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Just saw this hit the net (from KMBC):

LENEXA, Kan. — After weeks of speculation and days of intense rumors, the answer to who Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama would name as his running mate may have come down to a bumper sticker printed in Lenexa.

KMBC’s Micheal Mahoney reported that the company, which specializes in political literature, has been printing Obama-Bayh material. That’s Bayh as in U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana. Word leaked out about the material as it was being printed up by Gill Studios of Lenexa. The Obama campaign had said it would make the announcement by text message on Friday.

Gill Studios would not confirm information about the material. They would not deny it either.

“We’re very disappointed that you would spread this rumor,” Gill Studios President Tom Carrico said.

“You didn’t print it here?” Mahoney asked.

“I didn’t say that. But I’m very disappointed that you would come out and interview us and ask for confirmation and we said we would not confirm,” Carrico said.

“Or deny,” Mahoney said.

“That’s correct,” Carrico said.

Mahoney reported that at least three sources close to the plant’s operations reported the Obama-Bayh material was being produced.

Bayh has a reputation as a fiscally conservative Democrat. Bayh endorsed Hillary Clinton and it is believed that he could help the Obama ticket by delivering a key battleground state.

Obama has arranged a joint appearance for Saturday with his running mate at the state Capitol in Springfield, Ill.

Interesting stuff… if this is true heads could roll, as it kinda blows the wind out of Obama’s sails when it comes to the “big reveal,” but if it’s false, that makes you wonder why it was done. Interesting, as it notes in the article, Bayh was a huge Clinton supporter.  I wonder (if this is true) that it could be part of trying to bring the party back together.  Here’s a shot of the sticker itself:

More as it develops!

These are my daily “Good to Know” links for 06/14/08 … please enjoy:

The List: Top Tourist Spots Americans Can?t Visit | Foreign Policy

Looking for someplace special to spend the Fourth of July? FP investigates five fabulous destinations where a summer getaway is next to impossible.

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model | Jalopnik

Little did we know it would be the promise of a revolution wherein the metallic skin is replaced with with a fabric that morphs and bends into different shapes.

The Big Picture | Boston.com

News Stories told with large pictures. It’s a very interesting way to veiw the news, as it seems to draw you into it much more than a small picture could.

Malik Obama confirms his half-brother Barack grew up a Muslim | Israel Insider

“Barack Obama’s half brother Malik said Thursday that if elected his brother will be a good president for the Jewish people, despite his Muslim background. In an interview with Army Radio he expressed a special salutation from the Obamas of Kenya.”

Come back for more links tomorrow!!

Now ends the voting portion of our show, with South Dakota and Montana, we are left months away from the Democratic National Convention with Barack Obama claiming the “Projected Nominee” status based on his collection of Super Delegates. South Dakota went to Clinton, while Montana went to Obama. Neither he, nor Hillary Clinton were able to get the Nominee status without them and the fun part of the game, is that they can change their mind whenever they want.

So where are we left? Well, Barack Obama says he is the nominee based upon his reaching the 2,118 delegates needed to secure the nomination. What about Hillary Clinton? She claims she’s not going anywhere as she has the Popular Vote and the fact that the Super Delegates (which helped Obama get to the 2,118 delegates) can change their mind at any point until the Convention.

For those wanting to see… here is a final map of the states won by Obama (Purple) and Clinton (Pink) with Florida & Michigan going to Clinton:

Will Hillary Clinton drop out “officially” in the coming weeks? Will the “Whitey” tape appear and upset Obama’s chances? Will Hillary attempt to become Barack’s VP? Many questions still remain, so stay tuned!

I know it’s “Polling” day, but I just noticed this while looking to see when polls close. On Hillary Clinton’s site:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/hq/kentucky/voting101/

Voting requirements: In order to vote you will need to bring with you a driver’s license, a Social Security card, a credit card, or another form of ID containing both picture and signature.

But on Barack Obama’s site it says (emphasis mine):

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGBTFg

All voters must bring an ID or be personally acquainted with the precinct officer. Acceptable forms of ID include a driver’s license, a Social Security card, a credit card, or any ID card with both the voter’s picture and signature.

What an odd, and interesting addition to the rules… so you don’t need an ID if you’re personally acquainted with the Precinct Officer? Also, in Kentucky what does the Precinct Officer do? Oh yeah… this:

1. Attend training sessions.
2. Your election day will begin at 5:30 AM when you report to your polling place.
3. Arrange your polling place with all the necessary election materials and voting equipment.
4. Open the precinct by 6 AM.
5. Process voters and provide any assistance.
6. Administer all election laws.
7. Close the polling place after the last voter in line at 6 PM has voted.
8. Complete all necessary paper work.
9. Return all election materials to the County Clerk’s office.

So how does this work? Well, according to the state:

Each precinct is required to have four (4) precinct officers serving on the day of the election.

1. You must be a qualified registered voter. If you will be eighteen (18) years old on or before the General election, you can serve as a precinct officer.
2. You can not serve as a precinct election officer if you are a candidate or the spouse, parent, brother sister, or child of a candidate who is to be voted for at the election.
3. You can not change your party affiliation for one (1) year prior to your appointment.

So, out of curiosity… if all you have to do is “be personally acquainted with the precinct officer,” and there is nothing saying that all four officers can’t support the same candidate, and they are the people who are in charge of pretty much everything when it comes to the votes…… what’s to stop any fraud from happening here?

Very peculiar, I must say….

UPDATE - I was just pointed to this site: http://www.electionjournal.org/ Check out some of the articles:

Street Politics - “Kentucky Style”

We were fortunate to conduct an interview with Clarence Yancey. Clarence has served as 43rd legislative district Democrat Chairman since 1982. Yancey described to us the responsibilities of being a district chair and his reputation as being a particularly good one….candidates he supports win 90% of the time (he says).

Clarence is responsible for taking care of his poll workers, volunteers and making sure his people are well informed when they enter the polling place. Clarence will tell you, his people are VERY well informed:

“nine out of ten people will vote the way I want them to”

Clarence also supplies a visual aid in the form of “Yancey’s Sample Ballot”, you can see the ballot in the interview. Obama tops the ticket in this primary election. The “sample ballot” is especially effective for one demographic:

“especially senior citizens they don’t like to be in a poll and don’t look like they know what their doing”

Here’s what his sample ballot looks like:

Wowsers. This is just the tip of the iceberg, folks.

UPDATE 2 - Here is a hard copy showing the “Personal Acquaintance” thing:

From here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/electionjournal/2507955983/