Survey Determines 'ideal' Vice Presidential Candidates

I hate to admitt it. But David may be right...For once...

A while back he wrote in a post Powell For V.P.: It Could Happen! :

The Washington Post offers a nice primer on the usual suspects, however there have been some very interesting names that have come up lately – particularly on the Democratic side. New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been whispered as a possible choice for Obama, as he helps to firm up the Senator’s economic gravitas; Colorado Senator Ken Salazar has also been mentioned as a surprise choice.

On the Republican side, it was revealed today that Dr. Condoleezza Rice, our esteemed Secretary of State, is now actively campaigning for the spot on the Republican ticket. Previously, Dr. Rice has shied away from expressing any interest in the VP slot, which makes this latest revelation a big surprise. Despite this reluctance, she makes an intriguing choice, providing some ethnic balance to Obama and lending some serious credentials to the Republican ticket that no other choice can provide (Note to my peeps: Do NOT sleep on Dr. Rice).

The name creating the most buzz???? Colin Powell.

Yes, that’s right – Colin Powell. He is intriguing because, under the right conditions, he could actually be a good choice for either party.

No, I am not high! Read on.

While I still believe that he was high, Here is an article from PC World saying much the same thing:

It turns out that the ideal vice presidential candidate for Senator John McCain, a Republican running for president, is the same person as the ideal vice presidential candidate for Senator Barack Obama, a Democrat, according to a sophisticated online survey by Affinnova.

For both presidential candidates, the best running mate is Colin Powell, a former U.S. Army general and former secretary of state under President George Bush, according to the survey, which was powered by an Affinnova algorithm it calls evolutionary
optimization.

"We never imagined that the same candidate would show up for both parties," said Steve Lamoureaux, Affinnova's chief innovation officer.

Powell hasn't publicly expressed an interest in running for vice president. McCain and Obama have both begun their searches for running mates.

Powell's links to the current Iraq war didn't seem to bother survey respondents, said Kevin Karty, vice president of analytics at Affinnova. Powell, in early 2003, argued for the war before the United Nations Security Council, but since he has left the Bush administration, he's criticized its handling of the war.

"There might be an indication that people are willing to give him a pass [on Iraq]," Karty said. "He seems to be an extremely credible figure ... and he's trustworthy."

In addition to surveying people about 100 potential vice presidential candidates, Affinnova also asked respondents about 120 issues that could be priorities in an Obama or McCain administration. Affinnova included seven Iraq-related policies in the survey, and none of them made the top 25 issues for supporters of either candidate.

Economic issues dominated the results, with five of the top eight priorities among Obama supporters being economic issues and four of the top seven among McCain supporters. "The economy shows up time and time again in the top 10," Lamoureaux
said.

Affinnova typically uses its survey algorithm technology to help companies test new products and do other kinds of marketing research, but the company turned to politics to demonstrate the technology, Lamoureaux said.

The Affinnova methods, based on technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, doesn't use the typically polling method of asking respondents to pick a name from a list. Instead, Affinnova's methodology gives respondents larger concepts, including photos, biographical information and possible first-term priorities.

Respondents went through 20 to 25 rounds of questions, typically with three choices of presidential and vice presidential candidates and their possible priorities. This method simulates real-world options more accurately than telephone polling and allows the testing of a wide range of alternatives, Affinnova said.

Affinnova, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, conducted the online survey of 2,000 likely voters between June 12 and June 17.

Companies that have used Affinnova's survey techniques include Procter & Gamble, Microsoft and Wal-Mart, the company said.

Among Obama supporters, Powell was the top pick for vice president by a wide margin, Lamoureaux said. Behind Powell were former Vice President Al Gore and former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, who tied for second, followed by Senator Hillary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards. Affinnova was a bit surprised by Gephardt's strong showing; the Missouri Democrat has been out of public office for three years.

Powell had aslight lead among McCain supporters, with current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tied for second. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani came in fifth.

Clinton, Edwards and Giuliani had strong support among some voters, but lost points due to high negative ratings, Affinnova said.

The top issues for Obama supporters in the survey were: middle-class tax cuts; an improved health-care system; a change in trade policy that supports U.S. jobs; increased support for alternative energy sources; and an improved education system.

Top issues for McCain supporters: stopping congressional earmarks and wasteful government spending; reforming defense spending; cutting taxes; improving pay and support for military families; and modernizing and increasing the size of the U.S. military.

Taxpayers pay $1300 per month for Laura "Pimp My Ride" Richardson's government vehicle

I wish I could say I was suprised to see Laura Richardson in the news again for her fiscal irresponsibility. But once again here she is.

Yesturday, the LA DailyBreeze.com was reporting that Richardson's $1300 lease of a 2007 Lincoln Town Car cost more than any other representative in congress:

When she arrived in Congress last fall, Rep. Laura Richardson sought out a vehicle that would match her newfound status.

She settled on a 2007 Lincoln Town Car - the choice of many representatives who
lease their vehicles at taxpayers' expense. But hers was distinct: at $1,300 a month, it was the most expensive car in the House of Representatives.

They go on to point out that the freshman congresswoman is a veteran when it comes to having others pay the tab for her transportation.

But her history with vehicles has been similarly fraught. When she was a councilwoman in Long Beach, she crashed her BMW, abandoned it at a body shop, failed to pay a prior repair bill, and then racked up 30,000 miles on a city-owned hybrid in one year - apparently violating a policy against personal use of city cars.

In her brief stint in the Assembly, she leased a 2002 Lincoln LS for $304 a month - all but $36 of it paid for by the state. So Richardson was already well versed in the use of government vehicles when she got to Washington.

And just like with all her other financial debacles, she is hiding from reporters, leaving her staff to defend the undefensable.

About 130 representatives leased cars last year, according to a report compiled earlier this year by Taxpayers for Common Sense. Most were in the range of $400 to $800 per month.

Richardson's 2007 lease costs show up on a more recent congressional spending report, because she did not pay the bill until February. According to the report, her first bill was for $1,299, and covered a one-month period from mid-October to mid-November. She then paid a prorated amount of $2,035 for the 45-day period from mid-November to the end of the year.

That makes her lease $300 more expensive than the costliest car in the Taxpayers for Common Sense report. As of last winter, the newest member of Congress had far and away the most expensive car in the House of Representatives.

"A $1,300 lease is a gold-plated lease," said Keith Ashdown, chief investigator for the watchdog group. "Because it's federal money and not their personal money, they're not looking for the best value."

Rep. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles, also leases a 2007 Lincoln Town Car, but she pays only $686 per month for it.

According to a former staff member, Richardson insisted that her Lincoln be specially customized, which may explain the high cost.

Richardson's spokesman, William Marshall, initially stated that Richardson is paying only $940 per month for her Town Car, but gave no documentation of that. After he was presented with the expense report showing the $1,300 lease amount, he declined to answer further questions.

"No comment," he said.

Oh.... But there's More!!!!!!

Richardson got the car from a local Enterprise Rent-a-Car office for her use when she needed to travel around her congressional district. The cost would not have been affected by her personal credit history, because it was paid for by the federal government. The price tag also did not include insurance, which Richardson agreed to pay for on her own.

At 8:30 p.m. April 3, a staff member was driving the car on the San Diego (405) Freeway, when he got into a crash. According to a California Highway Patrol report, the staffer, Henry Rogers, reported being struck in the rear by a white sport utility vehicle. The impact caused him to spin out and hit the center median and left major damage to the left rear of the Town Car.

The CHP report gives no information about the insurance on the car, other than to say that it was a "rental." But Richardson's subsequent actions suggest that Rogers may not have been listed as an eligible driver on her insurance policy.

According to the former staffer, after the crash Richardson required her district employees to buy additional insurance so they could legally drive the Lincoln. The former staff member did not want to be identified out of fear of jeopardizing future employment prospects.

Another former staffer said Rogers was not forced to pay for the damage to the car, but did not know how the issue was resolved.

Rogers referred questions about the crash to Richardson's spokesman, who did not return a call about the crash on Friday.

Richardson did not report the crash to Enterprise, but it is not clear that she was required to, given that she was self-insured.

Records also indicate that Richardson owes $83 for illegally parking the Town Car in Long Beach. The ticket was issued Jan. 23, in the amount of $40, but has since doubled because it was not paid on time.

One has to wonder, at what point will this disgraced Congresswoman offer her resignation? Knowing Laura Richardson, probably never.

But an even more interesting question is when will her fellow Democrats start asking for her to step down? Knowing Democrats, probably never!

Obama says politics blocks economic solutions. Forgot to include the word "Liberal"

Barak Obama once again proves that he is a not quite ready for primetime player. He declared that we could solve our economic problems if only we could get politics out of the way.

Obama wrapped up his tour of battleground states with a summit focused on economic issues.

AP reported:

Barack Obama told top business leaders Thursday that politics often gets in the way of solving problems that threaten America's ability to stay competitive in the global economy.

"There is surprising consensus in this country about what needs to be done — somehow our politics prevent us from acting on that consensus," Obama said at an economic summit meeting. "We spend an enormous amount of time talking about what separates us, along party lines, along racial lines, along economic lines, but when it comes to how we need to retool America to continue its greatness, we've got a lot of stuff that we can agree on."

According to his website, here are some of the policies he advocates that we could find agreement on:

• Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families
• Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans
• Support Job Creation
• Invest in Rural Areas
• Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
• Expand Flexible Work Arrangements

But here is the problem… He and his fellow Democrats have failed to support any of these measures.

They won’t support tax cuts for ALL working families. They refuse to support a flat tax, which would simplify the tax code overnight. They only want to support R&D tax credits for industries they approve of, not the ones that actually create jobs. And the union bosses that run the Democrat Party will not allow business to offer their employees the same flexible work schedules that their members often enjoy.

No… The “solutions we agree on” that Obama is talking about are the ones that he and his fellow liberals have cooked up. If he has his way we will be mandating “green technologies” that don’t yet exist, compelling employers to unionize against their will, raising the minimum wage and mandating that employees get more paid leave.

How exactly will these policies improve the economy?

Democrats need to realize that the government cannot do anything to improve the economy except getting out it’s way by freeing business from overregulation and getting out of the pockets of American families.

Craig DeLuz for President? (Video)

Think About it!!!!

VOTE REPUBLICAN

After some difficult soul searching, I have reached a very difficult decision. I have decided that my brother, Craig, is right. He's been right all this time. He and his conservative buddies in the Republican Party have it all figured out, while the Democratics - well, they just haven't got a clue.

Therefore, I am officially announcing my resignation from the Democratic Party, effective noon tomorrow, and will henceforth vote Republican. That's Right - Republican.

Why the change? Well, aside from sheer strength of Craig's intellectual superiority, I also came across a video that really communicates the Republican message in a way that makes everything crystal clear. To see what I mean, check out the attached video for the reasons why....

David

P.S. - Gotcha!!!!!!