And the winner in the CQ VP madness poll is…

At the buzzer: Wesley Clark (51%) - Joe Biden (48%)

I’m guessing that the missing 1% are absentee ballots yet to be counted.

I’m inclined to think that even though General Clark has done a good job defending himself today on charges that he has called into question Senator McCain’s military service, he’s probably made it impossible for Obama to run with him.

On the other hand, they may just be waiting to see what the polls have to say when the dust settles.

ACU graduate Shaun Casey (who visits and comments here occasionally) has landed a full-time job with the Obama campaign.

Shaun Casey, who teaches religion and politics at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., has been hired by the Obama campaign to focus on outreach to evangelical voters.

Casey, who has been informally advising the Obama campaign on faith issues for a year, next month will become a formal part of the faith outreach staff, Casey said today. His title will be senior adviser for religious affairs.

Shaun was kind enough to get me hooked up with a group of pro-Obama religion bloggers and he’ll be an invaluable source of advice and counsel on religious matters.  Moreover, he understands evangelicals and politics as well as any Christian thinker.

Back in March, Shaun did a interview with Good Morning, America and I wrote about that here.

Way to go, Shaun.  Mike would be proud of you!

Probably not a good idea, General Clark…

In an interview with Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation yesterday:

“He [John McCain] hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn’t seen what it’s like when diplomats come in and say, I don’t know whether we’re going to be able to get this point through or not,” Clark said.

Schieffer noted that Obama did not have any of those experiences, nor had he “ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.”

“Well, I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president,” Clark said.

Unless of course the intention was to remove himself from consideration as Barack Obama’s running mate.

But I suspect that because he plays no official role in the Obama campaign that most of the flak (yeah, I said it) about this comment will land on Wesley Clark rather than Barack Obama.

You can vote today in the Round 5 of CQ Politics’ VP Madness starting today.

Out of a field of 32 candidates, only Wesley Clark and Joseph Biden remain. Biden narrowly edged former presidential rival Bill Richardson by just 61 votes:

• Wesley Clark (58%) vs. Edward G. Rendell (41%)
• Joseph Biden (50%) vs. Bill Richardson (49%)

I think Obama-Clark, ‘08 has a nice ring to it but I like Biden too.

Oddly enough, I’ve haven’t heard much talk about Wes Clark as a VP selection since the primaries ended. Of course, which would correspond to the media’s pattern of setting up a “surprise” VP choice by one or both of the candidates.

Clark would help Obama in battleground states, with Clinton supporters, older voters, veterans and opponents of the Iraq War. He also has the leadership skills to assume the presidency, which should be the chief qualification anyway.

A Tennessee Democrat has apologized for making comments in a Nashville newspaper connecting Barack Obama with terrorism.

His excuse: He watches Fox News.

In his letter of apology to the state Democratic Party Executive Committee, committee member Fred Hobbs wrote:

I was not as well prepared as I should have been when speaking with reporters, and I should have taken more time to research Senator Obama’s positions. My comments did reflect questions I had after what I had seen reported on Fox News, but I should have taken some time to check the accuracy of what I saw on television before speaking publicly. My statement that Senator Obama “may be terrorist-connected” was incorrect, and I apologize for making it.

I’ve got to remember that one — it may come in handy some day.

Uh…

Today, Senator John McCain simultaneously claims that Barack Obama has the most liberal voting record in Congress and that Obama votes with President Bush most of the time.

Is that even possible?

There’s something basically wrong with this but it really cracks me up.

And I can’t decide if it hurts or helps Barack Obama.

Alan, if you’re reading this, your dad needs one of these.

h/t: lff

If you voted in Round 1 of CQ’s “VP Madness” last week, you can now check the results and make new picks for Round 2.

My pick (Wesley Clark) is still in the running and I still like Joe Biden’s chances.

Unfortunately, General Clark didn’t make the short list of VP candidates leaked to MSNBC’s First Read yesterday.

That short list does includes Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, Kathleen Sebelius, Ted Strickland, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jim Webb, Bill Nelson, Jack Reed, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Tom Daschle, and Sam Nunn.

“Leaked” means that it was probably e-mailed to MSNBC by the Obama campaign.

Strickland was unequivocal on NPR yesterday about not wanting to be vice-president but that still shouldn’t rule him out.

If Barack Obama was everything the far right claimed he was, what would he be?

He would be a Marxist, Islamic terrorist with ties to African-American liberation theology, the Black Panthers and a cult-like Christian church on the south side of Chicago.

He’s the most liberal member of congress and has an irrational hated of America.

He’s also an elitist. This weakens his Marxist credentials slightly but he’s going to bring the man down if it costs every cent in his portfolio.

He is the anti-Christ prophesied in the book of Revelation.

And his wife hates whitey (which would include at least half of her in-laws) and America.

So he’s one scary dude.

Which makes you wonder what the voters of Illinois were thinking when they elected him to the Senate or what the Defense Department was thinking when they gave him a security clearance.

Update: Add “dictator” to the list…