Various Notions, Volume 9: A Quick Summer Break in Stillwater; Virginia Governor Tim Kaine; Joe Biden and Sarah Palin Poll Results

THE BIRTHPLACE OF MINNESOTA

Mrs. Hasslington and I celebrated our anniversary by spending two days in historic Stillwater, Minnesota, which is located on the shores of the Saint Croix River, where Minnesota shares a border with neighboring Wisconsin.  Stillwater is the birthplace of Minnesota--it's where plans were made in the 1840s for the area to become a territory, prior to becoming a state in 1858, and it's where the state's name and its spelling were agreed upon.  (Here's a hopefully interesting tangent--when it was decided that Minnesota should become an official state, a certain Mr. Stephen Douglas had a big hand in seeing the plans come to fruition....)

It's also a lovely town; both the Victorian feel of the storefronts and houses, as well as the Twain-esque feel of the Riverboats make for an evocative, throwback atmosphere.  (We dined on one of the Riverboats, which was a lot of fun for us, but probably even more fun for the family sitting near us who were visiting from Scandinavia; when a nearby riverboat tooted its horn, their glass table collapsed in shards, which I've seen in movies but never in real life.  Everyone laughed because no one was hurt, and the crew treated them to free drinks for the rest of the evening....)

One of the things I most like about Stillwater is its walkability (the downtown area is located in a river valley and was therefore made in a rather compact manner), and I would add to that its close proximity to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, where Mrs. Hasslington and I presently reside.  (It's only about twenty miles east-north-east of downtown Saint Paul, which helps insofar as transportation costs are concerned.)  The city's chamber of commerce has a website (http://www.ilovestillwater.com/) on which other things to do in town can be found.

We stayed in a unique, friendly bed and breakfast called "The Elephant Walk" (http://www.elephantwalkbb.com/).  It's run by a couple named Rita and Mike, and they provided us with spectacular breakfasts both days we were there.  The four rooms are quiet and decorated in the style of the countries they often visit.  Most are decorated in southeast Asian styles; ours, for instance, featured items from Thailand.  At any rate, I heartily recommend that particular bed and breakfast for anyone who wishes to visit Stillwater.

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR TIM KAINE--POSSIBLE SENATOR OBAMA V.P. SELECTION?

I wrote about Virginia Governor Tim Kaine a few months ago in regards to the possibility that he might be selected as Senator Obama's running mate, and now it looks as though the Obama camp is seriously considering him for the position.  Though two more nationally-recognized individuals from Virginia, Senator Jim Webb and former-Governor Mark Warner, are also running mate possibilities (though Senator Webb has cooled speculations about himself by stating that he will remain in the U.S. senate after the election), Governor Kaine is intriguing because, in addition to the fact that he is genuinely popular in that swing-state, he is perceived as being more conservative than Senator Obama (which would help to off-set the "too liberal" tag the Republican Party is trying to affix to Senator Obama) and he is a Catholic who was born in the Midwest (Saint Paul, Minnesota) and has ties to the area.  Those latter two aspects can only help Senator Obama with a potentially critical swing-group (Catholics in general, and Midwestern Catholics in particular) from which he's struggled thus far to win widespread support.  Governor Kaine is also just four or so years older than Senator Obama, and he has chief executive experience, so he won't look like Senator Obama's "elder" (just as Senator McCain might wish to avoid selecting someone who looks "too youthful") and he could help assuage fears regarding Senator Obama's lack of chief executive experience.

Yet the obvious problem with putting Governor Kaine on the ticket is that he is not a well-known name outside of the Chesapeake region, and would therefore need a period of introduction to the American public.  Though it seems as though he would be a strong selection "on paper" (so to speak), this is still looking as though it will be a rather closely-fought election, so the question the Obama folks must be asking themselves is whether or not they can afford to take a little time to introduce Governor Kaine to the American public before or after the forthcoming Democratic convention, which might hurt their ability to stay on the offense against Senator McCain's policies.  If they tried a two-pronged approach by introducing Governor Kaine while simultaneously criticizing Senator McCain, the message may get a bit muddled, at least for, say, a week or two.  So we'll see.

Right now, Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, and Tim Kaine are the names often being reported as the likeliest choices to be Senator Obama's running mate (just as Tim Pawlenty, Tom Ridge, and Mitt Romney are the names most mentioned in regards to Senator McCain's choice).  I'd add Jack Reed and Mark Warner to that list, and perhaps Sam Nunn, though there are certainly others, as well (and I can't believe more folks aren't talking about John Thune as a possibility for Senator McCain...).

And let's not forget the many possible "Wow!" choices, such as Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer for Senator Obama, and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin or U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe for Senator McCain....

V.P. POLL RESULTS -- HASSLINGTON READERS SEEM TO LIKE SENATOR BIDEN AND GOVERNOR PALIN

I'm sure a number of you are like-minded and therefore these results may not be indicative of all viewpoints, but...

 

...twenty voters said "Yes" and fifteen voters said "No" regarding whether Senator Biden should be Senator Obama's running mate; that's 57% for and 43% against the idea....

...also, fifteen voters said "Yes" and nine voters said "No" regarding whether Governor Palin should be Senator McCain's running mate; that's 62% for and 38% against the idea....

Of the two, I would think that it is more probable that Senator Biden would be selected to be Senator Obama's running mate than Governor Palin being selected to be Senator McCain's running mate, but I'd love to see both selections occur.  Then again, neither may occur.  We'll just have to sit tight for a little while.