So Sarah Palin...I was pretty surprised, but not horribly surprised. As soon as I heard the loud rumblings 2 days ago about Kay Bailey Hutchison, I knew McCain was looking for someone conventional yet different. 

Watching the convention this year from Seattle will be extremely bittersweet. I watch with envy as some of my dearest professional mentors are in Denver soaking it all up. I had the opportunity to go to Denver, for free, but I turned down the job that would've brought me there. 

I've pretty much known it for over an hour, but Joe Biden will be Obama's choice as a running mate. I'm happy!

I fear and feel that John Edwards wasn't being very honest in his interview. I think the affair lasted longer, potentially a lot longer, and that he could very well be the father of the baby of Ms. Hunter. The details aren't as important as the potential fact that he is continuing to lie.

It's quite obvious the National Enquirer has a bone to pick with JRE and will keep hounding him until they feel satisfied, which might be never.

What non-political junkies have a hard time fathoming is that one can support a candidate's vision and policies but not their personal decisions. There is definitely an overlap of the two, but I will always support what JRE offered this country and his solutions which were carefully laid out and detailed. I will never support his affair(s) and it disgusts me that he would do something so damaging to his wife, children, family, himself, and the movement he helped create.

The list from which Obama can choose his VP is so long, it's actually quite awesome. Does Obama want someone who has strengths that are his weaknesses (experience, executive experience notably, military background, known centrist), does he want someone who can further emphasize his message of change (outside DC person), does he want someone who is a woman or another rae/ethnic minority, or does Obama want an Independent or even a disenchanted Republican?

Here goes my list of potential VP choices. Since Obama has such a long list to choose from and I want my list to be exhaustive, I'll list a lot of choices and then narrow it down.

Evan Bayh. One word: BORING. Please don't pick this guy. Total snoozefest.

Joe Biden! I love Senator Biden. Released a book last summer that is spectacular. Best foreign policy cred out there. So smart and though he can stick his foot in his mouth, he is awesome and well respected.

Wesley Clark. I love General Clark. From Arkansas, good looking, smart, military background, but was a big Hillary supporter and I am not sure he will join the Obama ticket.

Hillary Clinton. Love her, but I'd be semi surprised if she was chosen. Big policy wonk, as smart as they come, and has some good positions, as well as the ability to send her husband out to repair relationships around the world, but Obama and her have a rocky relationship. However, Hillary has a lot of support amongst women, including Republican women, and could solidify the Democratic base and some swing voters who are dying for a woman in the White House.

Colin Powell. Powell had issues with invading Iraq but went along with it...probably won't be chosen but he would erase any military advantage McCain has.

Mike Bloomberg. Would be an interesting choice as Bloomberg brings executive experience and is attractive to moderates and Repubs, but I'd be surprised if he was chosen. Just don't think Obama wants to risk picking a Repub unless it was a Colin Powell.

Chuck Hagel. Hagel's cool for a Repub. But see Mike Bloomberg.

Tim Kaine. Not enough experience and Virginia still needs him.

Mark Warner. Better choice than Kaine, but not sure he'll be chosen.

Brian Schweitzer. I'd be shocked with a Schweitzer pick, but you never know. From Montana, so could help swing Montana, Colorado, lock up Oregon and Washington, but I think Obama is going to want to pick someone with more name recognition.

Jim Webb. Says he doesn't want the job. I would love a Webb pick, as he has a lot of good qualities, but he sounded pretty adament about not wanting the job.

Kathleen Sebelius. A lot of people like her, but I'm not totally sold on her yet. Obama loves her.

Claire McCaskill. I like Senator McCaskill, but I'm not sure she is VP material.

Tom Daschle. Ick. I pray to God he isn't chosen.

Bill Richardson. Great choice, and would be much higher on the list if he didn't have issues such as those Bill Clinton and John Edwards have.

John Edwards. Ha. He blew this one by being a horny ass.

Chris Dodd. Not a horrible choice. I like Senator Dodd, but the Countrywide scandal presents a problem.

Jack Reed. I like this guy and I love his accent, but he was pretty strong about not wanting to be VP. One of my more favorite choices, though he hails from Rhode Island, which is a beautiful state, but not a swing state.

Ted Strickland. Comes from an important state, Ohio, but hasn't been mentioned too often, so I'm not quite sure he is being seriously looked at.

Ed Rendell. Comes from a big state, Pennsylvania, which brings A LOT of electoral votes that Obama wants. Solid choice, but not mentioned too often.

Sam Nunn. Please God, no.

Janet Napolitano. Might help bring Nevada and New Mexico to the blue side, but McCain will carry Arizona. Popular Governor, but not mentioned much.

Sherrod Brown. Solid choice from Ohio.

Most likely choices are: Kaine, Warner, Bayh, Biden.

Maybe: Dodd, Clinton, Sebelius, Webb, Richardson, Reed.

Honorable mention: Nunn, Daschle, McCaskill.

Who am I missing? Thoughts?

So I owe ya'll a list of Obama potential VP choices. I'm not going to be as thorough as I was with the McCain list because I just don't have the time anymore and frankly, I am more familiar with the Republican choices. I need to make the list in the next few days because Obama could very well announce his choice in the next 1-2 weeks.

I've been in Seattle for almost 6 days now. I was going to start work yesterday but will start this coming Monday instead. It's nice to get a break here, to try to get settled and acclimated. I have all of my belongings spread out here (my parents house), my car, another house my parents own, and it's made getting settled a bit difficult. I only live here in a sortof kind of way. My things wouldn't fit in my bedroom here, and I can't stay here when we have guests since I am in the guestroom.

The plan is to stay here until I know more about my job situation. Right now it's just a temporary job until November and if that ends up being the case, I need to have other employment lined up before I move into my own apartment, condo, etc. Staying here with no rent/utilities allows me to save up some money that I spent moving out here and pay down some bills.

Stay tuned for some potential news over the next few days, as well as my Obama VP list.

So we all know that John Edwards admitted to the affair and claimed the baby isn't his and that the affair ended in 2006. Unfortunately, we don't know if that is true. I would like to believe that he is now telling the truth, but his word just doesn't mean much. It takes time to build up trust that has been lost, and it takes a lot longer when it's a politician who has told a huge lie to the public and himself.

This is all very sad. Many of my good friends were huge John Edwards supporters. What he has done has not only caused harm to himself and his family, but to his loyal staffers and supporters. We donated money, time, energy, and heart into his campaign. I still believe that he would've been a fine President, but winning after this bombshell would've been difficult, though McCain has done just as bad. I am trying to separate the man and his message from his mistakes, but it's difficult. It was a continuous mistake and a grave one that has no excuse.

I believe in redemption. It's why I was able to support him with his past centrist stances and voting record while in the Senate. I am not perfect and I have made terrible mistakes, and I must afford other people the same and the time to make up for those mistakes.

I am glad he is under intense fire and scrutiny. He needs to feel the consequences of what he's done. Unfortunately it hurts his family and especially his wife, whose time on earth is now uncertain, but most likely shorter than it should be. By dealing with this, her time is being taken away from time that should be spent with her children, especially her two young kids, Jack and Emma Claire.

Now I wait, to see what else will come of this story, and I thank God, for the first time in my life, that John Edwards is not the Democratic Nominee for President.

I have really good reasons why I broke my promise and didn't post the other night. I lost my camera which has my memory card which I use to plug into my computer to upload pictures (found it the next morning). Then, I haven't had internet access until I got to Sundance, Wyoming, but when I tried to access Blogger, it wouldn't let me. This is the first time I've had internet access since Sundance (which is awesome, by the way).

I feel incredibly blessed that I have had this opportunity and I hope that my adventure inspires you to have your own adventure.

So I left around noon yesterday and began my long journey west. I decided to take it easy and stopped for lunch in Ohio. A few hours later I got an ice cream and attempted to nap. That is difficult when it is 500 degrees in your car and you have too much stuff to make room to sleep. So I got back on the road to drive as far as I could.

At about 11pm I decided to take a nap and figured out a way to remove a large suitcase from my backseat, place it on top of my car, and therefore have room to sleep. I left my sunroof open for fresh air, reclined my seat and fell asleep for a few hours. When I awoke, I noticed several bug bites all over my legs and arms. Whoopsy. Shouldn't have slept in shorts and a t-shirt.

I decided it was time to get up so I went into the service center (those of you out west take note that in some states the rest areas are service areas and have restaurants and such, including 24 hour Starbucks) and got a Starbucks drink to help wake me up. Yummy. Strawberries and cream! I was excited to get going and was anxious to drive through Chicago.

You know how you can just tell that some cities are amazing? Chicago is one of them. Haven't spent much time there, but I loved driving through it. I got some great pictures that I will post later today.

The next big highlight of the day was finally getting into Wisconsin! First time I've been here. Very green and lush. Foresty, but also the rolling hills with the country houses. Kinda how you would picture Wisconsin. I see lots of places advertising cheese. Oh, gotta love states and their things they are known for.

So here I am. Camping outside of Madison, Wisconsin. At a KOA spot, so it's kinda half-ass camping, but I'm not looking to rough it when I have such a long drive to conquer.

I really like this KOA spot as you get water and electricity at your campsite, a picnic table, access to clean bathrooms, showers, laundry, a pool, their little store to buy firewood, food, drinks, etc. Oh, and the best part, FREE WIFI. Welcome to camping now.

I've got horrid drives coming up, as my schedule has me in Yellowstone on the morning of the 5th, meaning 27 hours of driving in 2 days, and this includes driving and seeing Mt. Rushmore. So basically lots of driving, little sleep. Then from Yellowstone I'll head to Coeur d'Alene for a day+ and then to Seattle.

Check back later for pictures of Chicago and a few random ones I've taken as well.