Winter's Picks

  What was supposed to be a four-day love fest in Denver may end up being only three days, according to the Los Angeles Times.

  Seems the Barack Obama campaign and the national committee are considering cutting off a day. The reason - apparently to give Obama an extra "bump" in the polls by having an extra day to relish in the nomination before the Republicans get their turn.

  While it's not said, I wonder if part of the reason has to do with the money problems the Dems have had in getting their convention funded. 

  At least in Campaign 2008.

  In a take off George Carlin's monologue about the "seven dirty words you can't say on TV and radio," Los Angeles Daily News columnist Bridget Johnson does the political version.

  The words: Swfit boat; Reverend; Experience; Present; Hussein; Financing; Change

  Well, not John McCain's, but rather his wife's money.

  Cindy McCain is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million and the Politico takes a look at where that wealth is, how it's being spent, and what impact it might have on the election.

  There is a little bit of irony here as the article points out. Republicans were all after Teresa Heinz Kerry in 2004 to release more information about her finances while her husband - John Kerry - was the Democratic presidential nominee. Heinz-Kerry was worth somewhere around $750 million.

   Now it's the Democrats turn to demand the same information from the Republican nominee.

  Quote:

Already, Democrats have blasted Cindy McCain’s less-than-full financial disclosure, asserting that it calls into question John McCain’s commitment to transparency and suggests that he may be “hiding” information about how his efforts in Congress benefited his family.

Worse though, the burgeoning focus on Cindy McCain’s finances could attract attention to an aspect of the Arizona senator’s family life that is unlikely to be advantageous to him on the campaign trail: the affluent lifestyle and free-spending habits of the McCain clan.

  There's a new Associated Press/Yahoo News poll out, this time looking at how Americans viw the wives of the two presidential frontrunners.

  More Americans than not have an unfavorable view of Michelle Obama. According to the poll, 35 percent have an "unfavorable" view of Mrs. Obama, compared to 30 percent with a positive view.

  For Cindy McCain, wife of Republican challenger John McCain, 27 percent have a favorable view, while 17 percent don't. Also interesting is the fact that nearly 56 percent of those polled say they don't know enough about Mrs. McCain to make an informed decision.

  Quote: In other words: While the two women are about equally liked, Michelle Obama is twice as disliked as Cindy McCain.

  See it as a sign of the times, but a newspaper is reporting that Hillary Clinton's campaign is removing all its negative ads against Barack Obama.

  The ads, statements, position papers and other things that once flourished on the web as Clinton attacked Obama in an effort to win the nomination are now a thing of the past.

  Quote: Gone are the attack ads accusing Sen. Barack Obama of insulting Pennsylvanians, ducking debates and making misleading assertions about gas prices. In their place are some of the campaign's best and most positive ads and multiple "Hillary I Know" testimonials that have a shelf life should the former first lady ever run again.