Friday, June 13, 2008

• Political Friday: The Veep Show

  Perhaps more than any election in the recent years, the choice of the Vice Presidential candidate can either make or break both Obama and McCain's campaign for the White House. Both candidates of the two main parties have major flaws and are not necessarily as well rounded as a presidential candidate should be.

  Flaws on the left:

  Obama doesn't have much foreign policy experience, which in a time where the U.S.' relationship with the rest of the world carries so much gravitas could be harmful to his campaign. He also does not have a lot of managerial experience and obviously this is necessary . One reason that former governors have had so much success in a presidential bid is that the governorship offers a chance to build managerial skills while not running up a voting record as Senators and Congresspeople do. The fact that Obama has also not been in the Senate very long also does not help.

  Flaws on the right:

  As most people have seen on the news, McCain will be the oldest President to be elected if he wins in November. Even though people are living longer and longer these days, the Presidency has a tendency to age people faster and harder. Some worry that McCain may not be up for the job. McCain also must overcome the Republican stigma, which may be the hardest task of all in this election. A good majority of the U.S. currently believes that Bush is doing a bad job (and has believed that for awhile now). In the past, McCain made a career out of distancing himself from the Good Ol' Boys of the GOP (i.e. this probably had a lot to do with why he lost in the 2000 primaries). McCain has had to cozy up to the core of the Republican Party, which may mean he risks losing a lot of moderate voters in the election.

  Obama's List:

  Here are some of the names on Obama's lengthy, lengthy list:

  • Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) - May retain Moderate Democrats
  • Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) - Lackluster, bad choice, too much Botox. He lost to a bad candidate last time and he thinks Manny Ortiz is a real player for the Bosox.
  • Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) - Good progressive choice but he has already said that he's not interested.
  • Ret. Gen. James Jones (Fmr. Supreme Commander of NATO) - Hopefully he doesn't go by Jim; we don't need to be drinking any more Kool-aid but he could boost Obama's military/ foreign policy cred.
  • Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) - Nothing good comes out of Indiana but Bayh was a Clinton supporter and could help retain some of her supporters.
  • Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) - Strong woman politician with managerial experience! Yay!
  • Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH) - SCH-wing (name that movie!) state
  • Fmr. Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) - He was a former government that won in a largely red VA. Now VA is more purple and a SCH-wing state. He could be a good choice but he's running for Senate.
  • Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA) - Current governor of a SCH-wing state.
  • Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) - Senator of a SCH-wing state. He won a very close Senate race. Webb is currently rumored to be the front-runner in the Veep race. He was Reagan's Secy of the Navy but could prove to be divisive due to his outspokeness.
  • Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) - While he would be a great choice for a VP, I kind of hope he has a cabinet position. Obama could use some Foreign Policy expertise
  • Fmr. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) - This is the guy that opposed Bill Clinton letting gays be open in the military. Being to blame for the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is definitely a black mark on this guy.

  McCain's List:

  At this point, it seems that McCain's Veep list is a little more scaled down than Obama's or it could just be that there is not as much speculation or excitement as to who he will pick. Anyhow, here's a list of some potentials or choices that I find interesting.

  • Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) - Also known as T-Paw, which makes him cool, I suppose. Young, 2 time senator from a SCH-wing state. There's been a lot of talk about him and I think that he can probably be considered the front runner right now.
  • Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) - He had been the State's Attorney General and then gained the governorship in 2006.
  • Sen. Joe Liberman  (I-CT) - Liberman could be an interesting choice. He's a former Democrat, turned Independent who has been an outspoken advocate of John McCain. He could bring a lot of typically Democratic-voting Jews (a strong voting bloc) to the Republicans.
  • Gov. Mitt Romney (R-UT) - Romney has managerial and business experience but I don't think he would be a good choice since McCain really needs to focus on getting Moderates and other groups like Reagan Democrats and not so much the Republican base.

  I can't say that I know the direction that Obama is going to go in. I think he would be making a major mistake going with Jim Webb. Obama needs someone a little more moderate and I'm not sure that Hillary Clinton is necessarily the answer. I can definitely see McCain leaning towards Pawlenty.

   

  So, who would you like to see as the VP candidate for either side?

  Is there any names that should be added?

  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

  The Architect and I are going to dinner at the Little Fountain Cafe and to Artomatic for a sort of anniversary on Saturday. I can't wait!

   
   

  Edit: I just found out that Tim Russert of Meet The Press passed away. He has questioned pretty much all of the influential politicians of the day. Very Sad. RIP.
  

  Currently Reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel By Lisa See see related

  • 4:38 PM
  • 206 views
  • 22 eprops
  • 17 comments