Be-Elected

We have seen so many trial balloons, we wonder if a balloon will be named by either Barack Obama or John McCain as his running mate.

Centrist candidates such as Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine have been floated for Obama. But McCain's grab for the center took an unexpected twist: would he pick a pro-choice candidate?

One reason some Hillary Clinton supporters wouldn't really vote for John McCain is because he is anti-choice. But would a pro-choice VP (given McCain's age) for McCain make a difference?

Some voters actually believe McCain is pro-choice, as difficult as that is to believe.

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It's been an uphill battle. Barack Obama would seem to have everything on his side. He's on the right side of the war, the economy, and the energy crisis. He is much more articulate in speaking. Even his opponent has shown him in great light in TV ads.

And yet, Obama hasn't been as strong in national polls as you would expect. Yes in state polls, especially in crucial states, Obama is still ahead in polls.

But the dominating force of the MSM, who is clearly pulling for John McCain, is rearing its ugly head. We have had instances of the MSM protecting McCain from looking even more the fool (e.g., Katie Couric among others).

And there is one more factor: Democrats don't have the benefit of the doubt. There was a time before Richard Nixon where the Democratic candidate for president, House and Senate races all had the benefit of the doubt. They weren't attacked maliciously by the media (though the media was different then as well).

Even in this race, Obama has to be the one to prove himself. The MSM about McCain: "Well, we already know he knows foreign policy. We already know he knows campaign finance reform." Never mind the realities, apparently.

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Those who don't understand the structure of this country doesn't get that "United States" is just an irony. In many ways, we imagine ourselves more as Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Austria more than Texas, Wisconsin, and California.

Look at abortion laws or medical marijuana laws as great examples. Until Ronald Reagan blackmailed states into depriving them of highway construction funds, age restrictions on liquor differed depending on the state.

Like it or not, the "states rights" mentality is prevalent. And it's not just here. In Canada, Alberta and Quebec (for different reasons) want a lot more power for the provinces and less for the federal government.

But when it comes to elections, federal elections, there needs to be uniformity. And that is where our system falls apart.

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The right-wing cries about "liberal media bias." The MSM can't cover things John McCain has said with tape to prove it.

Yet The Washington Post can stand by a Barack Obama quote, despite several clear signs that the quote was taken out of context (about alleged arrogance), and then chastise those who speak up, and yet we find out that the reporters didn't do the basics to find out whether it was true.

As Robert Parry notes:

"Post ombudsman Deborah Howell also acknowledges that neither Post reporter who relied on the misleading quote spoke directly with the source, checked out its accuracy, or made any independent effort to determine the context of the remark, which was made to a closed Democratic caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on July 29."

The two reporters from The Washington Post -- Dana Milbank and Jonathan Weisman -- don't have a negative rap sheet. In fact, I'm a fan of Milbank's Washington Sketches. But for a quote where the context isn't clear, which goes against everything the candidate has said up to this point, and has produced this much of a backlash, you would think the reporters might have second thoughts.

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