Blake’s Blog

Well, that settles that.

According to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released today, more Americans would rather invite Barack Obama to a summer barbecue than John McCain.

The online survey of 1,759 adults found that 52 percent would rather scarf down burgers with Obama, while 45 percent would prefer McCain’s company.

(FedEx founder Fred Smith, who spent Memorial Day weekend with McCain’s family, is no doubt among those who would beg to differ with the poll results.)

But after watching footage of Obama attempting to bowl during one of his campaign appearances, this poll makes me wonder: Which candidate would make the better horseshoes player?

And if people think Obama couldn’t sling horseshoes any better than he could roll a bowling ball, maybe that explains why he’s a preferred outdoor party guest.

Just food for thought.

According to a brief item in our business section Saturday, FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith says he has no interest in serving as John McCain’s running mate.

Smith issued a statement through the FedEx public relations office to that effect Friday, in response to media inquiries.

I’m still not completely convinced that Smith couldn’t be persuaded to become a vice-presidential candidate, if McCain asked him nicely enough.

When Smith issued that statement, I want to know if he said he "absolutely, positively" wouldn’t serve. ...

As a candidate for U.S. Senate, perhaps Kenneth Eaton should choose his words a bit more carefully.

Eaton, who’s running against incumbent Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, sent out a news release Monday challenging the wisdom of relying on more offshore drilling for oil as a way to bail the country out of its energy crisis.

Eaton suggested a number of alternatives, including increased investment in solar and wind technology, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells and even nuclear power.

Nothing too surprising there.

But he may have gotten just a tad carried away in the release:

"Give us five or 10 years of tax incentives for folks other than oil companies, and we’ll have this energy thing licked! Then Ahmedinejad and Chavez can peddle their oil to the Martians!"

Eaton should know better than to encourage those types of alliances.

I can see it now: Iran, Venezuela and Mars as the new Axis of Evil.

Here’s a bit more evidence that our local politicians aren’t alone in their quirky shortcomings, courtesy of Memphis City Councilman Shea Flinn:

Flinn called my attention to an article in today’s online edition of the Knoxville News Sentinel about Knox County Clerk candidate Amy Henley-Vandergriff, who’s dealing with the fallout - political and otherwise - from an incident earlier this week in which her husband, a convicted marijuana trafficker, was arrested for allegedly assaulting Vandergriff and a younger man with whom she was suspected of having an affair.

Flinn noted that the Knox County Clerk’s campaign has already incorporated elements of sex, drugs and violence "and that’s just on the Democratic side. The Republican failed to pay his taxes. Memphis politics is going to have to bring its A-game to top that one."

Maybe so, Mr. Flinn, maybe so. But I have every confidence Memphis politicians can rise to this challenge, if they’re so inclined.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is back in the news again, for using the Heimlich maneuver to save a fellow diner’s life over the weekend.

Now, if Huckabee can find a way to prevent the rest of us from choking on high gasoline prices, John McCain should pick him as a running mate immediately.

Looks like there may be a little political blowback from the Tennessee Republican Party’s efforts to make an issue out of Barack Obama’s middle name.

Robin Smith, the state party chairman, is up for reappointment to a seat on the Tennessee Human Rights Commission.

However, some Democrats are urging Gov. Phil Bredesen not to reappoint Smith, saying her commitment to human rights issues is somewhat suspect.

Among other things, Smith’s critics are citing the Tennessee GOP’s references to "Barack Hussein Obama" as an example of her insensitivity to people of other cultural or ethnic backgrounds.

Of course, this whole controversy might go away if we come to find out that Robin Smith’s middle name is Akmed or something like that...

Of all the indications we’ve gotten that Hillary Clinton is winding down her presidential campaign, this one is most convincing for me:

When I arrived at work this morning, I only had two e-mails from the Clinton campaign waiting in my inbox at work. On a normal day during this campaign season, it hasn’t been unusual to have 20 or 30.

I did get a third e-mail at 10:30 this morning, though, in which Clinton announced that she wouldn’t be conceding the race tonight.

It’s starting to seem as if the lady doth protest too much.

With friends like Fred Thompson, maybe Republican presidential candidate John McCain doesn’t really need enemies.

According to a report on WMC-TV’s web site, the former U.S. senator from Tennessee was campaigning with McCain in Nashville on Monday.

Thompson offered to let McCain use the red pickup truck that was an iconic part of his Senate campaign in 1994.

The only caveat: Thompson told McCain the truck no longer runs.

So if McCain ever wants to get some sympathy votes by appearing by the side of the road in a broken-down vehicle, I guess he’s all set.

What a break for Hillary Clinton!

Just days before Puerto Rico’s presidential primary, Clinton has picked up an endorsement from native son Ricky Martin.

Yes, I was as surprised as anyone to learn that Puerto Rico actually gets to participate in the primary process, given that it’s not actually a state.

Then again, so might my former home state of Florida, despite its recent history of electoral bumbling.

Anyway, Martin may be best known on the mainland United States for his hit song of a few years ago called "Livin' La Vida Loca."

Which, translated from Spanish, means "livin' the crazy life."

Given Clinton’s ever-diminishing chances of winning her party’s nomination, that seems pretty appropriate.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama surely knows this by now, but not all the political advice he gets is good advice.

Not even when it comes from an experienced political hand like former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr.

Ford, a Democrat from Memphis, penned an opinion piece for Newsweek magazine’s June 2 issue in which he offered Obama a few tips for campaigning in the run-up to the November general election.

Which is an interesting development, in and of itself, because as chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, Ford has previously adhered to a policy of neutrality with regard to candidates vying to be the Democratic nominee.

Since Hillary Clinton is still in the race, at least the last time I checked, it’s a bit surprising to me that Ford would be looking ahead at this point.

Nevertheless, the advice he offers Obama mostly seems pretty solid.

Ford opines that Obama can shed his elitist image by getting out and mixing among regular folks more, which seems sensible enough.

However, Ford also suggested that after Obama’s infamous campaign appearance at a bowling alley earlier this year, the candidate should have returned the next night to try to improve on his 37 score.

I’ve got to disagree with Ford on that point. After a performance like that, I think Obama would be better off just picking another sport.

After all, a lot of regular folks play slow pitch softball, too. And the distance between the foul lines on a softball diamond is a lot wider than the distance between those gutters in a bowling alley.