I'm sure Obama will not announce his VP choice until he's the official Dem nominee but I'd be greatly surprised if he hasn't already given it a great deal of thought. I'm going to list everyone I've heard about as a possible VP choice. If I'm missing anyone let me know and I'll edit them in. Here's are the possibilities: Hillary Clinton - The so called "Dream Ticket" is not my personal dream. I think Clinton brings with her too much baggage (including her husband.) But that being said, she has a lot of supporters and Obama may decide it's the only way to unite the party. Kathleen Sebelius - Sebelius may be an interesting alternative to get Clinton's female supporters excited and possibly unite the party without all of Clinton's baggage. Sebelius endorsed Obama and he won her state (Kansas) by a huge margin. I'd say a negative of this is that some people may look at it as a slap in the face of Clinton, unless perhaps Clinton turns down a VP offer (she may not want to be VP?) first. It's unlikely that Obama can win Kansas but perhaps Sebelius would give him a fighting shot at it. She won re-election as Governor of Kanas in 2006 by nearly 20%. Tim Kaine - I think Obama very much sees Virginia as being in play and putting the VA Gov. on the ticket would obviously bolster his chances there significantly. "According to The Washington Post, Kaine has endorsed, and strongly supports, the 2008 presidential campaign of Democratic U.S. Senator Barack Obama." There is even a claim that he was the first politician outside of Illinois to endorse his candidacy for President. So I'm sure that Obama greatly appreciates his support. Jim Webb - Virginia Senator. Like I just mentioned, Obama thinks he can win Virginia. Webb would be another option. Positives include Webb's centrist reputation and his military background. He was Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan and has a son who has fought in Iraq. Plus there's this: at a White House reception for those newly elected to Congress, Webb declined to stand in the line to have his picture taken with the president, whom Webb often criticized during the campaign. The president approached Webb later and asked him, "How's your boy?", referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq. According to Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia, aides warned the President to be "extra sensitive about talking to Webb about his son, since Webb's son has had a recent brush with death in Iraq." Webb replied "I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President." Bush responded, "That's not what I asked you. How's your boy?" Webb responded, "That's between me and my boy, Mr. President." Webb was so angered by the exchange that he was reportedly tempted to "slug" the president and later remarked, "I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall." John Edwards - North Carolina is probably not as in play as Virginia is and Edwards didn't seem to be much help to Kerry in winning NC in '04. Edwards has said he's not interested in being a VP candidate again. Bill Richardson - Positives include his expansive foreign policy experience and that he was also against the Iraq war from the start. His Hispanic heritage could could also be an advantage although some say it would make the ticket "too ethic," my feeling is that anyone who won't vote for a ticket due to an Hispanic VP would already be voting against Obama. Another consideration is that Richardson as Gov. of New Mexico would be very helpful in winning the state this November. Bush won NM by only 6,000 votes in 2004 so it seems very likely that an Obama/Richardson ticket would turn it blue in 2008. Mike Bloomberg - Positives would include appealing tp independents & Republicans (Bloomberg recently switched from Republican to independent.) Also with the economy sure to be the biggest issue this fall, Bloomberg would bring huge economic credentials to the ticket. Bloomberg as mayor of NYC doesn't offer any geographic strategy help as obviously if NY is in play then Obama has lost anyway. Chuck Hagel - Republican Nebraska Senator. A mixed party ticket would emphasize Obama's "new politics" mantra. It would likely appeal to moderate Republicans & independents but it may also be a bit off putting to many Democrats. Perhaps pushing a greater percentage towards Nader. Geographically it's very unlikely that Obama can win Nebraska even with Hagel as VP. Bush doubled Kerry in '04. Others That Seem Very Unlikely To Me Colin Powell - Too closely associated with Bush/Iraq. Some would be freaked out by not one but two black guys. Al Gore - I don't think Gore would want to be VP again at this point in his life. Doesn't really make sense. Dennis Kucinich - I'd love to see it, but I think it'd be way too risky politically. Ron Paul - Take what I said for Kucinich and multiply it by 100. Plus I don't think either of them would go for this as they differ too much on most issues.
If he wins the nomination, Hillary with out a doubt will be the vice president.. As I said in another post, an LBJ/Kennedy style presidency where by Hillary takes out Obama is very likely if he wins the presidency. They'll blame it on Iran or whoever, and proceed with their next planned war. Wasn't there a season of 24 that played out like that with the black president being assassinated by the white vice president? Odd. (And if I recall, the reason was that the black president wasn't hardcore enough against enemies.)
Great thread, Zibblu. At first read, Kathleen Sibelius? Have you seen her speak? She'd make Gore look like a tent revival firebrand. In all seriousness, very interesting - thanks.
I haven't actually. I don't know much about her except what I've read on Wikipedia. I'll have to look up some YouTube videos of her speaking to get an idea of what you mean.
I think it might be Hilliary but who knows if she'll except. If it isn't Hilliary I think it going to be someone that surprises everyone
Ron Paul, that would kick ass. He's not going to ask Hillary. God don't let him ask that troll, please God if you're good to humanity don't let that troll in.
I'm actually just joking, Zibblu - they chose her to speak as the Responder after the last State of the Union, and, seriously, they couldn't have chosen a more soporific speaker. I was astounded, to be honest - don't think it's on you tube, but I believe John Daily did something on it, if you could find it. But I am sure she's quite capable.
I think a Obama/Clinton ticket would be bad for the Dems. While Clinton may get support in the Democratic party, no one in this election polarizes and galvanizes Republicans like Clinton. Webb would be fantastic. He's actually got more class, character and integrity than Obama.
I usually try and stay out of P&R, but when I saw this, I thought that somebody had finally discovered Obama's weak spot...
That will certainly be the Dream Ticket, for Republicans. Half will vote not to have a black and half will vote not to have a woman.
I'm really torn on the VP possibilities - I think there's pretty good positives for everyone I listed, even Clinton although I dislike her - I do think putting her on the ticket would help bring Clinton supporters on board fast.
I'm confused here. I was under the impression, you actually had some things you stood for. Now it seems, all you care about, is your guy winning. Clinton? She's almost as big of a hawk as McCain. In fact, the difference between the two of them, is hair color and different reproductive plumbing. Disappointed.
This is from Robert Novak today: Close-in supporters of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama. The Democratic front-runner's wife did not comment on other rival candidates for the party's nomination, but she has been sniping at Clinton since last summer. According to Obama sources, those public utterances do not reveal the extent of her hostility. A footnote: Support is growing in Democratic ranks for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland as vice president. He would bring to the ticket maturity (66 years old), experience (six terms in Congress) and moderation (rated "A" by the National Rifle Association). He is very popular in Ohio, a state Republicans must carry to elect a president. --- So I just realized I can't edit the first post so I'll have to include other candidates in the thread. I don't know much about Strickland but it does sound like he has some interesting qualities that could help Obama appeal to working class white Democrats. And obviously an advantage in Ohio would be huge.
I think Webb could really help attract the Reagan democrat types. Like the types that voted heavily for Hillary over Obama in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
I hope so. Because the alternative is putting Hillary on the ticket to attract those people and that makes me a bit itchy. I don't want Clinton on the ticket, if she is... I'll deal with it. But I just don't really trust or respect her much after the campaign she's waged.