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Joseph Swit
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Insights and Political Punditry from a POTUS In-Training

(Candidate in 2032)

Note: He also does Sports Analysis.

Opening Day and Predictions

With Josh Beckett’s pitch to Derek Jeter on Sunday the 2010 Major League Season was officially underway, and as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 9-7 the first game of the season was complete. So before the other 28 teams in baseball open their 2010 season its time to predict where they will stand 161 games from now.

American League West: Winner: Texas Rangers, the Rangers may not have the juggernaut offense they showcased in the late 90’s and early 2000’s but for the first time in a long time they actually have pitching depth, thanks to the help of Team Owner, President and Ranger Hall Of Famer Nolan Ryan Texas has a surplus of talented arms led by former submarine reliever turned 17-game-winner Scott Feldman. The champions of the West for the past 3 seasons the Los Angeles Angels have been hurt by the departures of John Lackey, Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins and their starting rotation lacks a clear cut ace. The Seattle Mariners have two of those aces but not much rotation depth behind Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee and don’t have a power hitter in the middle of the order who can provide run support for the pitching staff. In Oakland GM Billy Beane is gambling on a trio of rookie starters; Dallas Braden, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzoro and an injured veteran Ben Sheets who missed all of last season to carry their rotation.
American League Central: Winner: White Sox. The White Sox have the best pitching staff in the Central Divison and have a young offense lead by Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham. The Twins have an offense lead by Joe Mauer that stacks up to the Sox but their pitching staff has been mediocre the last few seasons and they just lost their closer Joe Nathan for the season, I think this spells a Divison winner for the North Siders.

American League East: Winner: New York Yankees. The defending champs have the best starting pitching in the Divison and have by far the best offense of the all the teams in the league. The Rays have a considerable offense of their own but they don’t have a staff that I think can survive the rigors of a 162 game season. The Orioles have a great nucleus of young players but they just can’t stack up against the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays.
American League Wild Card: Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have one of the best if not the best rotations with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Bucholz. The one factor that could separate the Red Sox from a 1st place finish from a wild card win would be if David Ortiz steps up and becomes the David Ortiz of old, that would provide the power the Red Sox need to put them over the Yankees.

Stay tuned for the NL Predictions.

Saturday January 16, 2010

Recap Obama’s First Year in Office

A year ago Barack Obama was sworn in as our nation’s 44th President and 1st African American President. Since then he has faced many issues some, he has addressed and some remain unresolved. We start off with Obama’s first executive order as president, to close down Guantánamo Bay by the end of the year, but here we stand in January of 2010 and Obama has yet to officially close GITMO and to relocate all of its inmates. Then of course there was the seemingly endless debate over Health Care Reform which started in January, continued through summer, and dragged out to early winter when finally The Democrats managed to get the necessary 60 votes required to pass the bill on the morning of Christmas Eve. By far the President’s greatest achievement to date, this bill will provide health care coverage to over 90% of America. I was incredibly disappointed that no Republicans voted for the bill in the Senate, and that the Democrats had to cut deals with several key senators to get the bill passed. However this bill was long overdue and I applaud President Obama for finally passing this landmark reform.

Before Democrats could fully enjoy their victory however, a 24 year-old Nigerian shifted the focus of America. By attempting to destroy an American airliner bound for Detroit from Amsterdam, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab caused a firestorm of controversy regarding airline security and intelligence communication. I believe the President should have addressed the Media the day of, or the day after the failed attack. I believe Obama’s decision to wait on addressing the nation allowed the situation to escalate and caused some to question his leadership skills. Its been a long year for the country but I’m sure we’ll be able to make progress along the road of economic recovery, and national security.

Friday, October 16, 2009

LCS Predictions

With the first and usually the most unpredictable round of the MLB Playoffs now over, its time to predict who will win the League Championship Series. For the first time in a long time it seems that finally the four best teams in Major League Baseball survived the division series. The Phillies, Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers all handled the division series well and advanced in less then 5 games. In the ALCS I think the Yankees will win because the Yankees and Angels have the two best home field advantages in Baseball and the Yankees have one more home game then the Angels so the Angels will probably have to take one of the first two games at Yankee Stadium if they want to stand a chance against New York. In the NLCS I am going with the Dodgers mainly because of L.A.’s ability to come from behind in the late innings and given the immense struggles of the Phillies bullpen this series could play the Dodgers way. Its going to be a great LCS so stay tuned!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Thoughts on Sarah Palin’s Resignation

When former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced that she was stepping down from her post as Governor of Alaska on July 3rd I was shocked, and today she is officially stepping down form her office. I was shocked mostly because she had such a bright future in the Republican Party. I said had because she basically threw all that away when she quit her job. The idea that she’s quitting because she wants to help Alaska by going around the country making money for herself by giving speeches and writing books may fly in Alaska but most people in the lower 48 aren’t buying it. Here’s what I think if she quit to further her career in politics then she’s made a pretty stupid move. Not many people are going to vote for a quitter especially one who claims to be a maverick. On the other hand she may have made a smart move if she has quit because of ethics violations. If that were the case than her quitting would end an investigation and keep what little of a reputation that she still has alive. But, ether way she’s cornered because her career in politics is over. Whatever the motive for Palin to resign was, she still want ever be in politics again.

Sunday, July 26 2009

Trade Deadline Rumors, Roy Halladay, and Division Races

With the Trade Deadline just 4 days away there are plenty of teams looking to bolster their rosters for a playoff run. The unquestioned jewel of the trade market is Toronto Blue Jay ace Roy Halladay. Arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Halladay could be dealt to any number of teams as the Blue Jays sit in 4th place in the AL East and 10 games behind Boston and New York. The only problem for the Blue Jays is that the two teams that would be best suited to giveaway enough young players to trade for Halladay are Toronto’s division rivals the Yankees and Red Sox. Obviously the Blue Jays would prefer not to trade Halladay to a team in their own division but there aren’t many teams with enough money to resign Halladay who is a free agent at the end of 2010. However, the fact remains that plenty of teams need Halladay even if only for a-season-and-a-half: The Brewers, Rockies, Cardinals, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Angels, Rangers, Cubs, and Astros could all use Roy Halladay. All the teams I just mentioned are in the thick of a pennant race and Roy Halladay could propel them to the postseason, it’s just a question of who’s willing to give the most to get Halladay. The NL wildcard will probably go to the Giants they’ve got the best rotation in the NL and although they did not get Matt Holliday, who was traded to the Cardinals, they still have enough talent to get it done. The NL Central is wide open but if ether the Cubs, Cardinals, or Brewers get Roy Halladay then that team will go on to win the division. If the Cardinals get Roy Halladay then they could be a potential World Series winner because with Roy combined with Albert Pujols, and now Matt Holliday the Cardinals could be unstoppable. It will all go down on the 31st, who will get Roy Halladay and can that team use him to their advantage? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Thursday, June 26 2009

The State of Baseball Heading Towards the Halfway Point

Here on June 26 most teams have played about 74 games and were approaching the All- Star-Break so lets look at the standings. In the AL East the Red Sox have a 4 game lead over the Yankees, are 5 ahead of Toronto, and 6 ahead of Tampa. With a resurging David Ortiz, and a deep pitching staff the Red Sox could start to runaway with this division. It’s going to be hard for any team in the east to catch Boston; the Yankees had their chances but have lost the first 8 head-to-head meetings with Boston. And just 2 weeks ago the Yankees were in first place riding a hot stretch that saw them win 19 of 26 games. However, New York has cooled off of late, but if they get Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira hitting again then they could make a run at Boston. But the Yankees currently have the lead in the AL Wildcard and I don’t think Toronto or Tampa Bay could make a run at the Yankees. The Blue Jays have lost Roy Halladay and I don’t think their injury plagued staff can withstand a pennant race. Also, the Rays have been treading water ever since injuries deprived them of Scott Kazmir and Troy Percival so I don’t think the Rays can win with a struggling bullpen and pitching staff. The only other teams that could contend with the Yankees for the Wild Card would be the Angels and the Rangers, both of which have the pitching that could carry them to October. In the AL Central the Twins have been hovering at .500 all season long and have yet to make their move on the first place Tigers. I don’t think the Twins can catch the Tigers who are playing much better baseball in ’09 and are currently 5 games ahead of the Twins.

In the NL East the Phillie’s struggling rotation has barley kept them in first place a half game in front of the Mets and a game in front of the Marlins. The NL East could conceivably be won by any of those teams including the Braves who could make a trade for Matt Holliday to add some power to a struggling lineup. The Marlins could also make a run at the division, or the wildcard if their young pitching holds up through the stretch. In the NL Central the Cardinals hold a 1 game lead over the Brewers with the other 4 teams in the division within 6 games of first place, this is another wide open division and I could see all the teams except the Pirates making it to the playoffs. I think the Pirates conceded the race the day they traded Nate McLouth to the Braves. Had they held on to McLouth, with Nate McCutchen and other young stars they could have been able to build a championship team. Over in the NL West the Dodgers have not missed Manny Ramirez one bit going 26 and 17 in the slugger’s absence, but of course will be happy to get Manny back when he returns to action on July 3rd in San Diego. The other teams in the NL West won’t be able to catch the Dodgers, but the second place Giants could make a run at the wild card in which they currently lead. They’ll have a better chance of doing so if they get another bat particularly Matt Holliday which should be enough for Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Randy Johnson, and Matt Cain, the Giants stellar rotation. The races are tight and the baseball is great so stay tuned throughout the season!

Friday May 29, 2009

Baseball heading into June

It’s been almost two months since the MLB season started and we’ve had some surprises. Perhaps the biggest surprise has been the Cincinnati Reds, who behind young players like Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Brandon Phillips as well as veteran pitchers such as Bronson Arroyo have a chance to make a run at the wide open NL Central. The other big surprise is out in Kansas City where the Royals behind arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Zack Greinke, have kept up with the powerhouse Tigers and the scrappy Twins. Elsewhere, in Texas, the Rangers have been winning not with their offense but with their new and improved pitching staff. This is a team that I think can go deep into the playoffs, if their starting pitching can withstand the intensity of a playoff race. In The Bronx the streaky Yankees have been able to stay a half game back of the Red Sox, just two weeks after being 6.5 games back of the then first place Blue Jays. The Blue Jays who until a win tonight were mired in a nine game losing streak which saw their first place lead evaporate and now sit in third in the AL East behind Boston and New York. The team behind the Jays in the East is the reigning AL Champs, the Tampa Bay Rays who have been plagued by injuries, sit in 4th place and 6 games behind Boston. The teams who I think can keep up their early season success are the Red Sox; the Royals who have struggled of late will rebound and keep up with the leaders in the Central. The Reds will keep up their success and will stay in contention for the Wild Card all year long. The team behind the Reds in the NL Central is the Chicago Cubs, who have had a disappointing start to 09 sit at 24-23 which is not that bad, but by Chicago standards that’s just not acceptable. However, Lou Pinella will not let the Cubs continue this type of play and will have them back in thick of things in the NL Central come July. There’s much more baseball to be played so stay tuned.

May 1, 2009

President Obama’s first 100 Days


It has been 100 days since Barack Obama became the 44th President of The United States, and a lot has happened. The president has been to important G-20 and NATO summits, as well as passing the economic stimulus package, and a first puppy named Bo. The 4th youngest president to take office entered the White House having to clean up after 8 years of George Bush. He came out of the gate swinging, shutting down the controversial Guantánamo Bay and banning torture methods such as water boarding. I commend him for making this decision; those kinds of torture methods have no place in a free and just United States of America. Then the new president signed the $787 billion economic stimulus package which failed to get much Republican votes in the house. In late march Obama made his first trip oversees to the highly anticipated G-20 Summit where he may have improved America’s image abroad a little bit, but didn’t get enough done on the economic side of things in my opinion. My overall grade for the new president in his first 100 days is a B. I gave him a B because he did a good job with the economic stimulus package but could have been better at the G-20 summit. These have been the first 100 days of the new administration but there is still many more to come.Friday, February 13th 2009

Sunday, December 21

Rod Blagojevich and is Caroline Kennedy Qualified to be Senator?

The United States of America has some stupid Governors, but none more idiotic then Rod Blagojevich. I mean this guy tried to sell President-Elect Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. Hello Governor that was pretty stupid because someone is going to find out eventually if you're trying to sell a Senate seat especially one that has been vacated by the first African American President. Before the incident Blagojevich already had a 13% approval rating the least of all the nations Governors, so that percentage will probably go way down after this debacle.

Moving on to another topic way up in New York, Caroline Kennedy is trying to fill Secretary of State-Nominee Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. In my opinion Kennedy would make a great Senator from New York, but whether Governor David Paterson will choose her is another question. Right now it's hard for me to say whether Paterson will choose Kennedy, but the daughter of late President John F. Kennedy is certainly qualified to take over for Hillary Clinton. Stay tuned to the blog page for more news on Blagojevich and Kennedy.

Thursday, December 4

What should the President do first and making sense of the Hillary Clinton pick?

The last two weeks have seen lots of important events, the Mumbai terror attacks, the Hillary Clinton Pick for secretary of state, and the automakers bailout.  All these things will land on Barack Obama’s desk on January 20th.  So, what does the president do? The Mumbai attacks were a real wake up call and will probably put national security at the top of the president’s agenda.  Obama will not tackle this alone however he now has Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State.  As I said in my last blog Hillary Clinton would be a great Secretary of State and will be a valuable asset to the Obama cabinet.  But, there are other things that Obama and his growing cabinet will have to face, what to do about the economy?  The big three automakers Ford, GM, and Chrysler have just asked for a bailout.  What I say is why should we give them a bailout that will cost over 30 billion dollars when their CEO’s fly to Washington to beg for money in their private jets.  The only reason we should give them a bailout is if they promise to make more fuel efficient cars and stop shipping thousands of jobs overseas.
But, what is the top priority for the new president? Well I say that it’s the economy we need to put people back to work and get the middle class back on its feet.  Then Obama, and his elite national security team will tackle the tough job of ending the war in Iraq and battling Al-Qaeda and other terrorists.  It’ll be a tough job for the young president and they’ll be many more stories before inauguration so stay tuned.

Friday, November 14

How Obama Won and is Hillary Clinton a possible Secretary of State?

Well like many people were glued to the T.V. a week ago to witness history, for the first time in the history of the United States of America an African American has been elected President.   Congratulations President-Elect Obama and good luck on your amazing journey ahead.  Now I am going explain how Obama won, it was a simple, yet ingenious strategy of somehow turning George Bush states in 2000 and 2004 blue, and it worked. 
Listen to this; Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Virginia and Nevada were all Bush states just four years ago, what a difference a couple years makes.  Every single one of those states went for Barack Obama this time around.  Also when you add one vote that Obama picked up in Nebraska then that’s 113 electoral votes.  What helped was that John McCain didn’t win a single state where John Kerry won four years ago.
So now that Obama has won the important task of picking cabinet positions loom ahead, which brings us too the question of weather Hillary Clinton is going to be the next Secretary of State.  Obama has to pick Clinton, she is the most qualified candidate for the job, I mean she has been on the Senate Armed Services Committee and is familiar with world leaders.  If Obama does not pick Hillary then he’s making a big mistake.  He didn’t make her his Vice President which I said was a huge blunder, so now he has the chance to pick her as Secretary of State, so if I was an Obama advisor which sadly I’m not I would tell the President-Elect to pick Clinton for the job.
Keep checking the site for more information on the transition to power.

Tuesday, November 4

Battle Ground Predictions

Pennsylvania:  Obama will win Pennsylvania barley by probably a margin of one or two points. The McCain campaign was right the race in Pennsylvania was tightening but it won’t be close enough to secure a McCain victory.
Florida:  This one will head to Obama as well; there are a lot of older people there who are worried about the economy which plays to Obama’s strength.
Ohio:  Ohio is going into the McCain column he and Sarah Palin have been there a lot lately and Palin’s conservative appeal will narrowly edge out Obama’s strong message on the economy.
Indiana:  Indiana is McCain’s definitely I didn’t even buy it from the beginning when the pundits ranked Indiana as a possible toss up state there is just to many conservatives and a popular Republican Governor for Obama to win.
Missouri:  Is on the McCain side but just barley.
Colorado:  Is going to be for Obama, his popular convention and enthusiastic support will carry this vital Midwest state to Obama’s side.
New Mexico: Is going to be going to the Illinois Senator Obama’s column, he’s got the support of popular Bill Richardson plus the young peoples support will lead New Mexico the Junior Senators way.
Nevada:  This one is going to go to Obama narrowly he’s got a great ground game there and there going to turn out the voters in record numbers.

Friday, October 31

How we got here and who will win on Tuesday?

It's been a while since my last blog, but I've been keeping a keen eye on the political spectrum and for those of you who are wondering who is going to win then you've come to the right place. Before I make my prediction I want to explain how we got to this point. As many of you know after the Republican National Convention John McCain and Sarah Palin were firing on all cylinders and taking back most of what Senator Obama had gained in the summer. Many polls had the dynamic McCain-Palin ticket ahead and some by as much as five or six points. This had a lot of Democrats worried about the Obama-Biden campaign. However When Senator McCain and Governor Palin were setting their eyes on a November 4 victory one big problem was looming on the horizon.
It hit like a bombshell, the DOW free falling hundreds of points a day and McCain responded by suspending his campaign just days before his first debate with Obama, and when the two Presidential hopefuls arrived in Washington to come up with some answers, McCain was relatively silent and Obama looked more presidential. The debates came next with many people including myself thinking that the Junior Senator from Illinois had won all three of these contests. Then the polls started to turn to Obama at a rapid rate showing he was gaining ground quickly among independents and undecided voters. This brings us to today which sees Barack Obama ahead by ten points or more. My prediction is that Barack Obama will win the 2008 United States Presidential Election 311 electoral votes to John McCain's 277 electoral votes. Obama will probably take tossup states like Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania. See for yourself on Tuesday to see which candidate will be the 44th President of the United States of America, I'll be watching, will you?

Wendsday, September 3

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, the Democratic National Convention, John McCain and whoever Sarah Palin is?
            Wow, what a two weeks, Joe Biden, the Democratic convention and Sarah Palin, it took me ten days just to take it all in.  First off Joe Biden is a great choice for Barack Obama, sure it wasn’t Hillary Clinton like I predicted but he’s still a good man and a great leader.  Biden brings a history of foreign policy experience and leadership to this historic ticket.  The shocker of the two picks was the choice of Sarah Palin by Senator John McCain.  The first thing I thought when I heard of this bold choice was who is Sarah Palin? 
            Well it turns out the Sarah Palin is the recently elected Governor of Alaska and before that was Mayor of a town of a little over 5,000 people in it.  So the second thing to come into my mind was what qualifies this person to be Vice President and perhaps President of the United States.  Sure the Republicans will say that Senator Obama has only served four years in the Senate, sure they might say that Obama hasn’t had any executive experience.  But Palin has been Governor of Alaska for less than two years, so I don’t think that this person has any idea how to run this country. 

            The choice of Palin may poll well for the time but we’ll have to wait and see how it does in the weeks ahead.  As we inch closer and closer to Election Day.

Monday, August 17

Democratic and Republican National Convention Preview, updated VP candidate prediction.

            The Democratic National Convention is a week away and the Republican convention is a week after that which means we are only a couple days away from finally finding out whom Barack Obama and John McCain’s running mates will be, but for those of you who can’t wait that long then you can read my own predictions. 
For Barack Obama I ‘m going to go with who I’ve been saying all along since she dropped out back in June, Hillary Clinton.  The Senator from New York would not only bring Washington experience to the ticket but a nationwide familiarity and broad voter base.  Even though some people have recently speculated that Obama would choose either Senators Evan Bayh or Christopher Dodd.  Bayh and Dodd May have plenty of experience but they would not bring the same popularity or excitement the Hillary Clinton would bring to the ticket.  The other concern with Senator Clinton is that choosing her would alienate some of Obama’s voters.  It’s a possibility but I think Obama would gain a lot more voters than he would loose by choosing Senator Clinton.
For John McCain it’s a no brainer Mitt Romney is definitely going to share the ticket with the 71 year old Senator from Arizona.  Bringing Romney aboard would do two things, help McCain where he‘s weak, the economy and bring on a popular primary candidate.
Whoever each of them chooses will have to be good as the candidates will need all the help the can get for the close election to come in November.

Monday, August 17

Baseball heading into the final Month of the season, who will make October and who will miss it
            A lot has changed since I last wrote and if you asked a month ago that the Rays would have a four and a half game lead over the Boston Red Sox and a nine and a half game lead over the Yankees I  would have thought you were kidding, but the sad truth is that the Yankees will probably miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993 and the Tampa Bay Rays who had the worst record in all of Major league Baseball a season ago will make the playoffs for the first time in their ten year existence.
            However there are still other tight races across the sport here are my predictions:
AL East: Tampa Bay Rays
AL Central: Chicago White Sox
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox
NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card:  St. Louis Cardinals

            We’ll have to see how the rest of the season plays out so stay tuned.

Tuesday, July 15

The All Star Game and the state of Baseball at the Half Way Mark

On the eve of the 79th All Star game and the last at Yankee Stadium Major League Baseball has completed the first half of the 2008 season.  The first half may have surprised some as the Tampa Bay Rays who had a record of just 66-96 last season find themselves just .5 games back of the defending champions the Boston Red Sox.  We all knew that Tampa Bay who shortened there name to Rays over the off season would have a better year but no one expected this much from the Florida team which was created only a decade ago as an expansion team might just make the playoffs and win the AL East.  But also at the halfway point is the All Star game at Yankee Stadium which has suddenly found itself the welcoming place for 7 Boston red Sox and 7 Chicago Cubs representing there respective leagues. 
            There’s definitely some players on each team that are deserving of the honor to play at the last All Star game at Yankee Stadium like Manny Ramirez, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Zambrano, and Jonathon Paplebon.  However I see no reason in selecting Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Jason Varitex who is hitting .218 at the break to the All Star game.  To prevent things like this I think that Major League Baseball should put rules about repetitive voting for the game so that we can Make sure that not to many players represent each team.
But tonight is a night to sit back a and watch the 79th All Star game at Yankee Stadium and hope that this game can add more great memories to the historic Yankee Stadium.

Tursday, June 12

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could they share the democratic ticket?

            When the dust settled down after nearly sixteen months of ferocious campaigning the Democratic Party finally had a nominee but we were still left with questions.  Will Senator Hillary Clinton who racked up more delegates then any runner up in history be on the ticket with Barack Obama? 
            Well if you asked me that question three months ago I would have laughed and thought you were crazy.  But three months ago, not only 45% of all Hillary Clinton supporters said they were going to vote for Barack Obama.  So now with the unifying the party so important to Obama’s victory in the fall, I say yes.
            He really needs Clinton to help him carry the nearly 18 million people who voted for her in the primaries.  However Senator Obama does have other choices for his running mate:  Jim Webb of Virginia but I don’t think he has enough experience to make up for Obama’s four years in the Senate.  Ted Strickland might help him carry Ohio but that’s just a maybe, Bill Richardson would definitely help with the Latino vote in his home state of New Mexico. John Edwards would help Obama bring black the working class Americans in his state of North Carolina but that’s likely to go Republican.  And of course there’s Al Gore who has become extremely poplar in the Democratic Primary after nearly winning the 2000 election. 
            But in the end I think it’s going to be Hillary Clinton who Barack Obama raises his arms with at the Denver Convention to win back the long eluded White House in November.

Sunday, June 1

Making sense of Florida and Michigan
            For all matters and intents of purpose Saturday was should have been the last day of Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House.  There is now no way Hillary Clinton can catch up in pledged delegates.  But a bigger problem is forming, the campaign maybe mathematically over, but Hillary Clinton might see things differently.  As Harold Ickes bluntly put it at last night’s rules committee meeting, Hillary Clinton has instructed him to reserve the right to appeal to the credential committee and possibly take this fight to the Denver Democratic National Convention in late August.  Taking this to the convention would be a grave mistake on the part of the Sen. Clinton, it’s going to be so hard to beat John McCain in the fall already but to continue to fight even after Sen. Obama has passed the new magic number of 2,118 would definitely damage the Democrat’s chances of taking back the White house this election.
           The Florida and Michigan problem was an unfortunate mess that neither candidate was responsible for.  But the Rules Committee did its best to “make right” this mess.  Clinton doesn’t have much to complain about.  She got what she wanted, she got most of the delegates seated.  Yet she is willing to risk the chances of splitting the Democrats in the fall for a little over ten delegates in Michigan is just plain stupid.   I believe Hillary Clinton is an honorable person and is one of the most valuable members of the Democratic party today, however if she takes this to the convention floor, whether she wins or not it will permanently  damage her reputation in the Democratic party.
            Even if she does win the nomination at the convention there is no chance whatsoever that she’ll beat John McCain with the party divided.  I hope that this threat from the Clinton campaign is just a bluff.  I hope Hillary Clinton will do the right thing in the best interest in the party and will not take this furious fight to the Denver Convention.