Chuck Todd is supposed to be doing an online interview thing at noon at newsvine... Sign up and ask

[Aloha Spirit]

your questions...
http://chucktodd.newsvine.com/_news/2008/05/12/1483453-newsvine-qa-chuck-todd-on-us-politics?threadId=263340&cmt=1799226#c1799226

[Aloha Spirit]

1. Choice responses from Todd:

On Dem. VP: He likes Evan Bayh... the picture of the Bayh family and the Obama family will be very powerful; toss in the fact that Bayh COULD put a red state in play (Indiana) and the fact he's a Clinton person, and you have all the elements Obama will be looking for. Also, Bayh's a team player; you'll never have to worry about that guy being disloyal.

On the popular vote:
well, the popular vote count is an art, not a science. Right now, we haven't given the uncommitted Mich. vote to Obama; there's an argument that maybe we should; but then what about the votes of folks who voted in territories that don't have a vote in the general election (like Guam, America Samoa and Puerto Rico)? Should those votes count? I haven't included them yet but the Clinton campaign is pushing hard that we do. The bottom line on the popular vote, it's CLOSE; VERYCLOSE and the ultimate winner will have won about half of the Dem primary vote and the ultimate loser will have won about half the primary vote. Had every caucus been a primary, Obama would have a bigger popular vote lead but a smaller pledged delegate lead; Had California been held two weeks later; he might win it; had my aunt had a youknowwhat, she'd be my uncle...there's no accurate popular vote count; it's apparently like pornography, you know it when you see it.

On getting a majority of pledged delegates:
actually, no one has secured a majority of the pledged delegates, but Obama will if he wins Oregon next Tuesday.

On Obama's perceived unelectability:
I had one uncommitted Superdelegate say to me, "we've painted ourselves into a corner by winnowing the field down to the two least electable Democrats who ran for president." The irony of your question is that up until the last few weeks, it was Clinton who was seen as having the November electability problems. Both have vulnerabilities that, say, an Evan Bayh or John Edwards might have been able to paper over. But the playing field is so tilted in the Dems favor that reportedly Bill Clinton has told folks a refrigerator could get elected against a candidate with an (R) next to his name.