Obama In Richmond Thursday
By Jason Kenney | Friday, August 15th, 2008 | Politics
Next Thursday will see a Barack Obama event in Richmond:
To conjecture, of course, would be easy. Gov. Tim Kaine lives and works in Richmond… but
Virginia’s a swing state; it’s not unusual for Obama to campaign there. Or maybe it’s an event for Michelle Obama.
For some reason, I don’t think this is IT — THE vice presidential announcement. It could happen somewhere else… on another day..– Wednesday — in another state… and not involve anything related to Virginia. Maybe Richmond is a stop on the vice presidential tour — a tour that begins elsewhere the day before.
But: unless he’s planning a convention week surprise, Obama has to announce his vice presidential nominee next week.
Both Tim Kaine and Mark Warner have seen a bit of vetting by Democrats lately:
One of the sources said that the Obama campaign had conducted the tests; the other source would not disclose the identity of the organization conducting the focus groups but did agree to confirm the results.
The sources do not have direct ties to either Kaine or Warner, to the Democratic National Committee or to the Obama campaign.
They said that the focus group was held in a conference room in Norfolk, a city in Virginia’s eastern Tidewater region, a huge swing area of the state.
Warner came off well; Kaine did not, with respondents saying that he lacks substantive accomplishments and kisses up too much to Obama.
This may be more related to the keynote address (which Warner will be delivering) than the vice president slot.
So what does this mean? An awful lot of speculation more than anything else. This could be Obama coming to help his chances in Virginia. Or it could be Obama revealing the audacity of Obama/Kaine ’08. Or it could be a big ol’ pat on the back of Mark Warner so his lead over Gilmore can break the 30 point barrier.
The last option is the one that makes the most sense. Obama’s success in this state will rely heavily on the coattails of Mark Warner. Boosting Warner with keynote addresses and campaign appearances boosts Obama’s chances. Tim Kaine could just be along for the ride.
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About the author
Jason Kenney has blogged at J’s Notes since 2001, is the director of RedStormPAC providing online fundraising for Republican candidates in Virginia, and co-founder of K6 Consulting. He is a graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University and resides in Richmond, Virginia.
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Comments
8 Responses to "Obama In Richmond Thursday"
Also, any attendance on Richmond may be deflated by the fact that next Thursday is the first day of classes for Virginia Commonwealth University, limiting the turnout of many kids who may have turned out otherwise.
I dunno man… I smell blood in the water (meaning that you don’t come to a state where your top Dem has a 30 point lead when you could go to Michigan or Ohio).
I smell announcement.
I’m with Jason – I don’t see this as a platform for announcement. Of course, my judgment may be colored as i don’t favor Kaine as his pick, and to announce someone else on Kaine’s turf may be seen as a bit of a slap.
I do not see an announcement since the camp has already said it will be done via Text Message and email.
Maybe he’ll txt it right before he goes on stage.
[...] Wednesday Obama is hitting Martinsville with Mark Warner (by invitation only) in the morning and then Lynchburg with Jim Webb (open to the public). Thursday will supposedly see Obama in Richmond. [...]
[...] Obama’s coming to Richmond Thursday but he may pick a Vice President as early as tomorrow. August 18th, 2008 at 7:15 pm | Tags: asides, politics [...]
Nobody goes to the first day of classes at VCU anyway. Gobama.
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