Polinaut: July 22, 2008 Archive

The Daily Digest: 7-22-08

Posted at 8:27 AM on July 22, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Daily Digest

The Digest leads with basketball today. Will John McCain announce his running mate this week and posterize Barack Obama during his foreign travels or is it just a head fake with the hopes of taking press attention away from Obama?

The hoops analogy comes after Conservative columnist Robert Novak reported that John McCain may announce his VP selection this week:

Sources close to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign are suggesting he will reveal the name of his vice presidential selection this week while Sen. Barack Obama is getting the headlines on his foreign trip. The name of McCain's running mate has not been disclosed, but Mitt Romney has led the speculation recently.

The Fix is reporting that McCain will meet with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal later this week.

Several news sources, however, report that McCain will not announce his pick this week.

Meanwhile, Democrat Barack Obama talks about a timeline with Iraqi leaders.

The GOP is hoping for a strong convention to boost McCain in November. The comments come as the RNC prepares the Xcel rebuild. AP, MPR and the Star Tribune have stories.

Vets battle over their prez choices. MPR, AP, KARE and the Pi Press have stories.

The New York Times rejects a John McCain editorial.

DFL Rep. Collin Peterson tells MinnPost that farmers fear a McCain presidency.

2008 Race for the Senate

Democrat Al Franken proposes a tax plan. His DFL challenger, Priscilla Lord Faris also calls for three debates. The Star Tribune says Franken rejected the debate request.

The Star Tribune says the Franken campaign takes a sharper edge.

2008 Race for Congress

GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann will talk about drilling in ANWR today. She wrote an op-ed on the subject yesterday.

Meanwhile, Bachmann's DFL opponent, El Tinklenberg, offers his own transportation plan and a plan to fix the economy.

3rd District Republican candidate Erik Paulsen tells The Hill that he doesn't like Republican John McCain's "blank check" on Iraq.

An August debate is scheduled for the candidates in Minnesota's 3rd District.

2008 Race for the Legislature

GOP Rep. Mark Olson is running for the Minnesota Senate.

Pawlenty for VP Watch

Pawlenty is headed to Michigan on Wednesday. The Grand Rapids Press speculates on Pawlenty's VP chances.

Minnesota Monthly has an excellent profile of Gov. Pawlenty

Congress

The Hill says the oil bill pits the oil industry vs. the airlines. Senate Democrats, like DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar, are pressuring the GOP on the oil speculation bill.

The Washington Times writes about Africom. DFL Rep. Betty McCollum has questions about the proposal.

A Minnesota girl bikes to DC to call for a better electric car. Klobuchar is mentioned.

The Chippewa Bands can't agree on how to split a settlement.

State Government

Gov. Pawlenty sends a letter to Ford Motor Company officials asking them to keep the St. Paul Ford plant open.

A study by the U of M says Minnesotans need to drive less to exceed a 2025 clean air goal.

Violent crime in Minneapolis is going down.

Finally

A Rasmussen Poll says the public thinks the media is reporting that the economy is worse than it really is.

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Revolution Rally is moving to the Target Center

Posted at 8:56 AM on July 22, 2008 by Tom Scheck

Ron Paul's campaign has moved its September 2nd rally to the Target Center in Minneapolis. The event was scheduled to be held at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus but the Paul campaign issued an e-mail saying they moved it to the bigger site:

Tickets will go on sale for the Rally for the Republic this Friday, July 25 @ 10AM CST. We want this to be an unforgettable day, so we are holding a ticket bomb all day Friday in the tradition of our famous money bombs. How many seats can we sell on the first day?

In patriotic fashion all tickets will cost $17.76, so you can afford to bring the whole family.

This leads me to the second big announcement. After measuring the excitement and enthusiasm, we decided that the Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota was just too small to hold you. Therefore, we are making a significant upgrade. The Rally for the Republic will now take place at the Target Center, the largest arena in Minneapolis!

Paul also says two internationally known musicians will play at the event. Reports say one of them may be Willie Nelson.

Update:

Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said it's not Willie.

Pawlenty refuses to address VP speculation

Posted at 3:09 PM on July 22, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

Gov. Pawlenty said from Washington that he won't address the VP talk anymore. He was asked about it at The Strategic Management of Human Capital Task Force Meeting in Washington DC. He also refused to answer whether he's been contacted by the McCain campaign:

"I just have stopped engaging in the discussion because there's just so much speculation and comments back and forth and things. I just have taken the position that I'm just not going to engage in the speculation any further."

Pawlenty then went on Fox and said (you guessed it) he won't address the VP talk:

Question of the Day: Is there now any question that he's being vetted?

Pawlenty has said for months that he was not being vetted and has not been asked to provide any information to the McCain campaign. He changed his tune last Friday when he wouldn't say on MSNBC if he was being vetted.

Meanwhile, Robert Novak is backing off a report that said McCain may name his running mate this week.

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