Should Michigan, Florida be silenced?
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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Don't silence more than 5.1 million Americans. That's the message coming from Florida and Michigan.
The governors of these two states, Charlie Crist and Jennifer Granholm, have joined together calling on the Democratic and Republican National Committees to seat their delegates. They say it's "intolerable" that the political parties have denied their citizens their votes, especially since Americans have turned out in record numbers to exercise this right.
But Michigan and Florida were penalized for moving up their primaries. Hillary Clinton is claiming victories in both states, despite the fact that Barack Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan and didn't campaign in Florida. She included both states in last night's speech as she rattled off all the "battleground states" she's won so far.
Clinton wants the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be seated at the convention, saying it would be a "mistake for the Democratic Party to punish these two states." Two of Clinton's backers – Terry McAuliffe and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell – are talking about the possibility of a re-vote in Florida and Michigan.
When it comes down to it, these delegates could make a big difference to either Clinton or Barack Obama considering that neither candidate can win enough delegates in the remaining contests without the help of the superdelegates.
Here’s my question to you: What role, if any, should Michigan and Florida play in picking the winner between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
McCain’s pick for VP?
President Bush and Republican nominee-in-waiting, Sen. John McCain,at the White House in Washington after the president announced his endorsement of McCain in the Rose Garden. (PHOTO CREDIT: AP) Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say.
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Now that John McCain has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, people are wondering who fill out the number twp position on the ticket.
The New York Times reports that McCain and his advisers insist there's no short list of names for vice president. Instead, the candidate has directed his campaign to study past methods that nominees have used to pick their running mates.
Some suggest that McCain's selection of a vice presidential candidate is even more important than usual, given his age. If he wins, McCain will be 72 when he enters office. That's the oldest candidate ever elected to a first term.
Of course, there are already some names floating around out there, including several governors – like Florida's Charlie Crist and Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty – whose executive experience could be a nice plus for the ticket. Some former governors, like Pennsylvania's Tom Ridge, have been mentioned as well. Of course, there are also the former governors Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, who were McCain's rivals until recently.
One expert says McCain has three choices: he could pick a conservative to rally the base, he could go with someone who has crossover appeal to attract independents, or he could make it a "geographical decision" and try to win a specific swing state or region.
Here’s my question to you: How should John McCain go about selecting his running mate?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
The Democrats’ prolonged battle?
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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Outside of making Hillary Clinton feel better about herself, it's a bit of an open question how much progress the former first lady actually made against front-runner Barack Obama.
Clinton says her campaign has "turned a corner" after last night's wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, and she says she's going all the way to the White House. She was even talking on television this morning about her and Obama being on the same ticket.
The problem is when it comes to the number of pledged delegates, Clinton is still almost as far behind Obama as she was before yesterday. Barring landslides in all the remaining primaries, she can't catch him. In fact, neither candidate will have enough delegates in the remaining primaries and caucuses to win the nomination without the help of the nearly 800 superdelegates. In other words, this could get ugly.
Meanwhile, the Republicans find themselves in a very different position from the unsettled Democratic race. John McCain wrapped this thing up yesterday and headed to the White House today for his endorsement from President Bush.
The Clinton wins yesterday, which serve to prolong the Democratic battle, are good news for the GOP. While Obama and Clinton continue battling each other and spending tens of millions of dollars for who knows how much longer, McCain can look ahead to the general election, start raising money and begin framing the race against the eventual Democratic nominee.
Here’s my question to you: How will extending the battle for the nomination affect the Democrats' chances in November?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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