Steve Maloney on Political Pistachio

Tomorrow (Monday) at 10 p.m. I'll be on Doug Gibbs's Political Pistachio Radio. I'll be joined by my friend Adam Brickley of Colorado Springs, the individuals who started the Draft Sarah Palin for VP Movement. We'll be discussing Gov. Palin's chances, as well as other possibilities for the V-P choices. The subject of Senator John McCain, whom I support strongly, will also come up.http://www.blogtalkradio.com/politicalpistachio. This week Doug, a fine gentleman, will have on a very important guest, Kathleen Willey, once a strong Clinton supporter and someone who was molested by President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. Quite a timely guest. She's written a new book on her experience, and I bet it won't be coffee table material in the Clinton household.

Jack Kelly on Obama

The absolute best conservative columnist in PA is Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A former Marine, a former Special Forces soldier, and a former (one-time) candidate for Congress, Kelly is one writer who knows what he's talking about.Please read his Sunday column, which you can find at the following: http://post-gazette.com/forum.

The subject is "The Obama Mirage," and the sub-head is: "There's no there there." Kelly is quoting Dame Edith Asquith who, when asked what she thought about Oakland, California, said, "There's no there there.'

Kelly's article begins with these words: "Texas state Senator Kirk Watson had an embarrassing momentthe night the candidate he is supporting for president won the Wisconsin primary. MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked him to name a legislative accomplishment of Sen. Barack Obama."

"'I'm not going to be able to do that tonight,' Mr. Watson replied."

Later, Kelly quotes Tom Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton. "'Barack Obama is no Muhammed Ali. He took a walk every time there was a tough vote in the Illinois state Senate. He took a walk more than 130 times. That's what a shadow boxer does. All the right moves. All the right combinations. All the right footwork. But he never steps into the ring.'"

Buffenbarger then goes on to say: "'I've got news for all the latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing trust fund babies crowding in to hear [Obama] speak. This guy won't last a round against the Republican attack-machine.'"

As a card carrying member of said Attack Machine, I hope he's right.

Key Presidential & Congressional Races

Starting tomorrow morning (Monday) at 8 a.m. there will be a new column every day between now and February 6, 2008, the day after "Super Tuesday." I've predicted that Senator Barack Obama will win the New Hampshire primary in a close race with Senator Hillary Clinton. I've also predicted that Senator John McCain will win the New Hampshire -- and that he will finish far ahead of the second place finisher, former Gov. Mitt Romney.

I believe the eventual presidential nominees will be Barack Obama and John McCain. However, I wouldn't bet the house on my own projections. Mike Huckabee will retain his strong support among evangelicals and home-schoolers, who propelled him to victory in Iowa. Mitt Romney has spent tens of millions of his own money and, as the saying goes, "you ain't seen nothing yet."

I believe the best candidate the Democrats have is Hillary Rodham Clinton, which isn't saying much, because the top-tier Democrats all advocate policies that will be harmful to the nation.

Mrs. Clinton may still win the nomination, but if she finishes second in New Hampshire and then goes on to lose in South Carolina, her campaign is in deep trouble. Obama would have all the momentum, and he would be almost unstoppable. I think that's likely to happen, but at this point, there are few absolute certainties.

Last night, I attended a remarkable meeting that featured former congresswoman Melissa Hart, who is seeking to regain her seat in Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District. Her race against Jason Altmire is reflective of many congressional battles taking place around the country. I'll be writing more in the weeks ahead about the Hart-Altmire struggle.

If you'd like to learn more about Melissa Hart, you can check her archived appearance on Doug Gibbs's Blog Talk Radio on January 3, 2008.