I had too much caffeine today.
December 2007Senator Barack Obama decides that he will not run for President in 2008.
January 2008Hillary Clinton narrowly loses Iowa but goes onto trump John Edwards in New Hampshire and South Carolina and then clinches the nomination. John McCain loses Iowa to Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas but goes onto clinche the nomination after winning New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and most of Super Tuesday.
Most pundits say it was a rather unexciting primary cycle. John McCain made a comeback from being behind in the polls and Hillary Clinton still won. Voter turnout is above average but nothing extraordinary.
Ron Paul begins to publicly play with the idea of mounting an independent run.
Jon Stewart on the Daily Show articulates his disgust with the nominees, saying that John McCain has done a complete 180 from who "he used to be" and calls Hillary Clinton "part of the political machine...has no real interest in helping the people who need it...she's no Bill Clinton..."
February 2008Ron Paul announces that he will run as an independent for the Presidency. His grassroots movement goes into full gear.
February polling:
Clinton: 48%
McCain: 36%
Paul: 16%
March 2008Stephen Colbert appears on the Daily Show, and goes off script telling Jon Stewart that he should run for President. Joe Biden appears on the show the next day and says "It really isn't a bad idea."
Hillary Clinton takes Joe Biden off of her VP list.
The media picks up on the potential Stewart candidacy and runs with it. Speculation flies through the roof.
Within a week of the deadline, Stewart says Comedy Central has agreed to suspend his contract will he pursues higher challenges.
Stewart announces that he will be a candidate for President of the United States as an independent.
March Polling:
Clinton: 40%
McCain: 34%
Paul: 14%
Stewart: 10%
Undecided: 12%
April 2008Hillary Clinton announces that her Vice Presidential nominee will be General Wesley Clark.
In an interview Jon Stewart is asked why he is running for President...
"You know, morale has to be pretty low in the country to suggest that someone like me should be President...but maybe thats what we need --not someone who is a career politician....these people don't answer questions...not one of them holds their feet to the fire to do it. I'll give John McCain credit, he used to be a maverick, but now, look at him. He's pulling a complete 180 on things he believed in...and its not just one or two things, its virtually everything from his immigration bill to the people he's trying to court to get to the Presidency."John McCain's campaign calls Jon Stewart a joke and "is great on TV, but in an office he's talking crap at the water cooler all day."
McCain begins his "Straight Talk Express Tour" while Hillary campaigns on "4 more years of Bush" and Stewart's rallying cry is "Are these really the best choices?" Ron Paul's motto is something involving the Constitution that is too long for a rallying cry.
May 2008The Stewart campaign gets hit hard for not having their policy plans fully outlined yet. Jon Stewart's response goes like so "We'll have our policy plans out soon enough, but we won't be afraid to say what America really needs. They poll and test every word in their plans to try to get your vote...it takes a different kind of person to run a country than it does to campaign"
May Polling:
Clinton: 42%
McCain: 35%
Paul: 11%
Stewart: 7%
Undecided: 5%
June 2008Ron Paul announces that his Vice Presidential candidate will be Andrew Napolitano of New Jersey
Senator John McCain also announces his running mate.
Former Vice Presidential Candidate to Al Gore, Senator Joseph Lieberman is John McCain's choice.
Immediately, John McCain gets criticism from his base about picking Lieberman while also praised by many pundits for going back to his "maverick" self.
June Polling:
Clinton: 39%
McCain: 37%
Paul: 10%
Stewart: 7%
Undecided: 7%
July 2008Jon Stewart had exceeded expectations throughout the year for raising money but now it seems that his income has flat-lined. Stewart's policy ideas are available online but his campaign is not nearly as motivated as it was in April.
Jon Stewart announces his running mate...in a surprise...
Stewart's comments "The guys done a good job with New York, he clearly knows what he's doing. Two Jews on the same ticket might hurt us though. He's willing to try."
Bloomberg's comments "I like what Stewart stands for. He has a good head on his shoulders and together we'd make a great team. I hope we can stir up discourse on issues that are really important to people in this country."
Stewart's picked revs up media attention and gives Stewart a much needed fund raising advantage. The reaction from the other campaigns is mixed.
July Polling:
Clinton: 46%
McCain: 40%
Stewart: 7%
Paul: 7%
August 2008:Lord yougo102939492 declares that August will be skipped this year. Event planners in Minnesota and Colorado are very unhappy.
September 2008:The McCain and Clinton campaigns agree to let Jon Stewart into the debate along with Ron Paul. They're hope is that these two will look like fringe candidates and thus boost their own numbers in the polls.
During the first debate, Jon Stewart gives a decent performance. He is able to defend his positions, his occupation but is largely under attack the majority of the time from the other three. Clinton dominates the debate and is seen as the winner.
*This debate happens before the financial meltdown.
September Polling:
Clinton: 42%
McCain: 40%
Stewart: 11%
Paul: 7%
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John McCain says "the economy is strong" which just happened to be the trigger phrase for a huge financial meltdown. Hillary Clinton hops on the attack bandwagon offering solutions to solve the problem, while Stewart says that she is part of the problem and only going to help the special interests.
