Analysis & Prediction

John McCain and Barack Obama.

America can expect to see these names on the ballot this November for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. Following the most recent primaries, a number of superdelegates and prominent Clinton supporters switched sides to support Obama. This is a clear indication that Clinton is slowing losing her ground as a viable presidential nominee. I believe it will take many more of her prominent supporters to switch sides before she will concede the nomination to Obama before the democratic convention this August.

John McCain still has a lot of ground to make up. According to the latest figures from the Federal Election Committee, McCain only has $11,579,714 available cash on hand, while Obama has $51,074,000 available cash on hand.

The next key step for each candidate will be choosing their running mate for Vice President. The process each candidate goes through to determine their running mate will be the most important process between now and November, because the American people are voting for President and Vice President together. The presidential candidate who has the best and most likable running mate will ultimately get the coveted votes of many Americans in November.

Domestic Policy

Domestic policy is the overwhelming political theme this year, even though our country has been at war for six and a half years. Initially, many of the presidential candidates were foot stomping the two wars. They quickly moved to discuss the economy following many polls that indicated American’s are more concerned with the economy and domestic policy.

Last week an additional domestic policy issue was in the spotlight; gasoline taxes. Each candidate has distinct differences on this stance, but it still comes down to what the American people want. Do we want a gas tax holiday, flat gas tax, or a temporary suspension on gas tax? Obama’s idea is to use a windfall profits tax on oil companies to help low-income families pay their energy bills, while both Clinton and McCain would opt for a variation of a gas tax holiday. Obama recently labeled Clinton’s idea as a “political scheme” that would save the average driver $25 to $28. However, Obama voted for a similar bill in 2000 when he was in the Illinois legislature, but now claims the lessons of that Illinois tax holiday influenced his decision to oppose a national tax holiday.