Obama's running-mate, Joe Biden, branded a campaign ad mocking McCain's ignorance of computers as "terrible", during a CBS interview. Another gaff, fuelling further speculation that Obama could be laying the groundwork ready to dump his running-mate for Hillary Clinton.
The ad attracted widespread criticism for not mentioning that MCain's Vietnam war injuries actually prevent him from using computers for an extended period.
The speculation of a switch is swirling around the internet and is not going away. Like all rumours, it was probably first placed to test the waters.
Biden's criticism of the McCain ad is the latest to question the judgement of the Obama campaign strategy. Biden has done little to help the Obama machine since he was picked four weeks ago, even admitting on one occasion that Clinton might have been a better choice, "and quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me."
With the formidable McCain-Palin ticket looking increasingly strong, despite the MSM attempts to discredit them, many Democrats now believe that Obama-Clinton is the only way to beat them.
Syndicated columnist, Jack Kelly in the Washington Times, reports that "my friend Steve Maloney says his sources in the Democratic Party tell him Barack Obama is being pressured to dump Sen. Joseph Biden from the ticket and replace him with Hillary Clinton, the switch to come just after the vice presidential debate Oct. 2."
Kelly asks: "What might prompt such an act of desperation? The answer is clear - the polls".
Obama's poll results, which indicate the race is a statistical dead heat, should always be taken with a pinch of salt and are reckoned by pundits to be four to six points lower than they appear. And, taken with the more significant trends from the State Electoral Colleges, where 270 votes are needed to win, Obama’s chances suddenly don't look that good.
The Obama campaign has only one objective and that is to put their man in the White House. If that means ditching Biden, swallowing their pride and sucking up to Clinton, then that is the price they are prepared to pay.
Speculation about such a switch has emerged on several US blogs, including Andy Ostroy on the Obama supporting Huffington Post, who believes replacing Biden with Clinton makes perfect sense for Obama.
"It's time to dump Biden and replace him with Sen. Hillary Clinton," said Ostroy. "I'm starting to think that if Team Obama doesn't do something dramatic fast, it's gonna lose this election."
"Shake things up. Be unconventional. Roll the dice. Out-McCain McCain. Who cares how it looks. Who cares what the media thinks. One thing's certain: there's an 18-million deep pot of gold out there waiting to be mined. An Obama/Clinton ticket would slam the door shut on this election."
There is a deeper reason for suspecting this may be more than just speculation.
A lawsuit, brought by Philip Berg over Obama's eligibility to stand for president, first reported in the UK here, comes to a head in the next few weeks.
Berg, a Philadelphia attorney, has filed a lawsuit in the Pennsylvania District Court against Obama, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC), claiming Obama is constitutionally ineligible to run for and hold the office of President.
If anything should happen to scupper Obama's chances, that would leave Biden to automatically assume the mantle of presidential nominee.
That would spell disaster for the Democrats in the election. Far better to have Clinton take the heat out of the situation and give the media a new focus away from McCain-Palin and the court case.
And if Obama was forced out, now or later - Clinton would be more than happy to step into his shoes.
No comments:
Post a Comment