Looks like Obama will have to start herding the cats a lot sooner than he thought. Because not only does Montana Senator Max Baucus want to push universal health care, he wants it to be mandate for everybody which is what Hillary proposed, not Obama.

From WSJ:

“My door is open and I seek partners with ‘can do’ spirits and open minds,” Mr. Baucus wrote in an introduction to his 89-page plan. “I believe — very strongly — that every American has a right to high-quality health care…and I believe Americans cannot wait any longer.”

Like Mr. Obama, he proposes a national marketplace that he dubs the Health Insurance Exchange, in which individuals and small businesses could buy coverage, with subsidies based on income. Private insurers and a new Medicare-like public program would compete through the exchange to offer coverage.

Some Republicans have complained that such an approach gives government too heavy a hand in the design and sale of insurance.

Under the Baucus plan, most employers would be required to offer insurance to their workers or pay into a fund, with the contribution based on the size of the firm and its annual revenue. Small employers would get a tax credit if they offer insurance, with the size of the credit based on the size of the company and its earnings. [...]

During the campaign, Mr. Obama left himself some wiggle room on the issue, saying that he could support a mandate if the system proves impossible without one. It isn’t clear how much the new president would be willing to negotiate on this issue.

Also, take a look at the white paper Baucus put out. It seems exactly what Hillary was proposing.

So that begs the question: is Hillary behind this?

More as it develops…

Well, how about that? A state that Bush won by 20 points in 2004 and 25 points in 2000 has the potential to go blue?

Also, last month the numbers were reversed, so this represents a +10 net gain for Obama in a state many wouldn’t think he has a chance to be competitive in. Now the McCain camp will most definitely be looking at spending money in a place where they probably never thought they would have to.

Rasmussen has some more about how historic this would be…

Even Bob Dole managed to win Montana, albeit by a narrow 44% to 41% margin (Ross Perot picked up 14% of the vote).

The last Democrat to win Montana was Bill Clinton in 1992. He did so with 38% of the vote. The first President Bush got 35% of the Montana vote while Ross Perot picked up 26%.

Some credit must be given to Dem Governor Brian Schweitzer, who has really helped redefine the blue brand in that state and is being floated as a dark horse VP candidate.

One last note, Montana only has 3 electoral college votes, but in an election some say will be exceptionally close, a state like this could really set the stage for landslide territory.

More as it develops…

A politician who walks the walk of post-partisan politics? Check.

A potential VP nominee for Barack Obama? Hmmm…

Watch this interview with Charlie Rose and you tell me…

Needless to say I’m impressed with Schweitzer’s refreshing candor, as is FiveThirtyEight.com:

Last night, Senator Jon Tester impishly threw Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer’s name into the ring as a potential VP choice. That set off a bunch of thoughts, because I have a closer perspective on Schweitzer than most bloggers. Without going into too much detail, I’ve worked a short while in Montana politics, enough to feel relatively confident in the following analysis.

The first time I heard Brian Schweitzer speak, I thought: “This guy is going to be President.” That is not a common reaction on my part to politicians. I’ve listened to hundreds and hundreds of Democratic politicians speak, and I’ve only had that reaction twice in my lifetime. The first was Barack Obama, the second was Brian Schweitzer.

[...] Schweitzer is a hell of a smart guy. A soil scientist and rancher, he spent 6 years in Saudi Arabia working on irrigation projects. He speaks fluent Arabic and has an intuitive grasp of the region based on real life experience. Certainly that would open him up to the sleazy email “Manchurian Candidate” stuff, especially as the radical Islamic Hussein Osama’s running mate. But I have a feeling, knowing Schweitzer, he’d be asked about it and his response would have people slapping their foreheads in laughter with, “Yes! That’s the perfect reply!”

Sure, he’s certainly not perfect, but I’m betting Obama is taking a hard look at him. And while I won’t propose that he could turn Montana blue for Obama in the fall, you never know what can happen in a year where “change” is the central theme.

Long story short, Schweitzer may just be that VP dark horse everybody is ignoring.

We shall see…

More numbers as they develop.

“You have to ask yourself, who is the stronger candidate? And based on every analysis, of every bit of research and every poll that has been taken and every state that a Democrat has to win, I am the stronger candidate against John McCain in the fall.”
- Hillary Clinton, lying to a crowd in Billings, Montana.