While Trail Mix travels today to the Republican convention, a look back at our video coverage of the Democrats:

• Dems to Secure America, Denver First: Video Trail Mix kicks off Democratic convention coverage with a look at how security is not just a party theme in Denver. (8/25)
• What Disunity Lurks Below: Craig's Webcam Edition ponders the disconnect between public claims of unity among Democrats and private words about an Obama-Clinton rift. (8/26)
• Denver, What's Your Issue: Craig takes to the streets of Denver, where everyone has a cause or an issue they are hawking at the Democratic National Convention. (8/27)
• Dem Delegates Say Yes We Can: Craig talks to Democratic Convention delegates moments after Barack Obama's official nomination on Wednesday. (8/28)
• The Long Road to Invesco Field: Craig takes you behind the scenes of Obama's acceptance speech. (8/29)

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

Starting Monday:
Video Trail Mix Covers the GOP Convention

 

Latest GOP/Gustav Updates: CQPolitics.com

Now we know this much about how the candidates picked running mates: Barack Obama made a presidential choice, while John McCain played politics.

Still, campaigns are about politics and McCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is designed to win, not govern.

Joe Biden, the Democratic running mate, is likely to have more impact in the White House than on the campaign trail - if Obama wins the election. Palin is just the opposite. The vice presidency would be a training camp for her, compared to Biden.

On the political front, a computer modeling program could not have produced a better result for McCain.

Palin's political strengths in this campaign:

• New Face: Known Republicans are so unpopular these days that introducing an entirely new face to the national scene could help reboot the party's image.
• Gender Play: While out of sync with women who only vote for pro-choice candidates on abortion, Palin will try to inherit the gender imiperative left by Hillary Rodham Clinton's bitter defeat for the Democratic nomination.
• Conservative Excitement: Despite McCain's mostly successful play for party conservatives over the summer, Palin is well known to many as a trustworthy advocate. She can build enthusiasm among those who want to see what they call "common sense" reform within the party itself. Conservatives no longer have to hold their noses to vote for McCain.
• Washington Outsider: Palin is the only candidate on either party's ticket who can run against Washington as someone who hasn't served there. She's the only non-senator running. Considering that governors traditionally fare better than senators in presidential races, that alone makes her a promising choice for Republicans.
• A Convention Talking Point: Most importantly for the short term, the Palin pick suddenly makes the upcoming Republican convention far more interesting. As a new face and a truly surprising choice, Palin presents the news media with plenty to do in vetting her with GOP delegates.

Craig on MSNBC Tonight
Friday 9:00 PM EST

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

Craig takes you behind the scenes of Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field.

Democrats who have been clamoring for more tough words, less poetry and hard-hitting attacks on Republicans got exactly what they wanted tonight in Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver.

Clearly conscious of the charge that he is an empty suit devoid of specifics, Obama delivered a laundry list of agenda items. In short, he defined change instead of just calling for it.

And Obama devoted much of his text to direct attacks on expected GOP nominee John McCain, while forcefully countering charges aimed his way.

If one word could sum up this speech -- and the mood of many voters -- it was when Obama decried what he labeled as Washington's failures of the past eight years and all but shouted, "Enough!" The powerful way in which he delivered that word echoed around the stadium, ringing ears and raising cheers among this crowd of 85,000.

In short, Obama played street-smart offense and defense in this speech. No empty rhetoric this time. More prose than poetry. Perhaps he plans to save the lofty stuff for if he gets the chance to deliver an Inaugural Address.

Now on CQ Politics: Full Speech Text

Closing the beer stands was probably the smartest thing done for handling this massive crowd at Denver's Mile High Stadium. This must be the most sober crowd of 80,000 ever to gather in a major league football stadium.

But these folks don't need booze to got nuts. I got to the stadium hours ago and, despite standing in lines for as long as four hours, Barack Obama's supporters are not complaining. Many have never been to a national political convention. And as Carole Watson, a Detroit community organizer told me, "I'm 69 years old, honey, and I've waited my whole life for a moment like this. I'd wait 40 hours if necessary."

This thread is for discussion of what Obama enthusiasts believe to be a speech that will be talked about for generations.

Crowds fill Denver's Mile High Stadium hours before Barack Obama's acceptance speech (photo credit: Craig Crawford)

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

Craig talks to Democratic Convention delegates moments after Barack Obama's official nomination on Wednesday.

I don't know her real name, but she's Obama Girl -- and I met her today. Posing for pictures outside the Democratic Convention on Wednesday, Obama Girl struck a pose for anyone who asked. So I did. Maybe I'm not immune to Obama fever after all.

Setting aside crabby pundits like me, there is no denying an afterglow in Denver today following Hillary Rodham Clinton's spellbinder speech on Tuesday night.

Perhaps Barack Obama's supporters had set the bar so low for what Clinton needed to do that it was not such a hard target after all. Despite saying little more about Obama than she has said since quitting the Democratic race, Clinton's job was made easier by her party's desperation to at least create the appearance of togetherness.

Democrats are brushing away any grumbling about Clinton's failure to specifically recant harsh primary rhetoric, such as dismissing Obama's readiness to be commander in chief. With Election Day around the corner, Democrats are facing the reality that time is up for intra-party squabbling.

Having solidified the base, Sen. Clinton and fellow conventioneers look to Bill Clinton's speech tonight for the final piece of the puzzle - opening the argument to swing voters that Obama is for them.

Sen. Clinton's speech on Tuesday was exclusively aimed at wavering Democrats as she forcefully made the case that party issues are too important to abandon Obama.

Former Pres. Clinton now must do what he did so well in the latter primaries - persuading moderate-to-conservative independents that Obama is not the risky choice that Republicans portray.

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

Craig takes to the streets of Denver, where everyone has a cause or an issue they are hawking at the Democratic National Convention.

Stunning. Hillary Rodham Clinton's convention speech on Tuesday was so NOT what Barack Obama needed.

Sure, Clinton said Obama's name several times. But this was an obligatory, boiler-plate endorsement that was devoid of a single personal reference to indicate whether she had ever even met the presumed Democratic nominee.

Many of Clinton's supportive words seemed almost tacked on as an after thought. Several times Clinton listed various things she believed in, and then almost parenthetically noted that these were her reasons for backing Obama. In other words, she's for Obama because he agrees with her.

A purely policy-based endorsement was not what Obama most needed from Clinton. Everyone knows they agree on the basic issues and disagree with Republicans.

What Obama most needed was Clinton's help in persuading voters that he has the personal character, judgment and skill to actually achieve the programmatic goals that the two Democrats share. There was not even a hint of that. Clinton almost seemed to be saying that Obama is worth supporting only because he isn't a Republican.

Clinton and Obama shared the debate stage numerous times over the past year. They were competitors, but they serve together in the Senate and in this campaign she must have come to know him in some way. Surely there was something of a personal nature that Clinton could have said to underscore what was basically a one-dimensional endorsement.

Consider how Clinton referred to John McCain as her "friend" (before slamming the expected GOP nominee on policy matters). You got the impression from this speech that, on a personal level, she likes McCain better than Obama.

And there was nothing in this speech to clean up Clinton's earlier dismissal of Obama's readiness to be commander in chief while praising McCain's preparedness - a moment that the Republicans are now replaying in a television advertisement.

Still, there was enough cover in Clinton's speech for her camp to spin away talk that she did not do enough for Obama. She repeatedly said the right words for unity, they will assert. But she left much room for doubt between the lines.

With tonight's launch of the two-day Clinton mini-convention, will this mark the Democratic couple's last hurrah or the birth of new political wing?

There are too many unknown variables going forward to know the answer for sure, but Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech tonight - followed by Bill Clinton on Wednesday - present the first clues.

Of course, considering that the Clintons once ruled the entire party, even birthing a new wing would be a step down for them.

While there are no historical parallels in either party for a nomination runner-up who won 18 million votes, there are past losers who went on to become powerful forces within their parties. Ted Kennedy converted his 1980 defeat into a liberal movement that is now as strong as ever among Democrats. In 1976 Ronald Reagan's conservative revolution lost the GOP battle but went on to propel him into the White House four years later.

One admittedly superficial way to measure the predictive utility of the Clinton convention speeches might be to simply count the number of paragraphs in which they talk about themselves - and contrast that with how much text they devote to talking about Barack Obama.

The more that the Clintons talk about themselves and defend the record of their White House years, the more likely they are aiming to nurture and grow a Clinton wing within the Democratic Party.

If the bulk of their speeches are specifically dedicated to Obama, the more likely that they are prepared to step aside for a new generation.

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

Craig's Webcam Edition ponders the disconnect between public claims of unity among Democrats and private words about an Obama-Clinton rift.

The first night of the Democratic National Convention confirmed what some in the political and media world have long thought -- it's time for these things to last three nights instead of four.

Monday's agenda was so safe and so lacking in content that you could imagine many marginal voters moving on to D-List sitcoms by the time Michelle Obama delivered what was a masterful speech.

Democrats were so determined for a feel-good night setting up Mrs. Obama's softer image that they seemed to forget about the Republicans. Expected GOP nominee John McCain escaped without a scratch. Incredibly, President George W. Bush was barely mentioned.

Pressed for explanations about the bland programming, Democratic convention planners promise tougher talk in the nights ahead. Obama supporters had better hope so.

One of the things this convention must do is present the hard case for why Republicans no longer deserve the White House. There was no progress on that front tonight.

In some ways, this is opening night for Michelle Obama.

Politics seldom offers second chances, but thanks to a strategy that has kept the aspiring first lady somewhat in the background this summer, tonight's headliner speech will be her introduction to millions of voters who were not tuned in during the overheated Democratic primary season.

Mrs. Obama's relatively quiet summer appears headed for a change tonight. Her starring role on the convention's first night is nothing short of a product rollout for whatever she plans to be in the coming general election campaign. And it likely will be someone who will not "fuel the fire," as she pointedly observed about Laura Bush's tranquil style. (Read Full Story on CQ Politics)

The Democratic convention now teeters on the brink of a media disaster thanks to real news that threatens to distract reporters from the scripted show.

And wouldn't you know, it's all about the Clintons. The trouble with the news-free nature of modern conventions is how anything unplanned can instantly get out of hand with thousands of reporters in town vying for every morsel of something different.

With more than enough to fuel the storyline about a rift between Barack Obama and the Clintons on the convention's opening day, the media frenzy is on.

Polls showing restlessness among Clinton voters. Behind-the-scenes reports of arguments about the theme of Bill Clinton's speech later this week. A Wisconsin Clinton delegate endorsing John McCain in a television advertisement. And more.

How did this happen? Many factors are in play. But central to the apparent breakdown was Hillary Rodham Clinton's failure to publicly and forcefully dispel the notion that she was snubbed by Obama's failure to vet her as a running mate.

Clinton left it to the Obama camp to spin the angle that she was not vetted because she did not want to produce documents without a guarantee of serious consideration. If that's true, you can well imagine that, without such assurances, she was not going to produce just about the only thing left that the world doesn't know about the Clintons -- the  potentially controversial lists of donors to her husband's presidential library.

Whatever the cause, the appearance of Clinton getting dissed by Obama opened Pandora's Box for her enthusiasts. And it gave the media what they can never resist - a nasty fight involving the Clintons.

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

Video Trail Mix kicks off Democratic convention coverage with a look at how security is not just a party theme in Denver.

For the sake of sobriety, let's hope that no one starts a drinking game for downing shots every time Democratic conventioneers fire off a lame joke about John McCain's housing gaffe.

Within hours of arriving in Denver, I must have heard at least a dozen in random conversations with arriving delegates and party officials -- none were funny enough to repeat. McCain flounders when asked how many homes he owns and suddenly everybody is Henny Youngman (Take my wife's house, please!)

I'll admit that the episode was humorous for a day or two, but we are about to be treated to a tiresome parade of Democratic convention speakers one-upping each other with one liners.

Newly minted running mate Joe Biden got things started on Saturday with a reference to McCain not understanding kitchen-table talk because he has so many kitchens.

Rue the day when one candidate unwittingly delivers a running gaffe-gag to his opponents on the eve of their convention. This dead horse is in for a savage beating.

Obama-Biden works on several fronts, A longtime sentimental favorite among the Democratic faithful, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden provides a comfort zone for labor leaders, Catholics (he is one) and national-security voters. Although Biden's poor fundraising skills doomed his presidential campaigns, he performs extremely well in debates and demonstrated considerable skill at shifting from the arcane language of the Senate chamber to the street language of the campaign trail.

The McCain Response? In choosing Biden, a seasoned veteran and accomplished debater, Barack Obama ups the ante for John McCain to pick a Republican running mate who brings comparable stature to the stage. This would seem to diminish the chances for newbies like Minnesota Gov Tim Pawlenty and boost the odds for Mitt Romney, a former governor and private business leader who has been to the rodeo a few times.

Clinton Fallout. Now that Hillary Rodham Clinton is officially out of contention for the VP slot, her supporters must again sort through the stages of grief and weigh the option of falling in line behind Obama, voting for McCain, or staying home. Biden might actually be able to help Obama reel in those Clinton voters. He has a long track record that is well known to Clinton's over-45 crowd. If Biden aims his persuasive talents at the lunch-bucket Democrats, older women and others who backed Clinton, he could keep many in the party's column on Election Day.

• Official: Obama Picks Biden for VP
• CQ Politics Profile: Joe Biden
• Convention Special Coverage now on CQ Politics

Craig on MSNBC from Denver
Tonight (8/23) 9:00 PM EST

ABC's Jake Tapper reports Secret Service dispatched to Joe Biden's side. Other signs: Biden staff are still up at this hour taking press calls. And they've been asked by Barack Obama's staff to provide lists of biographical contacts to provide to the media for stories about Biden. Also at this hour, Biden aides are compiling lists of traveling staff for Secret Service vetting.

 

From the anti-Masonic party convention in 1831 to the Democratic and Republican conventions of 2004, CQ Politics presents a short history of the biggest party in politics.

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

While all of political junkiedom waits for their smart phones to announce Barack Obama's running mate, Video Trail Mix (Webcam edition) looks ahead to three things he must do with the upcoming Democratic convention.

Craig on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann"
Tonight (8/22) MSNBC 8:10 PM EST

In the end, wouldn't you know, it's all about Hillary. If Barack Obama and his team had hoped to use the summer to make the political world forget about her, they failed.

No matter who Obama picks for running mate, it won't be long before the Clintons are in the spotlight. Obama himself put that in motion by giving them so much convention air time -- and a roll call vote for her nomination.

Only a truly shocking non-Clinton for his vice presidential contender would steal the limelight at this point. But no one on the rumored short list would do that.

All of which leads to this conclusion: Obama's best way to keep control of things is to just suck it up and pick her for running mate. When it comes to showing strength, taking command of Hillary Rodham Clinton's destiny is the best way for Obama to stay in charge.

And if Obama proves he can manage the Clintons, voters might actually believe he can handle the Russians, the terrorists and the rest of the tough guys around the world.

I once heard a Chinese curse that goes something like this, "May you have an interesting life." In that spirit, as the end game for Barack Obama's running-mate selection plays out, Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the most interesting.

The rumored finalists are not likely to be water-cooler topics beyond the world of political junkies. Delaware Sen. Joe Biden did not exactly set the campaign trail on fire in his failed presidential bids. Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh could not distract a crowd from watching paint dry. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius are unknowns with little to offer that would make voters especially eager to know them.

Unless an electrifying name we have not heard is in the wings, only Clinton would be a really big story. Which is, of course, not necessarily what Obama needs. Still, she is the only choice of the expected possibilities who would surely set tongues wagging.

But in this case, perhaps interesting would be a curse.

Just in time for the conventions and the final stretch to Election Day, our own presidential map game is now online.

CQ Politics offers three new interactive maps to navigate the presidential election:

The CQ Race Ratings map displays our competitiveness ratings by state (click any state for details). Right now, we've got Barack Obama at 255 Electoral Votes (15 short of the winning 270), John McCain at 213 and No Clear Favorite in six key states (Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada and Ohio).

Don't like our prediction? Try your own with the Scenario Builder map, where you can make your own projections on the election outcome.

And the Historical View map shows state-by-state election results since 1968.

Click Here to get started.

Craig on "Verdict with Dan Abrams"
Tonight (8/19) MSNBC 9:00 PM EST

We learned a few things during church talk over the weekend with John McCain and Barack Obama, but there was something awkward and disquieting about the expected presidential nominees having to answer one preacher's probing questions.

McCain allowed that his failed first marriage was a moral lapse on his part. Obama cited his youthful experimentation with drugs as his worst personal failing.

California-based pastor Rick Warren pressed both candidates for their abortion views with a provocative question about when a baby gets human rights. At conception, McCain said. Obama dodged on the grounds that such matters are above his "pay grade."

At the end of the night you had to wonder why the Republican and Democratic contenders agreed to subject themselves to a minister's grilling on national television. So much for separation of church and state.

Subjecting themselves to such an inquisition, based upon one church's social and political agenda, was unseemly on many fronts. Presidents are not religious leaders and anyone looking to them for spiritual guidance is simply looking in the wrong place. That's what churches and preachers are for.

Religious leaders are not -- or at least they should not be -- political leaders. That's what politicians are for. Let's keep them far apart.

CQ Politics unveils frequently updated WH 2008 forecasts:

• Some Clouds for Favored McCain in Montana's Big Sky
• Wyoming Still a Safe Haven for the GOP
• McCain Favored to Mash Obama in Idaho
• Obama Favored, Though Not Favorite Son, in Delaware
• Competition in the Trenches in Pennsylvania 
• New Jersey Democratic Unity Bodes Well for Obama 
• In Indiana, Republicans in Obama's Backyard
• Michigan - Down to the Wire 
• South Carolina Still McCain Country 
• Dems Have Georgia on Their Minds, GOP Remains Strong 
• GOP on Top in North Carolina, but Democrats Fighting Back 
• Washington State Continues Democratic Trend
• Oregon Independents are the Wild Cards

Articles above published August 12-15
Bookmark This Page for updates

While John McCain appears to have succeeded quite well in consolidating the Republican conservative base and remaining competitive against Democrat Barack Obama, the trouble for him is that he has had to spend so much time doing it.

The most recent Pew Research Center nationwide survey shows McCain and Obama in a tie -- a statistically significant change from Obama's summer long lead in this poll. McCain's boost comes from a surge among traditional Republicans, evangelicals and white working class voters.

Still, the bad news for McCain is that he has had to work so hard for the voters who should have been in his column long ago. And veering to the right of the ideological spectrum to win those votes might cost him the support of middle-of-the-road Americans who tip the balance in November.

Given the Democratic advantage in today's political climate, perhaps McCain can at least take heart in the fact that he is not by any means down for the count.

Latest State-by-State Polls (Poll Tracker)

Only three times in the past century has such an anti-democratic nation as China enjoyed the honor of hosting the Olympics. In 1936 it was Nazi Germany. In 1980 it was the Soviets.

And now it is China, a regime no less tyrannical than the hosts in Berlin and Moscow of Olympics past. While Americans rejoice in the achievements of swimmer Michael Phelps and others, we ought to be mindful of the cost.

Giving an authoritarian kingdom such as China the legitimacy of a world stage is beyond the pale. Why is this happening? The nations of the world have been lured into this madness by a sort of blindness to how China represents the perfect opposite to the freedom and peace that the Olympics ought to be about.

The only hope is that, as in Berlin and Moscow, the doors that these Olympics open will present the beginning of the end of its host regime.

It is difficult to tell which is worse for Hillary Rodham Clinton -- what her campaign staff memos reveal or that her staff revealed them.

The massive leak of inside dope on the Clinton primary campaign is remarkable in the annals of presidential election history. Not sure I've ever seen anything like it. The disloyalty to the candidate is breathtaking.

What does it say about Sen. Clinton that so many aides were willing to share private matters publicly? Clearly, many are eager to shift blame to her and away from themselves. That is not particularly new for losing bids.

But giving so many campaign documents to the press? That suggests a certain hostility between candidate and underlings that should give pause to those who believed that Clinton was ready "on day one" to take command of the White House.

Beyond this mutiny, the behind-the-scenes paperwork shows how Clinton horribly mismanaged her own people. Postponing critical decisions until the roof caved in, and then forcing her staff to manage the damage control. Not a pretty picture for running the country.

Efforts to Promote Clinton at Convention Heat Up
--by CQ's Andrew Satter (click screen below for video version)

If the Russian smackdown of Georgia were a novel about American presidential politics, it might go something like this: a Republican administration naturally friendly to its party's nominee sees the conflict coming and does nothing to stop it.

Whether merely serendipitous for the GOP or a dastardly bit of contrivance, the timing of this Cold War retro moment came as the opposing party's nominee was on vacation in Hawaii. While Barack Obama played golf, John McCain was at the ready with a formal speech reacting to the Russian moves.

How would an imaginative novelist tell this tale? Perhaps the fictional version would involve the White House greenlighting Georgia to attack a breakaway region, expecting that the Russian response could be fierce. Or maybe a wink and a nod to Russia itself. Or both.

But we don't need a novelist to be sure of one thing: Republicans do believe that the more dangerous the world seems to voters, the easier it will be to portray Obama as unready, untested and downright risky.

 

Craig on "Imus in the Morning"
Tuesday (8/11) 8:30 AM EST 

WABC-AM / WJZW-FM
(Simulcast on RFD-TV)

Talk of John Edwards losing his public career forever is just plain silly. Such a fate for having an extramarital affair and lying about it would mean that millions should be added to the already rising numbers of jobless Americans.

Even political figures ought to be allowed to survive a sex scandal if they have something worthy to offer. After all, Bill Clinton served two presidential terms and beat an impeachment rap despite the whole world knowing that he repeatedly cheated on his wife and lied about it over and over again.

Sure, there is massive hypocrisy in what Edwards did, considering how he and his wife, Elizabeth, were presented as the model couple in contrast to the Clintons. And that will always be a blot on the former North Carolina senator's image. But if hypocrisy were a virus, just about everyone in Washington would be dead by now.

There is no need here for a public execution of Edwards. If his talents are deemed useful in a possible Barack Obama administration, for instance, why not?

 

Craig on "Imus in the Morning"
Tuesday (8/11) 8:30 AM EST 

WABC-AM / WJZW-FM
(Simulcast on RFD-TV)

Craig talks about the presumed GOP nominee with Keith Olbermann (MSNBC, 8/7)

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

Craig's Video Trail Mix: It's that time of year when the "dark arts" practitioners of presidential campaigns try to frighten voters.

Allowing the impression that Hillary Rodham Clinton is off the short list for running mate bears some cost for Barack Obama. His former rival and her husband are upping the ante.

Sen. Clinton has reopened the door to placing her name into nomination for the top of the Democrat ticket -- to give her supporters a chance to have their voices heard, she says. And Bill Clinton was downright passive aggressive this week when prompted in vain to say nice things about Obama.

Grumpy Clintons might be a price that the expected Democratic nominee can afford to pay, but pay it he will unless things change before the party's national convention begins on Aug. 25.

For starters, news-starved reporters in Denver will feed on any morsel that even hints of a Clinton-Obama rift. And the Clintons know who to feed the media when it suits their purposes.

Craig on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann"
Tonight (8/7) MSNBC 8:15 PM EST

Who needs Bill Clinton when you've got Paris Hilton? Perhaps John McCain blundered in taking on the Hilton family, which had given the maximum financial contribution under the rules that he created.

After indirectly slamming the famous-for-being-famous Hilton daughter in a television advertisement intended to belittle the Democratic nominee, McCain provoked Hilton mom Kathy to ask for her money back. And Paris has now made her own ad poking fun at McCain's advanced age.

Who wins and who loses in the McCain-Hilton showdown? Eye of the beholder probably rules. But at the end of the day, Barack Obama is aligned with Paris Hilton. If he's fine with that, so be it.

With killer sharks and angry dogs mostly out of the news this summer, skyrocketing gas prices have certainly filled the void of traditional summer fright stories.

At least one of three stories seem to dominant our news cycles each summer: shark attacks, pit bull assaults, and horror at the gas pump. By end of summer hurricane season distracts us -- and then we learn that, despite the hype, the number of attacks by sharks and pit bulls were no greater than usual.

By the fall, gas prices tend to settle back to a mostly tolerable level. The news media gets blamed for overstating the threats, and the next summer we do it all over again.

But this time the politicians are touting more offshore oil drilling to make gas cheaper, as falling gas prices might still not settle to a tolerable place. Which means fewer beaches to enjoy, resulting in fewer shark attacks. So next year we might have to count on revenge of the pit bulls for a summer thriller.

Who knew that an average of $3.88 per gallon for gasoline would ever be called "relief." But there you have it -- the traditional end-of-summer fall in prices might be in the works, according to the Energy Information Administration.

No one should be more relieved than John McCain and Barack Obama. Both presidential hopefuls ended up on the downside of high gas prices. More target than opportunity.

McCain gets hammered for taking big oil money, offering Democrats another chance to compare him to George W. Bush. Obama shifts around on the question of domestic drilling, giving rise to the dreaded flip-flopping charges.

And prices, as they usually do, rise or fall with politicians on the sidelines just talking. Now that prices might be dropping, at least they can stop talking about it.

Craig on MSNBC "Super Tuesday"
Today (8/5) 9:00am-1:00pm EST
(various times)

There are no perfect running mates. There never are. Although Al Gore and wife Tipper provided a symbiotic partnership for Bill Clinton and Hillary in 1992. And Dick Cheney brought heft to George W. Bush's ticket in 2000.

Still, it's a crap shoot. The only choices deemed successful are those that lead to election.

Choosing a vice presidential candidate is the only chance voters get to evaluate a candidate's presidential-level decision making. Which is very sad.

Too bad that voters do not demand more. Like forcing hopefuls to offer at least a clue about who might be on the Cabinet, or who might be running the West Wing.

Such choices tell so much about where a prospective president might go. But tradition holds that voters are not allowed to know such things.

Craig on "Verdict with Dan Abrams"
Tonight (8/4) MSNBC 9:00pm EST

. . . and on MSNBC "Super Tuesday"
Tomorrow (8/5) 9:00am-1:00pm EST
(various times)

From the "We're Not Making This Up Department," the Wall Street Journal seriously explores whether Barack Obama is too skinny to be president.

Craig talks with Keith Olbermann about this goofy idea . . .

MSNBC (8/1)

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. would accept an appointment to the Senate if Barack Obama wins the presidency and leaves Gov. Rod Blagojevich with a vacancy to fill. (CQ Politics)

Also on CQ Politics Weekend:

• Will Clinton be Nominated at Convention?
• Obama calls McCain Campaign Cynical But Not Racist
• Latest State-by-State Matchups (Poll Tracker)
• New Rating in Louisiana House Race
• How CQ Politics Does its Ratings

Produced by CQ's Andrew Satter

Craig on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann"
Tonight (8/1) MSNBC 8:55 PM EST