obama way better connected.

Obama's tech-savvy team is beautifully positioned to outperform McCain in the technology sweepstakes, particularly considering that McCain doesn't even know how to use a computer:

I am a (sic) illiterate that (sic) has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance that I can get.

Score, Obama. Want in on the fun? Text VP to 62262 to receive a text message on your mobile phone (normal rates apply). You can also sign up to hear by email here.

Meanwhile, let us know what you think in the poll on the flip.