The convention is a buzz with excitement about the party and Obama as the nominee. The reported sharp split between Clinton and Obama delegates is being considerably overplayed by the media. It is not very evident at the convention itself. Security is tremendous.

As we await Obama's formal announcement of Biden as his running mate there are some reflections on the selection. First it was astounding that the Obama campaign was able to keep the selection secret as long as it did. Of course the McCain campaign has been able to also accomplish this. Second Biden will bring some strengthes to the ticket. His foreign affairs experience, knowledge of the ins and outs of the system, attractiveness to working class people, and perceived ability to do well in a debate are all benefits. Third Biden will also bring some challenges to the ticket. His prior capacity to say things that might not be well thought out, the perception of being an insider, and a lack of certainty as to how well does he personally get along with Obama.

It is also interesting to note that Obama is making his official announcement in Illinois a very safe state for him in the upcoming election. Where McCain will be making his announcement apparently in Ohio which is a battleground state.

During Sunday's round of political shows, one commentator made a prediction about the upcoming presidential election that caught my interest. He stated that the oil industry for a variety of reasons would rather have a Republican than a Democrat in the White House for the next four years. In pursuing that goal, he predicted that the industry would start decreasing the price for oil which would lead to a drop in the price of gas at the pump. He suggested that by September or October that a gallon of gas might be at a price that we haven't seen for years. Not only would people see this at gas pumps but it would also have a substantial ripple effect through the rest of the economy making the economic picture brighter not to soon before the election. If pocketbook issues are a critical factor in how many people vote, this could have a sizable impact on the outcome of the presidential race.

You can tell it was time for the presidential candidates to take a break from campaigning when Paris Hilton became a primary story in regard to the campaigns. Both campaigns have devoted considerable effort recently trying to label the opposing candidate as the bigger celebrity. Given siginficant events going on in the world and the current state of the economy one would think that more substantive matters would dominate presidential campaign ads. So now appears, particularly with the Olympics going on, a great time for the candidates and their campaign staffs to take a break, refresh themselves, and come back rejuvenated.

Also, now appears to have been a good time for John Edwards to confess publicly to his affair with the nation's attention devoted to the Olympics, the end of the summer, and many families getting ready to go back to school. There are probably some key Deomocatic operatives who have produced some deep sighs of relief that Edwards did not win the party's nomination nor was seriously considered by Obama as a running mate.

At last Thursday's Breakfast with the Senators in the Russell Senate Building in Washington, D.C., Senator Durbin and Representative Costello, who was standing in for Senator Obama while he was overseas, responded to a question about what the federal government could do to help rebuild the infrastructure of Illinois. Senator Durbin in his response clearly reflected his high level of dissatisfaction with state leaders in not passing a capital budget. He was quite unhappy that due to the personality squabbles among the leaders the state was losing out on millions of dollars of federal matching funds. He stated that he and Representative Costello had worked very hard to secure lots of federal funds for the state which all were about to be squandered due to the inability to pass a budget.

As an educator I stress the importance of critical analysis, which includes the capacity to assess the validity of past statements and/or actions in the light of new information. Critical analysis implies that with the insights provided by new information a person may well change her or his stance on an issue. In life, the workplace, and certainly in the educational process the ability to change stances on the basis of accumulated knowledge is a critical element for learning, and frequently is taken as an indicator that the person is becoming more mature, and possibly wiser.

Yet when running for office, changing a position on the basis of new knowledge is used to affix on the afflicted candidate the label, flip-flopper. Opposition researchers for various campaigns comb the voting records and public statements of their opponents to find instances of where a vote or an utterance made earlier is different than one made more currently. If such an instance is found, then a hue and cry is made, which the media covers, that the person has flipflopped and certainly is not deserving of election. The campaigns for both McCain and Obama have certainly made many such charges already, and many more are yet to come. So is a change in position merely flipflopping, a strategic choice to attract votes, or the product of enlightment. This is an important determination to be made by voters.

For those who may be interested the Republican Party for its national party convention has created an interactive web site at http://www.gopplatform2008.com for the public to discuss, submit, and review ideas for the Party's platform in 2008. You have to create a platform account, which is free and an easy process. After creating the account, you can review ideas in different topic areas that have been submitted already, discuss those ideas, and/or submit your own ideas. It is quite interesting to read submitted ideas or discussion threads provided by people across the nation.