Obama '08?

More and more lately O'Bill, I have no idea what the hell you are talking about. Perhaps if you extracted your tongue from your cheek for a moment and quit winking at yourself, you could see clearly to make a simple statement that was clear enough for us pedestrians.

I assure you my point was not lost on most... and frankly, I doubt you missed it.

OCCOM BILL wrote:

I assure you my point was not lost on most... and frankly, I doubt you missed it.

Lost on me. You were making some typical dig at liberals, but what exactly it was - beats me.

Move up the Illinois primary

January 12, 2007

By any measure, we are sitting in the Metropolis of Democrats, reason enough to make sure Illinois has some sway as the presidential primary election process plays out in 2008.

Partisanship may have a bad name in some circles, but not within the circle we could roughly describe as "All the nation's Democrats." This is particularly important if Illinois' junior senator, Barack Obama, decides to run for the White House. Even if he doesn't, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's proposal to shift the state's primary date to Feb. 5 from March 18 should get a positive response.

There are many reasons.

The primary process has been so front-loaded for so many years that one almost has to have the bait cut, the ball rolling, the big mo' big mo-ing, before the time March rolls around.

Best to be aboard that train early.



If Obama decides it's a go, an early bump from back home will help, too.

For those who are deterred by the thought of voting in bad weather in February, consider the impact of an election on the day after what some view as the holiest, and thirstiest, day of the year, St. Patrick's Day.

Besides, if this kind of weather continues, we could have daffodils by Feb. 5, 2008.

And even if we do not, we are a hearty people, well accustomed to the snow, the ice, the hypothermia, the inherent darkness of February. An election might cheer things up.

It has been a long time since Illinois voters had a chance to play a significant role in a presidential primary. We have been relegated to affirming what Iowans, New Hampshirites and South Carolinians have already decided.

And Democratic politicos keep elbowing each other to be first in line. In 1996, New Hampshire held its primary on Feb. 20. In successive elections it moved up to Feb. 1 and Jan. 27. The Democratic National Committee has set New Hampshire's 2008 primary for Jan. 22. And the party slipped the Nevada caucuses into Jan. 19, shortly after Iowa votes.

With all due respect to the sands, the snakes, the scorpions, the cowboys, the dancing girls, the cheap prime rib, the prostitution and the gambling of Nevada, Illinois is about as American a place as you are going to find.

Admittedly, New Hampshire is flintier. But Illinois is Heartlandier!

Someday the politicos will call off the race and bring some order to choosing a candidate for president.

We still like the idea of holding four big primaries over four months and getting it all out of the way. But that won't happen for 2008.

So, change the date for the next Illinois primary.

The Daleys (simply too many to list), the Rahm Emanuels, the David Axelrods, the Barack Obamas, a whole army of voting hangers-on and everyone else who knows the difference between being early to the great dinner of presidential politics and gnawing on what's left after the beef has been consumed will thank you.

There's David Axelrod, the strategist at Obama's right hand, perhaps the best-known Democratic consultant working outside of Washington, D.C., equally adept at sensing the right metaphor for high-minded aspirations and at finding the vulnerable spot to savage an opponent.

Then, Robert Gibbs, communications director, a campaign veteran described by one Democratic operative--approvingly--as "Northern ruthlessness and Southern charm combined."

Key players also include friends of Obama's, among them a straight-talking veteran of Chicago Democratic circles, Valerie Jarrett, and a group of South Side professionals.

Perhaps most influential is his wife, Michelle, a formidable daughter of the South Side who is an alumna of the Ivy League and Chicago's rough-and-tumble City Hall. She may not be in on all the conference calls or offer her own health plan in the style of former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton but no one else in the inner circle denies that she would be a driving force in any presidential campaign.

There's David Axelrod, the strategist at Obama's right hand, perhaps the best-known Democratic consultant working outside of Washington, D.C., equally adept at sensing the right metaphor for high-minded aspirations and at finding the vulnerable spot to savage an opponent.

Then, Robert Gibbs, communications director, a campaign veteran described by one Democratic operative--approvingly--as "Northern ruthlessness and Southern charm combined."

Key players also include friends of Obama's, among them a straight-talking veteran of Chicago Democratic circles, Valerie Jarrett, and a group of South Side professionals.

Perhaps most influential is his wife, Michelle, a formidable daughter of the South Side who is an alumna of the Ivy League and Chicago's rough-and-tumble City Hall. She may not be in on all the conference calls or offer her own health plan in the style of former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton but no one else in the inner circle denies that she would be a driving force in any presidential campaign.