John McCain looks strong in the polls nationally and in Kansas — despite having lost the Kansas GOP caucuses — according to the latest SurveyUSA poll of how Kansans would vote in head-to-head contests. Whatever boost Barack Obama got out of the Kansas Democratic caucuses may have been short-lived, thanks to the flap over his pastor. In the poll, taken just as the pastor’s video clips were all over the news in mid-March, McCain had the support of 51 percent of Kansas voters to Obama’s 39 percent, compared with 50 to 44 percent last month and 53 to 39 percent in January. A contest between McCain and Hillary Clinton polled this month at 55 to 36 percent, respectively. That compares with 59 to 35 percent in February and 53 to 40 percent in January.
The latest take by Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza on whether Barack Obama might pick Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be his running mate: “If Obama wants to make a truly historic ticket, picking Sebelius might be the best way to do it. Sebelius has won two terms as governor of Kansas — not exactly a Democratic stronghold — and did well in her stint on the national stage as chair of the Democratic Governors Association. Sebelius has the same problem as (Virginia Gov. Tim) Kaine, however; it’s hard to see how she helps Obama convince voters he has the experience to handle the complicated world situation he would inherit as president.†Other Obama prospects were Bill Richardson, Tim Roemer and Jim Webb. Possible Hillary Clinton picks: Evan Bayh, John Edwards, Bill Nelson, Ted Strickland, Obama. And for John McCain: Charlie Crist, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Mark Sanford, John Thune.
More evidence for Kansas lawmakers that the rules of the energy game are changing: The Wall Street Journal reports that a new study by the Department of Energy’s Berkeley National Laboratory finds that many of the nation’s utilities have begun including the cost of carbon regulation in their planning. But it advised that many probably are underestimating those costs.
“If utilities estimated the future cost of GHG regulation compliance to be higher, that might lead them to invest less in fossil fuels and more in renewable energy,†the report said.
Energy efficiency also is playing a major role in utilities’ plans for lowering their carbon profile.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Washington Times last week that slavery was the nation’s “birth defect.†She said: “Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together — Europeans by choice and Africans in chains. That’s not a very pretty reality of our founding.â€
While citing “enormous progress†on race, she said America’s past “makes it hard for us to confront it, hard for us to talk about it, and hard for us to realize that it has continuing relevance for who we are today.â€
She also called Barack Obama’s recent speech on race “important.â€
“What I would like understood as a black American is that black Americans loved and had faith in this country even when this country didn’t love and have faith in them — and that’s our legacy.â€
John McCain looks strong in the polls nationally and in Kansas — despite having lost the Kansas GOP caucuses — according to the latest SurveyUSA poll of how Kansans would vote in head-to-head contests. Whatever boost Barack Obama got out of the Kansas Democratic caucuses may have been short-lived, thanks to the flap over his pastor. In the poll, taken just as the pastor’s video clips were all over the news in mid-March, McCain had the support of 51 percent of Kansas voters to Obama’s 39 percent, compared with 50 to 44 percent last month and 53 to 39 percent in January. A contest between McCain and Hillary Clinton polled this month at 55 to 36 percent, respectively. That compares with 59 to 35 percent in February and 53 to 40 percent in January.
