First, here’s Joe Klein’s column from the June 18 issue of Time Magazine.
Obama has said he admires Doris Kearns Goodwin’s wonderful Lincoln biography, Team of Rivals. “He talks about it all the time,” says a top aide. He is particularly intrigued by the notion that Lincoln assembled all the Republicans who had run against him for President in his war Cabinet, some of whom disagreed with him vehemently and persistently. “The lesson is to not let your ego or grudges get in the way of hiring absolutely the best people,” Obama told me. “I don’t think the American people are fundamentally ideological. They’re pragmatic … and so I have an interest in casting a wide net, seeking out people with a wide range of expertise, including Republicans,” for the highest positions in his government.
Say what you want about the others on the “short list,” they come short on the Team of Rivals score.
There are two more reasons to choose Biden over the others. Georgia and Cheney.
The recent news from Georgia puts a premium on foreign policy experience. If McCain gives a simplistic (and wrong) response to a foreign policy question, be it Georgia, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, or Liechtenstein, I just can’t see any of the others able to make an effective response. Biden can draw and quarter McCain, or any of his surrogates, on any foreign policy issue.
The other reason: Someone has to be the Prince(ss) of Darkness. Obama’s brand is positive, optimistic, inspiring. He just doesn’t do the negative well, and why should he? That is the domain of a good VP candidate.
So, there you have it. My totally uninformed, but psuedo-authoritative word on the next Vice President of the United States.
I thought you were going to say Doris Kearns Goodwin. Too bad I was wrong!
But I know nothing.
Barack will choose the people he wants!
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p>Hillary would make a great VP. She could easily be the enforcer. Alas, she is destined to remain the senator from New York and live as a powerhouse in the Senate.
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p>Joe Biden will make the transition to be Secretary of State easily from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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p>Tim Kaine is an outsider and would make a great vice president and enforcer. Sometimes a velvet hammer has the right touch. Also, the Democrats could use Virginia in the column.
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p>Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.
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p>Wes Clark is too loose of a cannon. He’ll be a good ambassador to France or Germany. He’s been to Europe before.
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p>Bill Richardson will be back at the United Nations or as ambassador to Russia warming up for when Biden screws up. Which is likely, knowing Joe Biden’s track record.
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p>John Kerry will make a fine ambassador in London. He can’t mess things up to badly there. The Brits won’t let his wife go too far afield.
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p>Sam Nunn is too Sam Nunn. He made Bill Clinton swallow “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
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p>Evin Bayh will make a nice Secretary of Energy .
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p>Kathleen Sebelius would make an okay VP, But a better Secretary of Health and Human Services.
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p>Treasury is important to the economy and that is where Barack will likely put a Republican, if anywhere. If it is a Democrat at Treasury it will be a conservative one.
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p>Not that anyine asked, but that’s how I read the tea leaves today. Tomorrow is a different day.
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p>In politics it only takes a second. Just ask John Edwards!
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Of the conventional wisdom short list, I trust Biden more than anybody else…just don’t let him near anything dealing with personal finance, bankruptcy, and/or personal credit. He could be the heavy when needed; remember the hearings on torture?
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p>It is odd how we’ve seen rushes to different VP candidates..Kaine is on everyone’s mind one day, then we get a bunch on Clark, or Sebelius.
Biden can really kick butt–and does not allow himself to get filibustered by talking heads. The risk is that when he says the first thing that comes to the top of his head is it gives the right-pundits a lot of material. They are combing dems for gaffes that they can clip and repeat anyway so any VP attack dog is going to get trashed. Biden can get away with that because he doesnt let up. I have not always agreed with Biden on policies but stylistically he is a great foil. Like Wes Clark a lot but I have seen him get easily flustered and baited.
the Veep selection process involves at most 6 people, I think we can draw 2 conclusions about the “leak” to the NYT:
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p>1. Someone in the know wanted to set a trial-balloon and/or throw off the media
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p>2. Someone not in the know is just running their mouth
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p>In the case of #1, this would mean that it is more unlikely than likely that any of the 3 would be selected, right?
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p>And for tea leaves, Kaine was reportedly behind closed doors ‘doing a video for the Obama campaign’ recently, and his parents are going to the convention (source was cited in yesterday’s Note).
The same Biden who said this?:
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p>”I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy, I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
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p>I mean, that’s a dumb thing to say, man. And dumb way to say it.
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p>But not suprising from a man who’s probably best known by the American electorate as “that guy who plagarizes”. And for his lack of academic distinction (he finished near the bottom of his class as both a Uiversity of Deleware undergraduate and as a student at Syracuse Law).
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p>A far cry from being editor of the Harvard Law review.
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But not suprising (-2 pts, sp) from a man who’s probably best known by the American electorate as “that guy who plagarizes” (-2 pts, sp). And for his lack of academic distinction (he finished near the bottom of his class as both a Uiversity (-2 pts, sp)of Deleware (-2 pts, sp) undergraduate and as a student at Syracuse Law.)
… I noticed about the guy is that his dressing down of committee hearing witnesses from the administration are spot on and it makes me think he’d be an excellent VP attack dog.
I firmly hope it’s not someone being floated around. Biden has serious foot-in-mouth disease, and pretty much the only way Obama could lose is if something disastriously stupid comes out of the campaign. The chances of that happening from Obama are small. The chances of that happening from Biden is something akin to Godwin’s Law. He’s going to do it, eventually, and the track record says it’ll happen sooner than we’d like. Why bother with that kind of baggage?
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p>Pick some goofy, geeky economic guy with excellent cred, but with no Capitol Hill-type baggage, or pick some well respected ambassador or something along those lines. Then tuck he or she away for most of the election, letting them push press releases about their 1 or 2 bright ideas on specific policy proposals. People are voting for Obama, no VP is going to significantly improve his chances – at the very least, let’s pick someone who won’t hurt them.
Let Senator Biden go about paying Georgia for their Osettia attack with taxpayers’ hard earned dollars while our veterans sleep in streets. Let’s get someone with the necessary education to understand world and national events in the Obama administration. I, too, am tired of the professional politicans put in jobs they don’t understand.
I’m not happy with any of them, but least unhappy with Sebelius, I guess.
Michael Moore isn’t happy with the choices either. I just received this in which he asks the VP search head to consider an alternative.
Bidenen: ‘I’m Not The Guy’
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p>Delaware Sen. Joe Biden told reporters staking out his Wilmington, Del., house that he would not be Obama’s running mate choice. “You guys have got better things to do, I’m not the guy,” Biden said, according to ABC News.
the campaign prob. wouldn’t tell Biden until right before the announcement.
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p>It wouldn’t take him long to spill the beans.
Monsieur Obama is pretty poorly in the polls considering he is running against a geriatric, demented, fool who’s life expectancy is problematic. Kinda speaks volumes about Obama’s chances in November which appear dimmer every day.
If McCain picks the right VP—-Obama loses before he gets out of the starting blocks.
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p>Obama should practice what he preaches. Cut loose the left wing dogma and become more pragmatic. Obama is going to shoot his own foot. Middle America is worried about the economy, energy, and national defense. That’s the meat and potatoes. If we we have another gas crunch and the democrats rale against drilling—-that’s the kiss of death.
would you be shocked?
…but you would need to make Bill the US Ambassador to Antarctica.
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