John Edwards makes a Shermanesque statement about the VP slot:

John Edwards has ruled out being Barack Obama's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, according to interviews carried by two leading Spanish newspapers on Friday. "I already had the privilege of running for vice president in 2004, and I won't do it again," Edwards was quoted by El Mundo as saying. El Pais, the country's other leading daily, carried similar comments.

Well, that is one less person who has to go through the vetting process.

By Big Tent Democrat

It's that time of year again. I'm off to Aspen for the NORML Aspen Legal Seminar. My topic this year: Crackadoodledoo! A New Dawn in Crack Cocaine Sentencing. (I only wish it were true.) Here's the full schedule.

Like last year, I'll be staying in Woody Creek at Hunter Thompson's Owl Farm, with his wife Anita and his longtime Washington editor, Shelby Sadler. And of course, the peacocks.[More...]

What Hillary can't say Saturday, but I wish she would:

And I'll fight for the right to go over that hill
I will not be persuaded
I wont be still
...I'll be around
If you'll wait for me

This is an open thread.

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I just got an e-mail asking me when TalkLeft was going to return to covering the politics of crime now that the nomination has been decided. Just today, TChris and I posted these:

• Civilian Oversight and Police Accountability
• Texas To Address Problem of Wrongful Convictions
• Prosecutor Wants More Death in Mississippi
• A War Based on Lies
• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Sings in Court, Welcomes the Death Penalty
• Marine Acquitted in Charges Related to Haditha Killings
• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Arraignment at Gitmo Today

Considering we are practicing lawyers with day jobs, and it's been 24 hours since the nomination has been decided, that's a fairly prodigious amount of writing. [More...]

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are meeting tonight according to news reports.

I have nothing to add to that. I will not pretend to know what is going on beyond that. If you want to see folks pretend to know, turn on the TV.

Oh, and the Lakers are going to beat the Celtics. Too athletic for them.

Funny how they got the story wrong. NOT at Hillary's house. I love how they pretend to know anything/

It's become sort of an Open Thread.

By Big Tent Democrat

Hillary Clinton's spokesman, Howard Wolfson, sent out this message today:

"While Senator Clinton has made clear throughout this process that she will do whatever she can to elect a Democrat to the White House, she is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her. The choice here is Senator Obama's and his alone."

As I've opined several times, if Hillary doesn't want the Vice-Presidency, we should honor her wishes. BTD believes Obama has a better chance of winning if Hillary is the nominee. That's one consideration, but it's not the only one.

I believe Obama needs to win the White House on his own, with support from those who believe he's the best choice for the country. While I believe he's a far better choice than John McCain, I don't believe we should force Hillary into thinking she owes it to him or the party to be on his ticket. She's given enough.

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You have all heard a lot about Obama's Appalachia Problem? That's the Obama supporter theory anyway. Well, if you want to solve it, apparently the way to solve it is to put Hillary Clinton on the ticket. Or so sez SUSA's Kentucky polling:

21% of Clinton supporters today say they will support Obama; 20% say they will support McCain. Another 21% say they will support a different candidate or no candidate at all; 37% say it's impossible to say until they know who both vice presidential candidates would be. Should Obama choose Clinton as his running mate, 57% of Clinton supporters say they will back Obama; 13% would back McCain. If Obama chooses John Edwards, 28% would back Obama; 13% McCain. Should Obama choose a woman other than Hillary Clinton as his running mate, McCain picks up more support from current Clinton backers -- 28% go with McCain, and 21% with Obama.

SUSA's general preference polling indicated that 36% of Kentucky voters prefer Clinton (37% go for McCain, 22% for Obama). Doing the math, putting Clinton on the ticket makes Kentucky Obama/Clinton 43, McCain 42. Obama could win Kentucky if he picks Clinton. KENTUCKY! The heart of Appalachia. These numbers are hard to ignore.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only.

Obama can choose to not maximize his chances of winning in November if he does not choose Hillary Clinton as his Vice President. And that will be his choice and his responsibility. I wrote a post that discussed making professional choices when you are running for President. Obama needs to be a professional about this. And a professional would see that Hillary Clinton is clearly his best choice for VP, as this Gallup poll demonstrates:

Obama 45
McCain 45

Obama/Clinton 50
McCain 45

The Hillary Haters in the Media and the blogs will pretend not to notice this data. But they MAY have to notice in November if Obama loses a close election.

It's on now. He's talking about change.

Reactions?

Update: Soundbite from the speech: "My two daughters see themselves differently because Hillary ran for President."

Are you feeling the Unity yet? Here's my suggestion - consider which of the remaining candidates best represents your views. Don't let the vitriol and hatred from the supporters or the blogs decide who YOU want to vote for. To me, if you are a Democrat, believe in ending the war in Iraq, in providing fairness to our tax system, in improving our health care system, in providing a fairer society, then the choice is clear - Barack Obama is clearly superior to John McCain. [More...]

Civilian oversight of police departments is essential for the reasons advanced by Oakland's city attorney:

[T]aking Internal Affairs out of the Oakland Police Department would clarify the line between officers and the investigators who hold them accountable for misconduct. The concentration of investigators in Internal Affairs is a result of the Oakland Police Department's not-too-distant history of not investigating its own. In the past, Internal Affairs did a poor job of holding fellow officers accountable. A few years ago, for example, newly assigned commanders found boxes containing about 700 inquiries and possible complaints of misconduct that were never investigated.

Yet the concept is often resisted by police departments (large and small) that apparently see a danger in civilian oversight. What's wrong with accountability? And, for that matter, why shouldn't Chicago's aldermen be entitled to learn the names of "the 662 Chicago police officers with more than 10 complaints filed against them"? Police officers work for, and are accountable to, the public. Shouldn't the public's elected representatives be entitled to know what public employees are up to?

That's what AmericaBlog says. Bill Cinton was too I guess.

As readers of this blog know, I thought Obama the better choice to be the nominee BECAUSE he was a Media Darling and because the Media hated Bill and Hillary Clinton.

I believe events have borne out my 2007 assessment, certainly as to who would be the Media's darling and demon. I respectfully disagree with AmericaBlog's assessment.

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