John Deeth Blog - June 30, 2008

You Sunk My BattleshipYesterday's quote of the day is Wes Clark on McCain: “I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president." The GOP will certainly howl, but I'm reminded of JFK. When he was called a hero for his PT109 adventure, he said: "It was involuntary. They sank my boat."If you're my age, you'll remember "You sunk my battleship!" from TV ads (which, having seen Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle, I can never hear without cringing again.) This game box is a classic: Daddy and Little Johnny playing while Mommy and Suzy do the dishes.When will we know the VPs? Taegan Goddard says: first week of August.The Obama campaign would like their pick to be after McCain's if possible to give them a nice run up to the Democratic convention in late August. However, the Olympics begin in Beijing on August 8 and run about two weeks.Therefore, both campaigns will have a limited window to announce their picks.With this poll showing Mac under 50 percent in his home state, I say Obama should get directly in McCain's face and name Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as his running mate. She's very popular at home and the right age to be the 2016 heir apparent. Might make the Clintons mad, because it would make Hillary very clearly NOT the number one woman in the party, but to complain would be to admit that is isn't about sexism, it's about Me Me Me.On the GOP side my Iowa Indy colleague Doug Burns says McCain's best pick is Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. As for the Olympic-centric timeframe, the always quirky Strange Maps says China's historic insularity can be best understood by thinking of China as an island. And a Tienanmen photo I'd never seen before: a couple hiding from the tanks under a bridge. Makes me think of that Bruce Cockburn song, "Lovers In A Dangerous Time."More political geography at the Washington Post as the Virginias trade places.In the Iowa blogosphere, the long-running State 29 is planning and/or threatening to ...