Veepstakes Begins!

So, word has been leaked out that the Obama campaign has begun it's process of finding a suitable running mate. Everybody and their mother has an opinion on who the Senator should select. I, of course, am no different. I love the speculation and analysis that goes into trying to pick who the VP will be. I'll list out who the conventional wisdom of the day is saying should be included on the "short" lists for Obama. I'll list the positives and negatives of each candidate from my perspective and hopefully come up with no more than 2 or 3 likely nominees. We are also assuming that with the VP nominee, Obama will be looking to bolster his votes with a chunk of the electorate he either hasn't been winning, or not winning in big enough numbers.

Hillary Clinton

I realize this is not the ideal scenario for many of Obama's followers. The so called "dream ticket" would be a rather unusual coupling, in my opinion. While the New York Senator has proven she is a tenacious fighter, she is also very much tied to Washington DC. Her connections to lobbyists and PAC's would put a damper on Obama's message of changing Washington. In addition, the rhetoric from not only her surrogates, but even Hillary herself, has reached epoch proportions during the campaign. I stopped believing the "dream ticket" could work that day she insinuated that both she and John McCain were qualified to be President, but cast doubts on Obama's ability to lead the nation. The quagmire for Obama, however, is how to tell Clinton "no" without further alienating her base? Democrats must carry the female vote in November by a healthy margin if they expect to defeat McCain. The Obama team must walk a very fine line with handling Clinton, but I also don't see them selecting her to run with them. Hillary would be well served to run as Governor of New York, in my opinion.


John Edwards

If you saw the rally in Michigan where Edwards came out to throw his support to Obama, then you know how energized that crowd was. Also, the two men standing up there on the stage together just felt right to many people, me included. The positives? Edwards is well respected within the Democratic party. He's very intelligent and hails from a Southern state. Potential negatives? He has already run as a VP and couldn't help Kerry seal the deal in 2004. He is not the strongest of campaigners, and particularly the Vice Presidential candidate needs to be able to go on the offensive during the campaign. Does Edwards have the fight in him to do it? He also couldn't help Kerry carry any of the Southern states he needed, and failed to bring over the rural white vote in droves. I believe the negatives outweigh the positives of an Edwards nomination. Let's keep John in the cabinet though. Attorney General Edwards, anyone?


Kathleen Sebelius

The two term Democratic Governor of the very Republican state of Kansas. Sebelius, despite her years as the executive of Kansas, has not been nationally vetted, unlike Edwards and Clinton. While she has supported Obama for quite some time now, I also haven't seen her showing up on many news shows as one of his top surrogates. She is by all accounts a conservative Democrat who has overseen a solid, if not spectacular, administration. She would almost certainly help appeal to some of Hillary's base, but the question remains, are the hard core Clinton backers really wanting to see just a female on the ticket, or would nothing short of Hillary on the ticket satisfy them? As far as helping carry any additional states, Kansas, while it would be a diffcult chore to turn it blue, even if that feat was accomplished, does not hold many electoral votes. She could possibly influence nearby Missouri, which of course will be a key battle ground this fall. She definitely could be chosen, depending on the outcome of her vetting period.


Jim Webb

The junior Senator from Virginia. Former Secretary of the Navy under Reagan. Webb's resume' speaks for itself, and he would bring instant credibility, and indeed mitigate, any potential perceived advantage McCain might have in a military/foregin policy debate. In addition, he is from Virginia, which team Obama believes they can put in play this fall. He does have some baggage that we know of already, without having been fully vetted. He is on his third marriage. He has written some not so eloquent statements regarding women during his days in the Navy in the 80's, and he has a lack of elected experience. In addition, he has not even come out to support Obama yet and has more than hinted that he has no ambition for the Vice Presidency. He seems to me to be the Democratic version of Fred Thompson. While many people are clamboring for Webb, I don't see him as the top choice for Obama.


Claire McCaskill

The junior Senator from the great state of Missouri. Again, she would be an obvious candidate if for nother reason than the fact she is from the all important battle ground of Missouri. She is also a very vocal defender and supporter of Obama. She has been an outspoken, articulate, and passionate advocate for Barack. She also would theoretically be able to attract more of the female vote. The only down side to Senator McCaskill that I see at this time, is her relative inexperience. She is a rising star in the party though, just as Barack was in 2004. I'm looking for great things from McCaskill down the road, I'm just not sure if this is quite her time yet.


Tim Kaine

The Democratic Governor of Virginia. Kaine has the advantages of being a fairly popular Governor in a state that has historically been difficult for Democrats to succeed in. As mentioned earlier, Obama also believes Virginia is a place where he can win in the fall, and having the Governor on the ticket would almost certainly improve his chances of turning Virginia blue. Also, the fact that his has executive experience and is not from the Senate, should help his chances for the nomination as well. Kaine has been able to keep his popularity despite holding some pretty left leaning positions, such as his opposition to the gay marriage ban. I actually see no downsides to having Kaine on the ticket at this time, except and unless something sordid is turned up during the vetting process.


Chuck Hagel

Granted, this one may be a bit of a long shot, but here me out on Chuck Hagel. He's a Republican from the state of Nebraska. You won't find a more respected Senator today, than him. He has all but endorsed Obama when he lashed out and chided John McCain for his foreign policy tone and rhetoric. He has a military background but is also staunchly against the war in Iraq. Obviously, since he is a Republican there are stark policy differences on many issues, and many of Obama's supporters would probably say the differences are too vast to overcome. The flirtations between Hagel and Obama have not been all that secretive, and by any objective observers take, Hagel has been showing overtures to the Obama camp recently. The irony that is certainly not lost on me is the somewhat real possibility we could have a McCain/Lieberman Versus Obama/Hagel race in November. Now that would truly be something to witness. In terms of the oft cited "unity ticket," there would certainly be no better option out there right now than the Senator from Nebraska.


Bill Richardson

The Governor of New Mexico, former ambassador to the United Nations, and former Clinton confidante. Richardson easily passes the resume' test. His extensive foregin policy experience would balance Obama very nicely. Also, New Mexico is a state the Dems believe they can win this election cycle. Also, Richardson is Hispanic and still carries quite a bit of sway with Latino voters. He very well could have tipped the primary vote to Obama in Texas had he endorsed him early enough. Since his endorsement, however, he has also been a very vocal supporter of Senator Obama. He is also pretty well vetted having been in the national spotlight for some time now and having run his own unsuccessfull bid for the White House. The only negative I can see with Richardson, and would only be a negative with certain voters, is that because he is also a minority candidate, the ticket could be seen as not being "white" enough for some voters. As sad as that statement is, just look at some of the comments from voters in West Virginia and Kentucky and you'll know it's the truth.


There are certainly other candidates, and I did not leave them off the list due to their chances, but rather due to my tired fingers pounding away at this keyboard. Others such s Michael Bloomberg, Janet Napolitano, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, etc all merit discussion. But, it will be a discussion for a later date.

If I had to select the top 2-3 candidates from our list we've discussed thus far, they would be Tim Kaine and Bill Richardson, with Chuck Hagel being a wild card. In terms of helping the ticket, I don't think Obama could do any better than Kaine or Richardson.

Obama/Kaine or Obama/Richardson 2008!