Obama eyes 20 VP possibilities, 50 states
It’s been about a week since Barack Obama wrapped up the Democratic nomination, and talk about who might be in the running for his VP slot has quickly gone from parlor game to all-consuming obsession in some political circles.
Given this, it’s nice to have a little something to chew on.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s vice presidential vetting team discussed roughly 20 names with a senior Senate Democrat Tuesday, including some well-known options and others that are “outside the box.”
Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota told CNN that some of those on the list are “top officials now,” others are “former lawmakers” and others are “former top military leaders.”
Conrad said Obama’s team wanted his impressions about the people on the list, including the respect they command and their “standing with their colleagues.” He termed their discussion “wide-ranging.”
MSNBC’s report added some additional details, pointing to a series of specific names that have been “bandied about” among congressional Dems and Obama’s search committee, including Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, Kathleen Sebelius, Ted Strickland, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jim Webb, Bill Nelson, Jack Reed, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Tom Daschle, and Sam Nunn. The report indicated that “the two other names that invited extended discussion were Biden and Strickland.” (For the record, the only name on that list that would worry me is Nunn.)
As for “former top military leaders,” Wesley Clark’s name certainly comes to mind, as does Anthony Zinni’s. But MSNBC noted, “[O]ne name the vetters are inserting in the conversations is one that is not a household name — Ret. Gen. James Jones, the former Marine-turned-NATO Supreme Allied Commander.”
Intriguing. I’ve mentioned Gen. Jones a few times in passing, but his name certainly qualifies as “outside the box.”
And speaking of Obama campaign machinations, campaign manager David Plouffe sent out an interesting email to the DNC list this morning:
I have some news that I wanted you to hear.
People like you have been the heart of Chairman Howard Dean’s 50-state strategy to rebuild our party and empower Democrats to compete everywhere. We’ve all seen the energy and enthusiasm at the grassroots level impact races up and down the ballot over the last three years.
I am proud to announce that our presidential campaign will be the first in a generation to deploy and maintain staff in every single state.
The network of volunteers and the infrastructure built up during the historic primary season — on behalf of all the Democratic campaigns — have given us an enormous and unprecedented opportunity in the general election.
That’s both impressive and encouraging. As Ben Smith noted, “It’s a symbolic move the campaign can afford, and also another mark of how fully and swiftly Obama is remaking the Democratic Party in his own image. It’s also worth noting that Obama’s volunteer cadre means there will probably be visible campaigns, with lots of volunteers, literally everywhere, even if there’s only a staffer or two on the ground in, say, Idaho.”
Hey how did you get my letter from David? 🙂
Is this guy going to be a problem?Obama vetter draws unwanted scrutiny
my short list (to date) would include: clinton, edwards, warner, webb, dodd and clark, with an emphasis on dodd.
Blessings be to Howard Dean for overcoming the DLC republican-lite big-state strategy which assured the democratic party of never having overwhelming numbers in the Congress or Senate.
An old adage of mine is that you stand a much better chance of getting what you want if you ask for it than if you do not. This totally applies to Dean’s and Obama’s 50 state strategies.
Is Jones a way to vet Clark indirectly? I’m probably reading too much into it, but James Jones just seems to be a Wesley Clark clone as a candidate, without any good reason why you would pick Jones instead of Clark.
my short list (to date) would exclude all Senators – we need them in the Senate, including the esteemed Hillary Clinton.
my short list (to date) would include Napolitano and Sebelius and would be open to consideration of governors and ex-senators who share Obama’s view of changing government.
I’m rooting for former Virginia Governor Mark Warner.
Current VA gov. Tim Kaine looked pretty good on Fox News Sunday. I still remember his Democratic response to the SOTU a couple years back where he had some bizarre “eyebrow issues”, but I didn’t see that this week…
Former Gov. Warner should continue his path toward the US Senate, further securing the Democratic majority…
The Senators need to stay right where they are– ESPECIALLY Dodd, since Connecticut has a Republican governor!
I continue to support Sebelius, but there are a lot of good people out there. I’d have major qualms about some on the list:
Hillary (for obvious reasons)
Kerry (God NO!, he blew one election and really has no strengths I can see)
Nunn and Nelson (waaay too conservative)
the other Senators — see S.O.V. — and especially if there isn’t a Democratic Governor in the state. (I like Reed, btw, but if Obama names Whitehouse as his AG — really the best choice — that would leave two open seats in RI)
Strickland — because he’s also an ordained Minister, and because the scariest thought would be any opening for Ken Blackwell to revive his career.
As for the generals, maybe it’s just today and the heat, but I keep on hearing echoes of “Don’t worry about Bush, Cheney wll be there to provide adult supervision.” I don’t want any echo of that attitude to rub off on Obama. (I would gladly vote for either one, I just wouldn’t pick them if I was making the pick.)
I really would like to hear more about Napolitano, but I think Sebelius is stronger, and closer to Obama in style of governing.
But
I like the idea of Zinni. His military focus on the Mideast is more relavent than Clark’s. We don’t need two senators. Few governors have the national name recognition or experience. He’s been outspoken at times. Could work.
(For the record, the only name on that list that would worry me is Nunn.)
I don’t know much about Nunn. Is there a specific reason why he worries Steve?
He’s a bit older, but I was wondering if it was an option to have an older running mate who would help combat the cries of inexperience now, only to have them retire in 2012 and open the door to a new VP who could more easily transition into 2016.
But I reiterate, I know nothing of Nunn other than he’s old and from Georgia.
And SadOldVet and the Caped Composer are right. Stay away from the Senators and let’s focus on getting a supermajority there, as well.
I didn’t see Doctor Biobrain on that short list…maybe he’s one of the unmentioned ‘outside the box’ candidates. He’ll be crushed if he’s not chosen!
How about max Cleland?
Nunn created DADT, was a strong militarist, and would bring nothing but the ticket — and age isn’t an advantage this year.
but the ticket == to the ticket.
Doubtful, Sam Nunn is very conservative, and was one of the prime architects of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy that plagues our military. He shouldn’t be anywhere near that shortlist, so I’m dismayed to hear that he’s on it.
Any of those military guys could be interesting . . . but I’m still hoping Obama goes way outside the box and picks the most off-the-radar candidate (who would also be the best candidate,) Brian Schweitzer. No one will see that coming, and the media will get all wrapped up in positive coverage that will eclipse McCain.
I suspect most (if not all) of these are red herrings. The missing name that surprises me most is Bill Richardson.
Dale (1):Is this guy going to be a problem?Obama vetter draws unwanted scrutiny
John Dean once said that it’s a scandal if the media decides it is. And so far CNN and MSNBC have devoted at least as much time to this story today as all of McCain’s lobbyist connections. That said, I don’t see the issue here. He was on several comp committees. OK, but those are generally rubber stamp groups, and I don’t know how you pick a single member and assign any responsibility for the end result. Then he got seven million in discount loans from Countrywide while working for Fannie Mae. I don’t even see how this is a conflict of interest. No one is accusing either company of laundering subprime loans for the other. But most of all, Johnson is not picking a VP. He’s vetting candidates. Is the implication that he would go easy on candidates that are friendly to the investment industry? This just strikes me as speculative journalism.
Strickland is anti-choice. To choose him and not Hillary would thus be a disaster. I fear the same might well be true of choosing another woman.
I like Bill Richardson, but can he campaign? He was for Iraq war, then against, but really against.
Danp and I said Richardson simultaneously. But did I hear he has “personal” problems?
From Andy Borowitz at “The Borowitz Report” (www.borowitzreport.com)
McCain Vows to Campaign in All Thirteen Colonies
Kicks Off Contest in Dominion of Virginia
Republican presidential nominee John McCain officially kicked off his general election campaign today, promising to bring his race for the White House to “all thirteen colonies.” …
Borowitz is worth checking daily. He skewers all sides.
Nunn: There used to be a time that U.S. Soldiers couldn’t walk on the grass in Augusta Georgia (actually told to me by a U.S. Soldier who worked there). Then Sam Nunn realized that getting military bases into his state was a form of pork barrel politics. He’s one of the reasons we have a BRAC process.
Dodd: I’d think the subprime crisis would be reason enough NOT to include a tool of the financial and banking lobby.
Webb: You can’t have him, nor Mark Warner (he’s going to be our junior senator come January). You can have Kaine if you can stand the eyebrows.
Clark: The only reason someone would consider Jones or Zinni is that they think Clark’s previous attempt at the presidential nomination disqualifies him. His late start had far more to do with his failure than his abilities. But still, he’s going to seem like the Democrats version of Fred Thompson (remember him?). We go for generals, they go for actors.
Kerry: What Prup said.
I’d be more impressed with the comments on the 50 state strategy if they were actively reaching out to Clinton’s supporters and trying to coordinate across the state.
I like Sebelius, too, who is a smart, strong governor from all I’ve heard but is also a very attractive lady as well. Not to take anything away from Janet Napolitano, just saying. 🙂
Would a unity ticket be crazy idea? Chuck Hagel comes to mind as a pretty respectable Republican.
Caped, I like the way you think! Brian Schweitzer’s my “dark horse”, too.
Keep all current Dem sens (and Mark Warner) IN the Senate.
“Governor Bill” would be better in the cabinet than as VP. This is a VERY ambitious man we’re talking about here.
Sam Nunn is very conservative, and was one of the prime architects of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell… -The Caped Composer
Oooohhhh, THAT Sam Nunn. 🙂
Haha, seriously though, thanks Caped, Prup, and Lance.
David in NY said: “Danp and I said Richardson simultaneously. But did I hear he has “personal” problems?”
His very Latin manner towards women can be considered “groping” by some. After one of the charges against Bill Clinton was he hugged a female acquaintance with personnel concerns depressing her and then said (oh my!) “I’ve always wanted to do that” too much physical contact with someone not your spouse is highly suspect.
Other than that I think Richardson is the best choice for VP or even President. He’s not that much of a campaigner however and you’d better ask President Clinton’s blessing first before you offer him the VP slot if you want to avoid another explosion.
doubtful said: “Haha, seriously though, thanks Caped, Prup, and Lance.”
We live but to serve (right guys).
Please don’t pick Mark Warner fo VP. We need him here in Virginia!
Lance (25): David in NY said: “Danp and I said Richardson simultaneously. But did I hear he has “personal” problems?”
His very Latin manner towards women can be considered “groping” by some.
Amo, amas, amat. That’s all the latin I know! 🙂
I can see why people would like one of the Senators like Webb or someone like Warner (who is likely to win and possibly by a large margin) but we need them in the Senate. As for a “military” VP Clark has run for president before so has campaign experience and has proved a big draw when it comes to money and many of his supporters supported Hillary (as did he). Not sure where the idea for Jones comes from.
Glad that he is going with the 50 state program. I know that there are states that he can’t won’t win, and while I wouldn’t want to just “throw” money away I can see this as a way to keep McCain on the ropes defending territory that he may deem “safe” as well as a way to appeal to those in those states who may be on the fence.
My shortlist would not include any women except Hillary Clinton, because just picking some random woman other than the one that 50% of democrats already voted for would be a huge affront to her supporters and the biggest possible mistake Obama could make short of being caught on video murdering somebody. The republicans biggest nightmare is having to run Grandpa Simpson against both Barack and Hillary together. Democratic turnout would be so high that it would have tremendous impact across all races downballot.
I’m not happy with Obama appointing Walmart apologist as top economic advisor – so far Obama’s economic proposals look very progressive and union-friendly. But hiring Mr. Furman is not a good sign…
http://www.nysun.com/national/obama-taps-wal-mart-defender-as-director/79665/
Tom Daschle
I was an early supporter of Bill Richardson in the primaries but was disappointed by his campaigning style and over-reliance on The Resume.
Nobody has mentioned Tom Daschle so I will. Loads of foreign policy/national security cred. Older but comes across as somewhat youthful. I heard him speak a couple of years ago and he seems strong on civil liberties and how the Constitution is supposed to work.
Daschle wants HHS.
I think it will be a military type. Clark is well known and well-liked by alot of people. It won’t be Nunn.
Schweitzer from Montana. I agree with Caped composer and Phoebes. Who better to keep an ear to the ground than a geologist?
Glad we’re in agreement, Haik and (as usual) Phoebes. Schweitzer is a big-picture thinker, an amazing campaigner, and has all the right similarities AND the right contrasts to Obama.
And, Joel @ #32, I, too, was an early Richardson supporter. His resume was absolutely perfect, and I was convinced that he’d be the best possible candidate (short of Al Gore) to start reversing the unmitigated disaster of the Bush years. I was such a Richardson supporter, I even mischievously put a Richardson for President bumper sticker on my Hillary-supporting mother’s car, during a visit in early 2007. She didn’t notice it was there until two weeks later. Ha! But, I digress . . . the point is, I had high hopes for the Governor of New Mexico, and was behind him 100%.
Then he opened his mouth. End of story.
this notion to stay away from dem senators strikes me as odd — pick the person best able to help secure the white house and have a bit of faith that if they did a good job (which they obviously did or they wouldn’t be getting picked for VP) their constituency will elect their successor (extremely likely anyway with the tide clearly turned against the republicans)
I agree with entheo, especially in states that have a Democratic governor that will pick the successor to the Senator if we win. New York, for example.
Entheo @ #37, you forget that when a senator gets taken out of the Senate, the governor of his or her state will pick the replacement. And if that governor is a Republican, such as Jodi Rell of Connecticut, that means that the replacement senator will be of the governor’s party. Achieving a solid, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate is as high a priority as electing a Democratic president. There’s no way we’ll be able to pass the progressive legislation we need if the GOP can obstruct us in the Senate. So, while it’d be great to base the VP decision entirely on who is the most qualified for the job, these considerations also have to factor in.
Just wanted to applaud the sheer intelligence of this commentary, with special attention to “the only one who worries me is Nunn.” A lot of people seem to have forgotten what a complete pain in the ass he was as a Senator in the ’90s. More than one speculated that he was such an obstructionist because he was jealous of Clinton, who ran and won after Nunn had decided to wait until ’96. Not the sort of personality anyone could work with easily.
I’ll second the enthusiasm for Dodd, who ran the best unknown campaign of the primary season. Too many lumped him in with Biden, another strong VP contender, which wasn’t fair to either of them. Smart, pragmatic, ethical and a great speaker, but, like Biden, needed in the Senate. I’d be more than happy to see either of them as Majority Leader.
What a contrast coming here after reading Alex Koppelman’s sneering putdown of Kucinich’s impeachment resolution on Salon. I know he’s supposed to be a friend of yours, but still. “Laughingstock?” What’s funny about justice?
Keep up the great work. This site is what “The WarRoom ” used to be.
Hey–we Idahoans have bragging rights since Obama won by his largest margin in our state! We’ll take our two campaign staffers and be very very happy. We may have no chance of going blue in the general, but this 50 state thing helps the down-ticket candidates immensely. Go Obama!
It’s going to be difficult to woo the most ardent Clinton supporters, and choosing a woman other than Hillary, to use a terribly worn out metaphor, would be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Haven’t the Democrats done enough of that?
No, no, no. Don’t do it!
So Clark is not on that long short list? Why?
So I guess Janet Napolitano, Brian Schweitzer, Bob Graham, Ed Rendell, and Bill Richardson are not in the running? And I guess the same goes for Hagel and Bloomberg? The list of names given in the First Read article–Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, Kathleen Sebelius, Ted Strickland, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jim Webb, Bill Nelson, Jack Reed, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Tom Daschle, and Sam Nunn, plus Wesley Clark, Anthony Zinni, and Jim Jones–makes for 18. Who are the other two? I ask because FR mentions that we should take who was not mentioned as a hint for who is not in the running?
nicole #41 – I thought I was the only liberal in Idaho!
this notion to stay away from dem senators strikes me as odd… -entheo
You take away someone with seniority when you do that, and imbalance the ticket by having two people with similar experience. I aggree, we should pick the best person for the job, but I think that springs from balance and other experiences. A Congressperson, Governor, retired general, blog commenter aliased ‘doubtful:’ these types of people will provide a better ticket, I believe.
And I guess the same goes for Hagel and Bloomberg? -Brian
Of course. They’re not Democrats.
#39, 45 — i don’t disagree with seeking a more balanced ticket, but securing the white house at the expense of one senate seat — if that is what it took — is a small price to pay, IMHO. many of the senate races ‘should’ take care of themselves in light of the past 8 years — the executive branch is the grand prize, and to take key VP candidates off the table just because they’re senators still doesn’t make sense to me.
[comment deleted]
Zinni publicly stated that he wasn’t interested in a VP spot. On the other hand, he would be great!!
F*** Obama @ 48:
You got it dude. Every see him in those basketball shorts. You can see the tail sticking out. If you look closely, you can see he has paste & makeup on his forehead to hide the horns.
Wow, FO – Some one stopped your medicine. I’m sorry. We need to re-started it. I think that a combination of meds would be best – Haldol for acute control of delusions and paranoid fantasies. Add some Zoloft to help those mood swings.
The ONLY reason to select a military man is if that person truly believes that our military budgeting is out of wack and needs to be controlled. Like Nixon going to China, it probably will take a military person to step up and confront the defense-industrial complex.
There are a lot of worthy candidates, but I really think he’s going to pick me.
🙂
Anyone who voted for torture is a deal-breaker. That includes Senator Nelson.
It would likely be viewed as an insult to Clinton to pick a woman with less experience or Richardson. An anti-choice candidate also wouldn’t wash unless he took the stance of ‘it’s settled law’ that he doesn’t intend to revisit.
In 2004, we saw what military cred got us, and voters want foreign policy cred not military experience right now. Which explains Nunn, but shoots down Jones and Clark. If they could find a better choice from MO, they’d drop Jones from consideration.
Blue state Senators make sense as there’s no net Senate loss, then. Four Virginians says a lot about where they’re leaning, but Webb and Warner are needed in the Senate, so Kaine and Nunn get the edge there (despite Nunn being as hawkish a Dem as there is.)
For swing states, I’d say FL, OH, MO make the most sense, followed by VA and CO. So where’s Bob Graham? Where’s Hart & Udall (CO)? Nobody west of ND, KS and MO seems odd, too.
I hope they’ll have another float list ahead.
#48 needs to go back on his meds or at least seek professional help. Blogging while crazy is not way to win friends and influence people.
Fuck Obama… with a name like that, why not hook up with an unmarried guy instead? Your hidden desire is bound to be unrequited. He’s happily attached so quit setting yourself up for heartbreak. He’s just so not into you.
#55 Kevin Hayden, just to clarify, Sam Nunn is from Georgia, not Virginia.
Personally, I am hoping that all the names on that list are red herrings. And part of me suspects that that is the case; why would the Obama team show its cards this early? Perhaps they’re bluffing, hinting at standard, “safe” picks, so as to nudge McCain into making an establishment pick.
Whaddya think?
#48: I’ve been waiting for some idiot to say Obama’s the AntiChrist, and here you are. But if Obama really is the AC, wouldn’t he bring on the Rapture (finally), providing a reason for good Left Behinders to vote FOR him?
As for the VP, why not Richardson? Hillary would be insulted? Who cares? And why should she be? She’s in the same camp as Bill and everyone else now. It just took her a few too many weeks to recognize the obvious.
Why not Richardson? Because he can’t open his mouth without completely embarrassing himself, that’s why. Well, that and the womanizing rumors. Regardless as to the veracity of the rumors, the fact that they exist would drag down the ticket if he were on it.
Patrick @ 30:
You really shouldn’t have said that! (He says in his best Kevin Sorbo voice.)
Ever since the story first broke that Hillary had made the same demand — that if you don’t pick me, don’t pick another woman — I’ve been biting my tongue, pouring cold water on my head, and playing a tape loop going “Party unity. Time for healing. Shut up, Prup.”
But it is still almost 90 — I had a shopping/laundry trip outside — and I come back to see THIS!
Now there were many good arguments for Hillary’s candidacy, but the idea of the ‘first woman to be nominated, to be President’ was an important component — and one which had to have stirred even the strongest Obama supporter — even those who had other qualms about Hillary.
She and her supporters used this, used her gender, even — for some supporters — arguing that any criticism could only come from misogyny. She continued to use it until the end, and even now we hear that as a ‘feminist’ some Hillary supporters can’t support Obama.
And if there was anyone here who did not have a shudder and a thrill when she said “we put 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling,’ I don’t want to know that person.
And then this — I can’t confirm Hillary has said this, but you are not the first supporter to argue it. And what has happened to the feminism? “We have to break the glass ceiling — but if it can’t be me, don’t you dare let anyone else break it. We can’t have some young girls having a hero, a woman VP to look up to — if it isn’t me. It’s only for 8 years, for goodness sake — women have already waited so long, that won’t matter. And maybe I’ll be too old to run in 2016, and maybe a VP Sebelius, a VP Napolitano would be positioned to break the final ceiling — but forget that. Inviting them would be an insult to me and what I did — not a fulfillment of it.”
And there’s always the idiotic argument that ‘if you insult me, well my supporters — who have fought for my feminism and my positions on women’s issues — might just go and vote for McCain — the arch anti-feminist — just to punish Obama (and the country) for being mean to me.’
And you wonder why we have seen so many women posting here saying that they had looked forward so much to vote for a female President, but that, sadly, it couldn’t be Hillary.
Feminist?
Pfui!
NEWS FLASH: Whatever the validity of those names on the list in that article may be, they can scratch one off. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland issued the proverbial Shermanesque statement today, stating that he WILL NOT be Obama’s VP. Good!
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/06/oh-guv-shermane.html
Froomkin: exactly, which is why Graham would be a better choice. And didn’t Daschle vote for the AUMF?
Caped Composer: you’re right about Nunn’s home state. I’d forgotten. But he was always the one Dem no Republican would challenge on defense issues. His domestic policies sucked, though.
#61 – have you been off this world for the past few months…you think it isn’t a insult to ALL woman to be call (fill in the dashes), a Fu–ing Who-e, bi-ch, cun-, nutcracker and on and on and on. The woman is brilliant and has the knowledge and experience to be President, she is a former First Lady and a respected Senator from NY. And if you think this is acceptable language to use about a woman, I dare you to call these names to your wife, girlfriend, aunts and mother. Lately the pundits are saying Bill and Chelsea have to campaign for Obama because that would show how serious Hillary is about supporting him… If the rolls were reversed would they be calling for Michelle to be campaigning for Hillary. Hmm – He is throwing Elizabeth Edwards name as one to advise him on health care, because Elizabeth said she did not like his plan.. He put Caroline Kennedy on his committee to select a VP. Didn’t know she was that political. Obama is now talking about the gas tax holiday – wasn’t he against it when Hillary and McCain said it?
Half of the Democrats who voted in this election voted for Hillary Clinton. I don’t know what the final fund raising figure was but it’s probably somewhere around $100,000,000.00.
How is it that we have become enemies of the other half of this party? Why is it so difficult to offer Hillary the VP spot? As a group we come from all walks of life and creeds. Despite the attempt to portray us as uneducated blue collar workers or angry white women, the fact is we are CEOs, teachers, pilots, doctors, lawyers, screw ups, factory workers, governors, mayors, judges, clerks, students… We come from all 50 states.
Hillary Clinton is not a demon despite Obama’s followers efforts to convince us otherwise. She is truly qualified and promoted most of Obama’s platform before he ever thought of it.
Obama is now talking about the gas tax holiday – wasn’t he against it when Hillary and McCain said it?
Um, no. Where the heck did you hear that?
The problem I’m starting to see with some of Hillary’s most strident supporters is that they’ve listened to her talk about Obama in such negative terms for so long that they’re having trouble changing gears. They need to be reminded that Obama is NOT the enemy. Not to mention the idea of voting for someone as anti-choice as McCain really calls their commitment to feminist principles and progressive values into question.
I started off the primary as a Hillary supporter. She seemed like a reliable known quanitity– a tough woman who has what it takes to be president. Obama just seemed too green, too young, too idealistic. However, Hillary truly lost my support the day she sat down and had a friendly meeting with Dick Scaife and his right-wing rag. She lost all credibility in my eyes when she sat down and tried to appeal to man behind the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. I then took a good hard look at Obama and set aside my initial doubts about him and approached him with an open mind– after a period of actually educating myself about him and his positions I found that supporting him was a no-brainer for a liberal lesbian feminist like myself.
That being said, if Hillary had won the nomination I would have GLADLY voted for her. Why? Because voting for McCain just ISN’T AN OPTION for anyone who cares about the future of this country, for progressive values and goals. Let’s pretend for a moment that Bush is able to run for a 3rd term– would you vote for him over Obama? I really don’t see much difference between the two. How can anyone who thinks of themself as a feminist even think for a second about voting for McCain?
You have every right to be angry and disappointed that Hillary didn’t win. It’s understandable. But don’t screw over the country– and the world– just because Obama won the nomination and Hillary didn’t.
I like Richardson. Shore up the Hispanic vote. Win Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. Make Texas semi-competitive. The potential of white backlash exists, but I doubt it will be much more than from the fact that Obama is already
awesomeblack.John McCain: Your retirement is too secure as it is, don’t you think?
John McCain: Can’t poor sick children just get a job already?
John McCain supporting our troops by keeping them uneducated.
Why do I put these links in all of my comments? Click Here.
Take Stickland and Webb off the list– Strickland gave a flat “no, I don’t want it” on NPR today and Webb has said that he really likes the job he has now and doesn’t think he’s well suited for the job.
I personally would love it if Obama chose Selebius or Napolitano– they’re both fab governors in important states and I’d love to see one of them positioned to run for president in 2016.
Every one of these people is WRONG ! Not one of them can credibly run for President in 2016, and most of them will be older than McCain is now by then. We do not need someone who cannot carry things forward – it’s going to take a lot longer than 8 years to clean up 40 years of Repuiblican bullshit, chicanery and mismangement.
Every one of them who isn’t a Senator would be good in a Cabinet, however. We need all the Senators to stay in the Senate because we have got to get to 61 there, so we can throw Holy Joe out the door and beat filibusters.
We need the functional equivalent of Bill Clinton choosing Al Gore in 1992 – it was obvious he would be a credible Presidential candidate in 2000.
Thank God Strickland did the “Sherman quote” today on NPR.
Why on earth are comments by #48 and #50 not removed? Is there a moderator? That’s beyond tasteless.
Tom @ #70, I mentioned further upthread that the names on the list may be red herrings, intended to mislead McCain into picking an establishment figure while Obama goes outside the box. What’s your take?
I agree with Tom Cleaver and The Caped Composer
And… I’d like to see a military guy on the VP ticket. It would certainly take care of the ‘military experience’ meme McCain is running.
I”m glad to see that some moronic comments have actually been removed. Hopefully that will be a signal to other trolls not to ‘waste’ their time.
I doubt it, but I can dream right?
#70: Presidential in 2016 is exactly why he should choose Schweitzer. Schweitzer is young, dynamic as hell, and has what it takes to run in 2016. While conventional wisdom states that a candidate from a state like Montana doesn’t put electoral votes in play, it’s pretty clear that the 50-state strategy (as well as the fact that Gore didn’t secure Tennessee or Edwards North Carolina) makes a candidate from a small state viable. The only problem I see with Schweitzer is that Democratic control in Montana is a bit tenuous at the moment and control of state offices has in large part been based on Schweitzer’s cult of personality.
This is a vote for any and all of you professional bloggers out there to do a profile on Mark Warner, like what I’ve read on Webb and now Sebelius. The impression I get is that he meets the “good future standard bearer” criterion. That and being from VA seems like a great combo. I get the “but he’ll be a senator” counter-argument, but I think we take too much talent off the board if we rule out senators, or even just red/purple-state senators.
#66
Obama suggested more investment in rail as a solution to the gas tax crisis and he and his supporters ridiculed the gas tax holiday as a political ploy which would acutally result in a saving of pennies.
#66
Obama suggested more investment in rail as a solution to the gas tax crisis and he and his supporters ridiculed the gas tax holiday as a political ploy which would actually result in a saving of pennies.
Obama/Richardson ’08
Bill Richardson is not only very well qualified, he will draw a lot of the Hispanic vote.
We certainly do not need Clinton. God help us!