Category: Vice-President

Three Questions: the Veep, et al.

OK, sports fans.

1. Who does Obama pick to be his Vice-Presidential running mate?
I say NOT Hillary, because of Bill.
Not another woman, because it would be an insult to Hillary. Besides which, he couldn’t pick the Arizona governor because, as Mo Rocca noted, it sounds funny: “Obama-Napolitano sounds too much like a coffee drink.”
Not Bill Richardson, because I don’t think having a black and Hispanic on the same ticket will play.
Which leaves us with, as Cokie Roberts said on ABC This Week last week, “some boring white guy.”
While I think a governor is desirable, I’m not feeling Tim Kaine of Virginia. Nobody knows who he is. A more likely candidate would be Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania.
Ultimately, though, he may pick someone like Senator Joe Biden or Jack Reed, whose been involved in foreign policy issues for many years. Can Evan Bayh help Obama win Indiana?

2. Who does John McCain pick to be his Vice-Presidential running mate?
The idle speculation about someone in the Bush White House (Rob Portman, Condi Rice) I think is crazy.
He too needs a governor or former governor.
Lots of folks are hot on Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty, but I found him unimpressive on a Sunday morning talk show; still, McCain likes him personally.. Others have suggested Mark Sanford (South Carolina), Sarah Palin of Alaska and the far too tanned Charlie Crist of Florida, among many others. Don’t discounts former governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, whose Michigan roots may help, even with that Mormon thing.

3. What traditional red state might turn blue, or vice versa?
My guess is Georgia, and there’s only one reason: Bob Barr, a native son running as the Libertarian. If he gets 5 or 6% of the vote, it’ll come out of the McCain column, and if the black voters come out, Obama could win. Much less likely: Alaska, where Barr should also do well, and disgust with an indicated Republican senator, Ted Stevens, may dampen the GOP turnout.

ROG

Who’ll Be the Veep QUESTION

My friend Deborah in France turned me on to this website where one can subtitle one’s own Bollywood movie, and then send it on to friends. Her fine example can be found here, while my attempt is located here:

My piece, which I did on Wednesday or Thursday, after Super Tuesday, but before Mitt Romney suspended his campaign, is based on the fact that, barring a meteor crash, we in the United States will be electing as president the first person to move directly from the U.S. Senate to the White House since JFK.

So, who then, will be the Vice-Presidential candidate for:
Clinton?
Obama?
McCain?
Two parts: who SHOULD they pick? Who WILL they pick?
My thoughts:
They all need to pick a governor, or former governor. Doesn’t mean it’ll happen.
Clinton: It’ll have to be a man; I don’t think that’s a sexist observation, but a political one. The geography: someone from the South or the West. Too bad the governor of Montana doesn’t have more electoral votes to offer. I suppose it could be Senator Obama.
Obama: It should be someone with foreign policy experience.
In each case, former candidate, and current governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson keeps popping up on my list. The governor of Kansas who is a woman, and who gave the response to the State of the Union, is an Obama supporter, but two Midwesterners doesn’t seem to balance the ticket. In any case, I seriously doubt it’ll be Obama-Clinton.
McCain: I have a dollar and two case quarters that it won’t be Mike Huckabee. If the Democrats don’t put a woman on the ticket, maybe the Republicans will. And if McCain gives up trying to appease the “true conservatives” (whatever that means) who seem to hate his guts, maybe he could pick a moderate such as Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Here’s a PDF of all the current governors. I’d be surprised if one of them is not on the national ticket, probably one whose term DOESN’T end in 2009.

ROG

ROG
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