CHECK OUT THE NEW POLLS ON THE LEFT. VOTE FOR JUDGE.  VOTE FOR VP. VOTE!

Update: about 35 votes so far and the poll went up about 4 hours ago. COURT IS OPEN TOMORROW (except for Broward which will close in remembrance of the tropical storm)

I spelled candidate Marcia Caballero's name wrong in the poll. I cannot change it now because voting has begun. But her name is Marcia not Maria. 

YAZ in the hospital. That's not good. 

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

Over the course of the next two weeks, two of the most important decisions in American political history will take place.

Never before have the choices for Vice President had the probability of impacting our lives as directly as they do for us today.

No one may admit out loud that a “black” candidate for president and potentially a “black” President will automatically be a significant target of some extreme nut-jobs in our society - and on the flip side- nobody has kept quiet about the fact that if McCain is elected he will be the oldest elected President in history. Both of these facts lead one to understand that the VP choice is more than just a choice for the second (wo)man on the ticket.

It is the choice (and the reasoning behind it) that a President is always supposed to think about first; that being the fact that the VP is always just a "heart-beat" away from becoming our nation's commander and chief. And in the year 2008, that "heart-beat" is one we should all be paying close attention to.

No one may vote for the Vice-President, so to speak, but that does not make the choices any less important.

This is both an exciting and critically important time in the history of American politics and soon the history books will be written.

The short list for each side appears to be getting shorter and shorter.

For the Democrats:

Evan Bayh, 52, Sen. Indiana. A “swing” state with 11 electoral votes is the primary reason why his name is mentioned. His strength is the fact that he is on the Senate Intelligence & Armed Services Committee. Negative: He was a strong supporter of the war. Truth is, the Republicans will win this state with or without a Bayh on the Obama ticket.

Joseph Biden, 65, Sen. Delaware. Can you say foreign policy experience? Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His only downside to the Obama qualifications list is that he is from “inside the beltway”.

Hillary Clinton, 60, Sen. NY. The only way she will get on the ticket is if she promises to guarantee that Bill would move to a small country in Africa for the next eight years and two months.

Timothy Kaine, 50, Gov. Virginia. An “outside” the beltway Governor, and from a swing state that, while it has gone red for the past 44 years, is close enough to move to the Democrats with this popular Governor on the ticket. Little known fact: he is a Spanish speaking former Catholic missionary. Negative: has no national security experience.

Kathleen Sebelius, 60, Gov. Kansas. Two-term popular governor of a red state (also for the past 44 years), she could swing this state to blue. If you really want to put a qualified woman on the ticket and you don’t want her name to be Hillary, she is a perfect pick. Of course, picking her would cause a continental divide among all of Hillary’s supporters.


For the Republicans:

Charlie Crist, Gov. Fla. 27 and 51. Those two numbers are strong arguments for Crist. The Republicans cannot keep the White House without Florida and they almost guarantee winning its 27 electoral votes with Crist on the ticket. And Crist is only 51 years old and looks even better with his new fiancé by his side. Negative: McCain needs someone to the right of him, not the left.

Joseph Lieberman, 66, Sen. Conn. Vice presidential running mate of Al Gore in 2000, he was elected as an independent in the last senate election in his state of Connecticut. With McCain trying to sure up the base of his own party, picking Lieberman would be McCain shooting himself in the foot. McCain also needs someone younger on the ticket with him. They may be close friends, but they won’t be running mates.

Timothy Pawlenty, 47, Gov. Minnesota. This has been a blue state since 1972, but with Pawlenty on the ticket, it could easily go red. A popular, “young”, two term governor of a Midwest state. Big on energy and the environment. If he gets picked, you will hear a lot about his Community Based Energy Development Credit – a policy about using wind and clean energy in his state.

Mitt Romney, 61, former Gov. Mass. They love him in the Midwest and Ohio is the number one “swing state” for the Republicans. They need to hold it. Saved the Olympics and has a sterling business resume. That balance is what McCain is looking for, because we need to remember that people vote their pocketbooks and “it’s all about the economy, stupid.”

Could we have two guys named Tim on the ticket? I think it certainly comes down to Kaine & Biden for the donkeys and Romney & Pawlenty for the elephants. But every day brings a new rumor and the winds can shift significantly in just 24 hours.

Who do you think will join Obama & McCain on their tickets???

Stay tuned, folks, it's going to be a very interesting two weeks.

CAPTAIN OUT .....