1. Can McCain raise enough money to stay competitive with Obama on ad-spending this fall? Can he explain to voters that his age isn't an issue?

2. Will the GOP try to 'swift boat' Obama like they did to Kerry? Ayers and Wright seem to be tempting for them and I wouldn't be surprised if the race card is played (fair or not). The over-arching question, I think, is this: is America ready for a black president? Is America ready for a black president in his 30s, too?

3. Does Obama have any skeletons in his closet which can be used against him like Kerry and the Swift Boat Veterans for truth? Will any big-time GOP donors step up to the plate and fund this type of campaign?

4. Who will each candidate chose for VP? And what does that say about their strategy moving forward...

5. Is this the final, gasping breath of the Clinton dynasty, or will she be back for more?

Here are some thoughts on the 2008 Election: 

2008 Candidates and their coalitions (so far):

Obama: rich, mostly-white, upper-class voters; African Americans; recently graduated college kids

Clinton: Jewish people; middle class whites; Hispanics; single-mothers; the elderly

McCain: independents; former HRC supporters; fiscal conservatives; neo-cons; Veterans

Key Questions 

The key questions, to me, are:

1. To what extent will Obama win over the middle-class vote from HRC when she drops out?

2. Will those voters sit out or vote for McCain instead?

3. Will the youth vote come through for Obama (since they usually don't end up voting)?

4. Will McCain get a peice of the evangelical base which voted Bush into power?

5. Will Obama's VP pick address one of these voting weaknesses? Same for McCain - will it mitigate the age issue with voters?    

Intriguing possibility: HRC is blackmailing Obama for the VP spot. She could be saying, "I will fight on until the bitter end (this summer) unless you give me the VP spot. You better believe I will keep attacking you until you give in and of course, it's in your best interest."

Obama is probably saying to himself, "Do I risk having this monster in the race another few months or do I bow down to her demands. Even worse - If I bow down to her now, what will it be like if she's my VP and has to take orders from me?"

I wouldn't put these types of tactics above the Clinton campaign. They love playing this type of "Washington Politics." And to get a VP nod would still be a huge victory for HRC. She would be the first female VP and she could use the position to leverage a future WH bid. 

From RCP this morning:

"A campaign aide says Hillary Rodham Clinton lent herself $6.4 million in the past month...The loan more than doubles Clinton's personal investment in her bid for the Democratic nomination. She gave her campaign $5 million earlier this year."

A few things to point out here:

• Tax returns show the Clintons are worth about 100 million bucks.
• They have a few houses with mortgages to pay and living expenses to maintain.
• This new loans means HRC has spent basically 11% of their net-worth on the campaign.

This loan is basically like someone doubling down in Blackjack, but instead of risking a small sum, it's like risking a downpayment on a house or a sizeable portion of your fortune! This loan basically tells me that HRC is in it until the bitter end since "money talks" so-to-speak.

No way she's getting out now.

No way she'll drop out before the convention.

She's put too much of money on the line now... 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/opinion/30friedman.html?ex=1367294400&...

terrific article yet fairly depressing

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