The Presidency of America's Maverick

[OSR stands with Israel]

Feingold takes leads with wins in primaries in the lead up to Super Tuesday

Woodruff: With a few days to go until Super Tuesday lets look at the results since Mini Tuesday to see how the race stands. The contests were considered to be more favorable to Senator Feingold and thats how it turned out so lets go to Wolf to get a detailed look at the results

Blitzer: Yes first lets look at the contests won by Senator Biden

Contests won by Senator Biden:

Tennessee: Biden 61% 42 Delegates Feingold 38% 27 Delegates
Virginia: Biden 58% 48 Delegates Feingold 41% 34 Delegates
District of Columbia: Biden 69% 11 Delegates Feingold 30% 5 Delegates


Blitzer: Now lets look at the contests won by Senator Feingold

Contests won by Senator Feingold:

Michigan: Feingold 54% 69 Delegates Biden 45% 59 Delegates
Wisconsin: Feingold 83% 60 Delegates Biden 16% 12 Delegates
Idaho:  Feingold 73% 13 Delegates Biden 26% 5 Delegates
Utah: Feingold 54% 13 Delegates Biden 45% 10 Delegates
Nevada: Feingold 50% 12 Delegates Biden 49% 12 Delegates
Washington: Feingold 62%  45 Delegates Biden 37% 27 Delegates
Hawaii: Feingold 69% 14 Delegates Biden 30% 6 Delegates

Blitzer: These wins by Mr.Feingold have given him an 55 delegate lead in the primaries so far but of course there is a long way to go so lets look at the overall map to see how the primaries have gone so far and what contests are still left.

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold:  427 delegates
Delaware Senator Joe Biden 372 delegates
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu  23 delegates
Alabama Governor Don Siegelman 23 delegates
Florida Senator Bob Graham 10 Delegates
Vermont Governor Howard Dean 8 Delegates
Representative Dick Gephardt 7 delegates


Blitzer: So Jeff would you say these wins made Mr.Feingold the frontrunner

Greenfield: I think it is still 50/50 as first remember that these contests were supposed to favor Senator Feingold and they did with the one real tossup contest being the Nevada caucuses which basically ended up a tie so at this point I dont think you can say who is the frontrunner especially with Super Tuesday coming up and both California and New York two of the three largest states in the union voting.

Schneider: Id like to add not only havent California and New York not voted yet but neither have any of the 7 largest states so it is in my opinion really premature to really make any assessment on who is the favorite and given we still have much of the south left which usually favors more moderate candidates up. Now of course we still have many states that we can call Feingold country coming up as well but thats the point and that its still way to early to say who the frontrunner is


Shaw: So could this nomination battle go all the way to the convention still


Schneider: It is unlikely as the super delegates have basically made clear they will publicly support whoever wins a majority of the pledged delegates which would mean that we will know who the nominee by the time the primaries are over.

Shaw: What if one candidate wins the popular vote but the other wins the pledged delegates, what will happen in that scenario

Greenfield: In that case we probably wont know who the winner is after the primaries but I would say its still likely we will know before the convention begins as campaigns will be making a case to the super delegates ahead of time and they likely will publically announce who they will vote for at the convention so we should know who the nominee is before the convention no matter what.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Attorney General Lindsey Graham announces he will be stepping down from the position to run for the Senate seat in South Carolina and President McCain announces replacement will be Deputy Attorney General James Comey



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NQQk1XXwgE

McCain: 3 years ago when I was elected, it was my high honor to nominate my good friend Lindsey Graham to be our nation's attorney general and over the past 3 years he has shown over and over why it was the correct decision . Earlier today he let me know that he would be stepping down from the post to run for the Senate seat in South Carolina and I let him know that the Department of Justice will miss his leadership but that he will make a great senator and that he has my endorsement for the South Carolina election. To replace Attorney General Graham, I have decided to nominate Deputy Attorney General James Comey to become the next Attorney General as he has done a great job as Deputy Attorney General for the past 3 years and will do a great job as Attorney General

Graham: It has been the honor of my life to serve this nation as its attorney general over the past 3 years and my honor to work with many of the great employees of the Department of Justice over that time . The past 3 years have been one of the most important periods in this department's history as this department has had to transform into being ready to successfully prosecute some of the worst terrorists in the world to ensure we can win the war on terror and so far the great employees of this department have done exactly that. As someone who has worked with James Comey for the last 3 years I can tell you that he will do an excellent job as our next attorney general of our nation. Thank You May God Bless You and May God Bless America


Comey: I want to start by thanking the outgoing attorney general Lindsey Graham for the great work he has done here and wish him well for his future. I also want to thank the President for giving me the honor for nominating me to represent our nation as the next attorney general of this nation and want to let him now that I will work tirelessly to show our nation that I can do a good job as our next Attorney General. Thank You May God Bless You and May God Bless america

[OSR stands with Israel]

Biden narrows deficit on super Tuesday despite Feingold winning more states due to wins in California and New York

Shaw: This has been another close night with both candidates going back and forth in many states and it seems like we have ended tonight in the same place as we begun , with us having no idea whatsoever who the frontrunner in this race will be. Senator Biden tonight won less states but larger ones which is why he was able to narrowly reduce the lead Senator Feingold has overall. Lets go over to Wolf to get a summary of the results before we leave tonight

Blitzer: Yes it was an exciting night indeed, but lets start by looking at the states won by Senator Biden

Contests won by Senator Biden:

New York: Biden 55% 141 Delegates Feingold 44% 113 Delegates
Maryland: Biden 60% 42 Delegates Feingold 39% 27 Delegates
Georgia: Biden 64% 56 Delegates Feingold 35% 30 Delegates
California: Biden 52% 194 Delegates Feingold 47% 176 Delegates


Blitzer: Now lets see the contests won by Senator Feingold

Contests won by Senator Feingold:


Vermont: Feingold 61% 9 Delegates Biden 38% 6 Delegates
Massachusetts: Feingold 55% 52 Delegates Biden 44% 41 Delegates
Connecticut: Feingold 50% 25 Delegates Biden 49% 24 Delegates
Rhode Island: Feingold 56% 12 Delegates Biden 43% 9 Delegates
Ohio: Feingold 54% 76 Delegates Biden 45% 64 Delegates
Minnesota: Feingold 73% 53 Delegates Biden 26% 19 Delegates


Blitzer: Alright now lets look at the overall picture to this date and look how close it is as only 32 delegates seperate Senator Feingold and Senator Biden so this race just could not get any closer. So Jeff what are your thoughts on the night and the primary race going forward

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold:  1000 delegates
Delaware Senator Joe Biden 968 delegates
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu  23 delegates
Alabama Governor Don Siegelman 23 delegates
Florida Senator Bob Graham 10 Delegates
Vermont Governor Howard Dean 8 Delegates
Representative Dick Gephardt 7 delegates


Greenfield: Well it makes it clear that this primary will very likely go all the way to June as at this point as there is no realistic way for any candidate to really pull away now given what happened tonight. I think at this point given these results the Deep South as well as North Carolina will very likely be going to Senator Biden while the rest of the West and the state of Maine goes to senator Feingold.


Schnieder: While I think now the primary almost certainly will go till June, i believe in two weeks we could really know who the frontrunner of this race will be as Texas, Florida and Illinois all 3 major delegate rich states will be coming up and I think they could tell us who the frontrunner is because at this point thats where I think the primaries will be decided in these mega rich delegate states as all the smaller states seem to be breaking one way other the other

Blitzer: Could then Pennsylvania give Senator Biden an edge given most polls have him up in a mega rich delegate state

Schneider: It very well could but thats where I think these other 3 primary states will come in cause Senator Feingold could potentially upset Senator Biden in Pennsylvania if he picks up momentum with say win in a place like Texas but on the other hand if Senator Biden wins Illionis he may have the momentum to really put distance between the two candidates with a pretty decent sized win in Pennsylvania.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Biden and Feingold end March tied in delegates after both candidates win in Key contests  :

Shaw: With all the primaries from this month have being wrapped up, we are still unable to figure out who the frontrunner in this race really is as both senator Biden and Senator Feingold keep countering each other with wins in other contests. For example three weeks ago it looked like Senator Biden had gotten the frontrunner status with strong performances in major states like Texas and Florida but since then Senator Feingold has countered back with a strong performance in Illinois and other states and we are literally  even. Lets go over to Wolf to get a summary of the contests each candidate has won since Super Tuesday

Blitzer: Yes and first lets start with states won by Senator Biden which all basically happened on the same night which many thought 3 weeks ago made him the frontrunner

Contests Won by Senator Biden:

Florida: Biden 59% 105 Delegates Feingold 40% 72 Delegates
Mississippi: Biden 69% 23 Delegates Feingold 30% 10 Delegates
Louisiana: Biden 64% 39 Delegates Feingold 35% 25 Delegates
Texas: Biden 54% 106 Delegates Feingold 45% 89 Delegates
American Samoa: Biden 61% 2 Delegates Feingold 38% 1 Delegates

Blitzer: Now lets look at the contests since then which have all been won by Senator Feingold

Contests won by Senator Feingold:

Maine: Feingold 66% 16 Delegates Biden 8 Delegates
Illinois: Feingold 56% 88 Delegates Biden 43% 68 Delegates
Kansas: Feingold 67% 22 Delegates Biden 32% 11 Delegates
Wyoming: Feingold 61% 8 Delegates Biden 38% 5 Delegates
Alaska: Feingold 65% 9 Delegates Biden 34% 6 Delegates
Democrats Abroad: Feingold 62% 4 Delegates Biden 37% 3 Delegates


Blitzer: Now lets look at the overall picture of the race and just look at that. Both candidates are tied , tied with most of the state have already voted, so it literally cant get any closer then this

Delaware Senator Joe Biden 1344 delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold:  1344 delegates
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu  23 delegates
Alabama Governor Don Siegelman 23 delegates
Florida Senator Bob Graham 10 Delegates
Vermont Governor Howard Dean 8 Delegates
Representative Dick Gephardt 7 delegates


Greenfield: I never thought id ever see a primary like this cause at this point it looks even more back and forth than the 1976 Republican primaries though whether it ends up that way is yet to be seen. I agree with Bernard though that predicting who the frontrunner would be would be a guess at this point and we really cant make a guess at all.

Schinder: Well if you look at the delegates left in the West which is expected to be Feingold country you have 153 delegates there and if you add in Indiana where from looking at the results we can infer will very likely go to Feingold you get to 220 Delegates from which Senator Feingold will net delegates , while for Senator Biden if you give him the rest of these southern states has 180 delegates he will net delegates from. So while yes Senator Feingold may look to be the frontrunner form that, the fact Senator Biden has done really good in these big states bodes well for him in Pennsylvania and New Jersey which would make him look like the frontrunner so yes i agree there is no frontrunner left.

Greenfield: In that case Puerto Rico may decide who the nominee is

Schinder: Very much could

[OSR stands with Israel]

Any predictions for who will be nominee and how close it will end up being

[Joe Biden 2024]

Any predictions for who will be nominee and how close it will end up being

I think Biden's gonna be the nominee, and he'll choose Feingold as his running mate.

[Left Wing]

Interesting how both of the final candidates are people who considered themselves close friends of McCain. This probably means the election will be significantly more civil than irl 2004.

[UWS]

Interesting how both of the final candidates are people who considered themselves close friends of McCain. This probably means the election will be significantly more civil than irl 2004.

Indeed, though the Super PACs might do the job of attacking the candidates for the candidates they raise money for with Feingold being the only Senator to vote against the Patriot Act after 9/11 and Biden having voted against Operation Desert Storm. But indeed it would also be good to have a more positive campaign than IOTL.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Interesting how both of the final candidates are people who considered themselves close friends of McCain. This probably means the election will be significantly more civil than irl 2004.

Indeed, though the Super PACs might do the job of attacking the candidates for the candidates they raise money for with Feingold being the only Senator to vote against the Patriot Act after 9/11 and Biden having voted against Operation Desert Storm. But indeed it would also be good to have a more positive campaign than IOTL.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee#Super_PACs

Super PACs really didnt really exist until Citizens United and with stricter campaign finance reforms passed than OTL campaigns will be pretty different in general.

Though you are absolutely right the actual campaign wont be anywhere near as dirty as the OTL 2004 campaign was, given the relationship McCain and Biden/Feingold have , which would definitely  be good thing.

[OSR stands with Israel]

DNC announces last second rule changes regarding Super Delegates as Biden and Feingold camps come to agreement to ensure contested convention is recorded



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_National_Committee

Woodruff: With the primary race a literal tie between Senators Biden and Senator Feingold , it seems pretty likely that under current rules that a contested convention would be inevitable which is something the DNC is trying to avoid . Due to this we are told they reached out to both the Biden and Feingold camps and asked them to come up an agreement to avoid this very scenario and we are told this is what they came up with.

Agreement:
1. If one candidate ends the primary season up in leading the pledged delegate and popular vote count

- The losing candidate in this case we are told has committed to dropping out of the race and endorsing the leader in this case.

Woodruff: This we are told was expected and we are told that former President Clinton also plans to endorse whomever is ahead in this scenario as well. Now here though is where the DNC decided to make rule changes in accordance to both camps


2. If one candidate is ahead in the pledged delegate count but not ahead in the popular vote

- The Super Delegates will be required to officially announce who they plan to vote for on the first ballot by July 16th which is 10 days before the convention and that announcement will be binding for the first ballot

- Any Super Delegate which does not officially announce who they plan to vote for , then they will not be permitted to vote on the first ballot


Woodruff: Of course if this scenario takes place we will cover the Super Delegate primaries on July 16th here on CNN . For anyone saying isnt asking if this is changing the rules in the middle of the game , well remember this was done with the approval of both the Biden and Feingold camp and these rules changes wont effect the actual primaries. Now we are told the Biden and Feingold camp also came to an agreement on the VP Pick


3. Having a ticket that unites the primary

- If Senator Biden wins the primary we are told he has committed to picking someone from the populist progressive wing of the party although we are told Senator Feingold has ruled himself out from becoming VP.

- If Senator Feingold wins the primary we are told he has committed to picking someone from the more moderate wing of the party and like Senator Feingold we are told Senator Biden has ruled himself out from becoming VP.

[UWS]

If Feingold is the nominee or the VP nominee, I guess that makes his senate seat more competitive. Which candidates does the NRSC have in mind to recruit to run for Feingold’s seat?

[OSR stands with Israel]

If Feingold is the nominee or the VP nominee, I guess that makes his senate seat more competitive. Which candidates does the NRSC have in mind to recruit to run for Feingold’s seat?

I believe that Feingold would be allowed to run for reelection even if he was on the ticket given Paul Ryan was allowed to run for reelection


But the NRSC is trying to recruit either Margaret Farrow or Jack Voight to run for the Senate Seat

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Former NFL Player, Pat Tillman, who joined the Marines after the September 11th attacks killed in friendly fire in Afghanistan:



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman

Woodruff: We have some real tragic news to report and that is Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals player who left millions of dollars on the table to join the Marines after the September 11th attacks has been killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan . The President who is also a Cardinals fan released this statement

McCain: It with sadness we have all come to know the death of Pat Tillman, someone who is truly an American hero. He was someone who was able to achieve a lifelong dream of many Americans by being able to play in the NFL and as a fan of the Cardinals I can tell you that he was a great player to watch and someone who I believe would have been a star for many years to come . Despite this , Pat put aside his dream and millions of dollars as to him serving his nation came before anything else and that makes him a true American Hero and someone who is an inspiration to all of us.

I also want to offer my condolences to his family who will need it in these tough times and offer my support to them as well. It is tough whenever someone who serves our nation dies but especially when it came through friendly fire and while we are still investigating the matter further , at this point we havent found any criminal behavior that led to this friendly fire incident.

Lastly I have ordered our flag to be flown at half mast in honor for Ranger Patrick Daniel Tillman Jr.

[President Johnson]

I don't want Uncle Joe to get the nomination because he'd lose to John McCain.

Biden or Gore in 2008! Ideally as a ticket.

[OSR stands with Israel]

With wins in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Biden establishes himself as narrow frontrunner in primaries

Shaw: With a solid win in Pennsylvania tonight thanks to a strong performance in the Philadelphia and Scranton Areas , Senator Biden has taken a 27 Delegate lead in the race so far it looks like he may have take narrow front runner status but before we discuss that lets go to Wolf to get a summary of the results tonight and over the past month

Blitzer: Yes first lets look at the wins by Senator Biden over the past month which were highlighted by major wins in North Carolina and tonight in Pennsylvania

Wins by Senator Biden:

Virgin Islands: Biden 68% 2 Delegates Feingold 31% 1 Delegate
Pennsylvania: Biden 58% 88 Delegates Feingold 41% 63 Delegates
North Carolina: Biden 56% 51 Delegates Feingold 43% 39 Delegates
Guam: Biden 57% 2 Delegates Feingold 42% 1 Delegate

Blitzer: Now lets look at the wins by Senator Feingold

Wins by Senator Feingold:
Colorado: Feingold 61% 33 Delegates Biden 38% 21 Delegates


Blitzers: These wins as you can see have propelled Senator Biden to a 27 Delegate lead , primarily fueled by a 25 delegate win in Pennsylvania tonight. 

Delaware Senator Joe Biden 1508 delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold:  1481 delegates
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu  23 delegates
Alabama Governor Don Siegelman 23 delegates
Florida Senator Bob Graham 10 Delegates
Vermont Governor Howard Dean 8 Delegates
Representative Dick Gephardt 7 delegates


Blitzer: So would you agree with Bernard that Senator Biden is the frontrunner

Greenfield: I would agree though I also agree that he is only a narrow frontrunner given he only has a 27 delegate lead but the fact is there are two southern states that can further pad Senator Biden's lead and can make up for losses in the West and even the Midwest but the real reason why id say he is the frontrunner is the fact that he has managed to consistently win in these non Midwestern large states and with New Jersey and Puerto Rico up id say he is the frontrunner now

Schneider: I agree with Jeff But let me add that it could easily change thats why its only the narrow frontrunner. The fact is though at this point Senator Biden is definitely favored in New Jersey and probably in Puerto Rico which is why he is the frontrunner of this race though things can absolutely change .

[Tron1993]

I don't want Uncle Joe to get the nomination because he'd lose to John McCain.

Biden or Gore in 2008! Ideally as a ticket.

On the other hand it won’t be a curb stomp victory so it will be different to OSR’s last two timelines. As they say; variety is the spice of life

Really loving this timeline. I hope you stay with it till 2016 and hopefully have a two-term Democrat as well

[OSR stands with Israel]

Feingold takes one delegate lead as primaries enter final week

Shaw: Well the primaries will go down to the final day as with one week to go only one delegate separates the two candidates. All the contests went as people expected them to go and currently in the popular vote Senator Feingold holds a very narrow lead as well so its very possible this contest could come down to the Super Delegate primary day in July. Lets go to Wolf first to see the results over the past month

Blitzer: Yes first lets look at the contests won by Senator Biden

Contests won by Senator Biden:

Alabama: Biden 65% 35 Delegates Feingold 34% 19 Delegates
Arkansas: Biden 56% 20 Delegates Feingold 43% 16 Delegates

Biden nets 20 Delegates(leads by 47)

Blitzer: Now lets look at the contests won by Senator Feingold

Contests won by Senator Feingold:

Indiana: Feingold 63% 43 Delegates Biden 36% 24 Delegates
Kentucky: Feingold 53% 25 Delegates Biden 46% 24 Delegates
West Virginia: Feingold 55% 16 Delegates Biden 44% 12 Delegates
Nebraska: Feingold 64% 16 Delegates Biden 35% 8 Delegates
South Dakota: Feingold 68% 10 Delegates Biden 31% 4 Delegates
Oregon: Feingold 61% 28 Delegates Biden 38% 18 Delegates

Blitzer: As you can see only one just one delegate now separates Senators Feingold and Biden

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold:  1654 delegates
Delaware Senator Joe Biden 1653 delegates
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu  23 delegates
Alabama Governor Don Siegelman 23 delegates
Florida Senator Bob Graham 10 Delegates
Vermont Governor Howard Dean 8 Delegates
Representative Dick Gephardt 7 delegates

Blitzer: So Jeff do you think the race is back to being 50/50

Greenfield: Im not really sure because the fact is none of these results were really a surprise at all so nothing really changed about the race from a month ago, as we still dont know if Senator Feingold has the ability to win these major delegate states outside the Midwest and he will have to win Puerto Rico if he wants the nomination and do decently well in New Jersey so id say Senator Biden is still the frontrunner at this point.


Schneider: Not only is that true but let show you this exercise I just did on the screen where lets say for assumption Senator Feingold wins Montana 68%-31% like he did in South Dakota, at for this hypothetical say he wins Puerto Rico 55-44 and then loses New Jersey by the same amount . If he does that he will win 86 delegates next Tuesday while Senator Biden will win 87 Delegates meaning the overall delegate math will be tied. So in that case the nomination becomes 50/50 and we head to super delegate primary day to see who wins the nomination, as at this point I think whoever has the lead in overall delegates gets the popular vote too so the only way we get to that day is in this scenario.

Now let me remind you that the polls in Puerto Rico show basically it as a pure tossup meaning in this scenario hed lose the nomination as he currently is losing New Jersey by around 12-13 points in the polls. So unless he can win Puerto Rico by more than he loses New Jersey , and at that point it seems unlikely so due to that Senator Biden is definitely still the frontrunner.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Former President Ronald Reagan passes away



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan

Shaw: Ronald Reagan , the 40th president of the United States, who presided over the end of the cold war has passed away. In many ways President Reagan's career embodied in many ways the dream many kids have as he went on to have a job as a sports announcer, then became a hollywood actor and later on became the Governor of the largest state of the union and capped it of by being the President of the United States.  We at CNN want to offer our condolences to Nancy Reagan and his kids for their loss and let them know our thoughts are with them at this moment.


Woodruff: In honor of former President Reagan we will later tonight and tomorrow afternoon play a documentary we have made about the 40th president and then play back his most memorable speeches.



President McCain's eulogy at President Reagan's funeral:

McCain: Mrs. Reagan and all the members of the Reagan family , I want to begin by letting you know that the thoughts of all of us is with you tonight in what must be a hard time for you. While we all know Ronald Reagan is in a better place now as he no longer will have to suffer from Alzheimer's , we as a nation will miss him. His leadership helped guide us through really critical moments in the cold war and through the worst economic times we had faced since the Depression and left our nation stronger than it has ever been thanks to guiding us through those moments. He did it while challenging conventional wisdom and working bipartisanly to make the type of reforms to fix the structural problems facing our nation at the time even if it required taking on the special interests opposed to it at the time. I first entered congress and later the senate under his presidency and I can tell you he was a great mentor to me and for the freshman members of congress and the senate
as well.

Thank You , May God Bless President Reagan, his family and may god Bless America

[UWS]

IMO, Reagan was one of the best Presidents in the 20th century. God bless.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Senator Joe Biden wins the Democratic Nomination after wins in New Jersey and Puerto Rico make him pledged delegate and popular vote winner:

Shaw: We have a major projection to make and that is in addition to the fact that Joe Biden will have the most pledged delegates, we can also project he will win the national popular vote as well meaning CNN Can now project that Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. of Delaware will be the Democratic Nominee and will go on to face President John McCain in the November election. The reason we can project that is due to last minute DNC rule changes agreed to by both Biden and Feingold if one of them win both the pledged delegate and super delegate count that the one who won them would be the nominee.

Blitzer: To recap this night where Senator Biden became the Democratic Nominee lets look at the results, first the contests won by Senator Biden

Contests won by Senator Joe Biden:

New Jersey: Biden 57% 62 Delegates Feingold 42% 45 Delegates
Puerto Rico: Biden 51% 26 Delegates Feingold 48% 25 Delegates

Blitzer: Now lets look at the Contest won by Senator Feingold

Contests won by Senator Russ Feingold:

Montana: Feingold 66% 10 Delegates Biden 33% 5 Delegates

Delaware Senator Joe Biden 1746 delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold:  1734 delegates
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu  23 delegates
Alabama Governor Don Siegelman 23 delegates
Florida Senator Bob Graham 10 Delegates
Vermont Governor Howard Dean 8 Delegates
Representative Dick Gephardt 7 delegates


Greenfield: It definitely is a heartbreaking loss for the Feingold camp to lose the pledged delegate county by only 12 and the popular vote by so little as well. If he performed better in a couple of these big states he may have been the nominee but he wasnt so Senator Biden barely won it

Schneider: Yup, now lets go over to the Senator Feingold camp where he will give his concession speech


Senator Russ Feingold Concession Speech:


Feingold: I just got off the phone with Senator Joe Biden to congratulate him on winning the Democratic nomination and told him that I look forward to campaigning for him to ensure that our party can take back the White House this November. Coming this close to winning the nomination does make it tougher to lose but there can only be won one winner and Senator Biden is the rightful winner and we must unite our party to help him win the Presidency. For the people who like the President a lot, I can tell you I understand that feeling very well because President McCain and I are good friend and have been for many years but at the end of the day what matters is not what candidate you like more but which candidate's policies you think would help our nation more and for me that is definitely Senator Biden.

 For people doubting that lets look at some of the key policies: On healthcare: President McCain opposes expanding Medicaid while Senator Biden supports it, Senator Biden believes that strong unions are critical to growing the middle class while the President and his party do not, Senator Biden believes it is time to ask the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes while the President opposes measures that would do that and Senator Biden supports making more investments in our future generations than the President does which is why we need to support Senator Joe Biden this November become the next President of the United States. Thank You and May God Bless You and May God Bless America


Greenfield : It was a gracious concession speech by Senator Feingold and made it clear that he looks to immediately try to unite the party

Schneider : though not as VP as we are told the republicans will be contesting this seat with a strong challenger so he will be putting all his attention on that race . Now let’s head over to Biden headquarters in New Jersey to hear his victory speech

Senator Biden’s Victory Speech:

Biden : Thank You Thank You(Crowd Cheers USA USA), a short while ago I spoke with Senator Feingold and congratulated him on a very hard fought primary campaign and told him I look forward to working with him to unite our party in this campaign(Applause) as our party is stronger when ideas from all aspects of our party can unite in an effort to make our nation a better place . That includes working with senator Feingold in finding an appropriate Vice Presidential nominee that can ensure party unity as well(Applause) as it is critical in order for us to win this important election. Like I have said many times on this campaign trail the soul of our nation is not the men and women at the top but the working men and women in this nation and it is high time we reinvest in them again(Applause). In order to remain as great as we are we must keep our soul strong and that is what I plan to do as president by expanding Medicaid , increasing  funding for our colleges and trade schools , and yes in order to fund these programs we will ask the wealthy to pay a little more in taxes . They through their hard work succeeded and we commend them for it but we need them to also invest some of that money into our nations future and that is what we will do( Applause ).

We will work with the world to make sure we can win the war on terrorism and meet every threat of the 21st century. May God Bless you and May God Bless America

[OSR stands with Israel]

Biden's Potential Vice Presidential Picks:

Schnider: Now lets go over some potential Vice Presidential Picks that people close to the Biden campaign has floated. Just to let people know, Senator Feingold has ruled himself out as a potential Vice Presidential Pick so that is why he wont be on this list.

The Favorites:

Howard Dean:



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Dean

Don Siegleman:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Siegelman

Jay Rockefeller:



Tom Harkin:



Brian Schweitzer:



Barbara Boxer:



The Wildcards:

Mark Dayton:



Sherrod Brown:





John Kitzhaber:





Schneider: As you can see all of these candidates hail from the liberal or populist wing of the party which is no surprise given Biden pledged to name a running mate from Feingold's wing of the party back in April

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Granholm is not eligible

[OSR stands with Israel]

Granholm is not eligible

Oof my bad , I’ll try to fix the post by  tonight then . Thanks for pointing this out  

[Tron1993]

Biden's Potential Vice Presidential Picks:

Schnider: Now lets go over some potential Vice Presidential Picks that people close to the Biden campaign has floated. Just to let people know, Senator Feingold has ruled himself out as a potential Vice Presidential Pick so that is why he wont be on this list.

The Favorites:

Howard Dean:



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Dean

Don Siegleman:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Siegelman

Jay Rockefeller:



Tom Harkin:



Brian Schweitzer:



Barbara Boxer:



The Wildcards:

Mark Dayton:



Sherrod Brown:





John Kitzhaber:




Jennifer Granholm:



Source : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Granholm


Schnider: As you can see all of these candidates hail from the liberal or populist wing of the party which is no surprise given Biden pledged to name a running mate from Feingold's wing of the party back in April

Biden-Rockefeller would be the ultimate dream!

I know they will lose this election because McCain is basically unassailable but at least they would not get wiped out.

Love this timeline keep it going and please go on to at least 2016

[OSR stands with Israel]

House Passes Cap and Trade Legislation on bipartisan basis:

Woodruff: The House earlier today with the support of over 80% of Democrats and around 35% of Republicans passed a bill that would implement a cap and trade system and would implement a cap that would require emissions to return to 2000 levels by 2010 and 1990 levels by 2015. To achieve this R&D funding for Alternative energy sources will also be increased.

This is a bill where the President has gone against the majority of his party as we can see, but the only question is will this bill be able to pass the senate which generally has members that follow conventional wisdom more than the house does.

Shaw: Many are calling this the President McCain's welfare reform moment where the President has gone against the wishes of the majority of the party to go ahead with this. Though we are told that the President has agreed due to these differences will not ask the Republican Leadership to Whip Votes for this bill . He has also agreed to push the debate on this bill to the lame duck session in November.