Thursday's Highlights From the Democratic National Convention

Iowan and Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson started the day off by leading the pledge of allegiance.

Bill Richardson outlined how McCain has consistently changed his position on numerous issues and then nailed McCain on wearing $520 pair of Italian loafers, saying...

John McCain may pay hundreds of dollars for his shoes, but we're the ones who will pay for his flip-flops.

Al Gore spoke last night and had this great line...

Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now - because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them, the same policies all over again?

Hey, I believe in recycling, but that’s ridiculous.

Then a group of everyday people who were Republicans, but are now supporting Obama spoke. One of these people was Barney Smith from Marion, Indiana who summed up the difference between Obama and McCain...

We need a president who puts the Barney Smiths before the Smith Barneys.

I will write more later about Obama's speech, but this article by David Sirota sums up Obama's speech, saying that Obama has made an economic populism the key theme to this election.

Draft Gore TV Ad On the Air

The Draft Gore group is running this TV ad on CNN and in New Hampshire. The ad is called Imagine and uses clips from previous Gore speeches.

"Al Gore still has time to jump into this race," said Draft Gore chair Monica Friedlander. "He maintains a massive base of support, as evidenced by recent polls and the unprecedented strength of this truly grassroots movement that's sweeping the country unlike anything we have seen in recent political history."

A CBS News poll released last week shows the undeclared Gore running a strong second at 32 percent among Democratic voters nationwide, only five points behind presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton. Moreover, Gore polls much better than Clinton against Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani, 52 percent to 46 percent, compared to Clinton's 49 to 47 percent, according to a poll released by CNN on Oct. 21.

The Two Cents campaign from America for Gore

From my inbox....

The Two Cents campaign from America for Gore

America for Gore is dedicated to making Al Gore the Democratic candidate for President in 2008. At present, we are working to get Gore’s name onto as many ballots as possible, and to continue to show as much support as possible for the idea of his candidacy. It is now time for people to act to demonstrate that support, so that Gore understands how much America wants him as president.

To convince Gore to step into the race, we are asking all Gore supporters to mail him two pennies, together with a note indicating real support will be provided if he accepts the challenge and runs for president. The constant arrival of pennies will be a reminder to Mr. Gore that America needs and wants him to run.

The pennies should be sent, preferably in an envelope made of recycled paper, to Office of the Honorable Al Gore, 2100 West End Avenue, Suite 620, Nashville, TN 37203.

America for Gore will continue to assist all groups and individuals working to make the Gore 2008 candidacy a success though our website AmericaForGore.org. Our goal is to help coordinate all the efforts to elect Al Gore with an initial goal of getting him into the race and a further goal of seeing him take office as president in 2009.

Draft Gore Launches Radio Ads in Iowa

The Draft Al Gore movement has launched radio in Iowa to encourage Al Gore to enter the 2008 presidential race.

The Draft Gore Committee launched its first radio ad today in Iowa. The 30-second ad, dubbed "You Who," will go national in July. It features a chorus of voices seeking Gore's attention and urging him to seek the Democratic presidential nomination.

The political action committee claims to have gathered 94,000 signatures on an online petition. It's not officially affiliated with the former vice president.

I like Al Gore and think he is doing great work on the issue of global warming. I am not one that would suddenly jump on his bandwagon if he entered the race, though. There are already a lot of quailty candidates in the race. If he did enter, it surely would make the wide-open race more interesting.

Sweet Home Gore-Obama

I am not one that is waiting for Al Gore to enter the race, but this wouldn't be a bad ticket at all.

The Young Turks present a musical ode to the Al Gore - Barack Obama ticket for 2008.

Latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll: A Look at the Democrats

The Des Moines Register has a new poll out that shows how well candidates are doing in Iowa. John Edwards continues to lead in Iowa, Obama and Clinton are basically tied for 2nd. The big news is Bill Richardson's jump to 10% in the poll. Richardson has been running TV ads for awhile now and they are playing well. I hope this Richardson motivation to make a greater effort in Iowa. The people I talk to are interested in Richardson, but want more information on on him. Chris Dodd is not catching on, which is a shame. He has taken some strong progressive positions, including supporting the Feingold-Reid bill last week. He is getting out polled by Kucinich and Gravel who haven't even campaigned here.

Here are the results...

John Edwards 29%
Barack Obama 23%
Hillary Clinton 21%
Bill Richardson 10%
Joe Biden 3%
Dennis Kucinich 2%
Mike Gravel 1%
Chris Dodd less than 1%
Undecided 11%

The poll also asks who caucus goers would like to see in the race. 44% said they would like to see Al Gore running, 23% want John Kerry to run again, and 20% wish Wesley Clark would enter the race. This is not the amount of support these non-candidates have, just how many people would like them in the race.

The Des Moines Register's polls were fairly accurate in the 2006 Governor's race and I think the poll results are pretty comparable to the feeling that I get on the ground here.

Gore Assembling Campaign Team

Political Wire is reporting that Al Gore is secretly assembling a campaign team for a possible run for President.

Aware that he may step into the wide open race for the White House, former strategists are sounding out a shadow team that could run his campaign at short notice. In approaching former campaign staff, including political strategists and communications officials, they are making clear they are not acting on formal instructions from Mr. Gore, 59, but have not been asked to stop.

I will believe the hype when Gore gives a speech in the state. Gore isn't running until he comes to Iowa.

New Poll in New Hampshire

There is a new poll out in New Hampshire. From Political Wire...

In a New Hampshire presidential primary, a new Research 2000 poll shows that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) leads the pack of potential 2008 candidates in the Democratic race with 22%. However, she's closely followed by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) at 21%, John Edwards (D) at 16% and Al Gore at 10%.

Again, I am surprised about how well Barack Obama is doing and have to ask if he is just treading on hype. Clinton isn't running away with the nomination as the media wanted you to believe she would. Edwards is polling well. New Hampshire is believed to his weakest state out of Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada. No Kerry or Biden or Dodd, all Northeasterner's that would need to do well in New Hampshire to get off the ground.

I think most surprising, though, is Al Gore at 10%. Gore hasn't made any of the moves the other candidates have and is polling well in both New Hampshire and Iowa. It would really shake things up if Gore got into the race.