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I like Webb, Biden and McCaskill.
Sebilius may have political clout, but she is more boring than McCain.
So she goes on my list. No to Edwards but don't hold me to it lol. The drawback there is he was there already in 04 and I would hate to sit through the "he's not change" memo the media would pimp out. However, like I said it's about the best person to support balance and promote the message and agenda of the President.
Helll no to Rendell. My money is on Sebilius, Webb,Kaine, or Wesley Clark.
I really like the idea of Gov. Napolitano as well. Besides Clinton (NOOOOOOOO!) Napolitano is probably the safest choice for a female v.p. She's a governor with executive experience. She also seems like a no nonsense type of person. McCain leads in his home state, but it's closer than a lot of people expected. Napolitano might be enough to deliver that state for the ticket. Does anyone know how popular she is in Arizona?
I'd be happy with Sebelius, but I don't know if she can deliver Kansas. I haven't looked at the state polls, but I'd think that would be a pretty steep hill to climb. But I like the aesthetics of an Obama/Sebelius ticket (it best portrays "change" in my book). As for "boring," I think she'd do just fine . . .although I must say, her Democratic response to the President's SOTU Address was brutal.
I know people have issues with Edwards. But, besides Biden, he'd make the second best attack dog in the field. Plus, it can't be ignored that he'd make the most aesthetically pleasing ticket . . .he and Obama look like a "dream ticket." And the experience of having already been through the process couldn't hurt much. His populist message could give this ticket the kick it needs and help Obama focus his message and appeal as we head into the final stretch. The only question I (and I think many here) have is . . . can I believe the new Edwards? Or is he more of an opportunist than a team player. One final point on Edwards . . .his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, is very popular among women and could help Obama sweep that category in November. Edwards is a safe and practical choice.
So, my power rankings for this week:
1. Biden
2. Edwards
3. Napolitano
4. Sebelius
5. Richardson (I too have dreams of how those two could re-draw the political map, but are we ready for two historic racial candidates?)
6. McCaskill (I really like her, but two historic candidates who are also Freshman Senators might be asking for too much at the moment).
7. Webb (Haven't looked into the "confederate" issue yet)
8. Hagel (He'd take an initial hit, but I think Obama could pull this off; and I could most definitely see this ticket running away with the Independent vote - that means "game over" for McCain) . . . but I need more info on his voting record.
9. Wesley Clark (Still the best olive branch to the Clinton camp)
10. Nunn (boring pick, but brings experience and national security credentials to the ticket; could help swing Georgia for Obama - I think Obama has a really good shot at swing either or both of Virginia and Georgia).
Barack Obama drew his biggest cheers of the night when he vowed to help Hillary Clinton pay off her campaign debt. Clinton's top donors -- those who had raised a combined $230m -- had gathered to watch the Democratic nominee try to build a bridge.
A few, less happy donors asked pointed questions. According to someone in the room, one Clinton donor asked Obama directly whether he was going to add her to the ticket as his vice presidential nominee. Even Sen. Clinton looked uncomfortable, gesturing to Obama to move on, which he did.
A second question was edgy: would Obama accept a roll call vote at the convention? Obama responded judiciously, according to the participant, saying, "Hillary and I are going to negotiate this thing and talk about it, and obviously we're going to do what is right for the party. We're all going to make sure we agree."
The mood? "Guarded optimism," according to an attendee.
Ed Rendell -- He has been telling people Obama's the nominee, get on the Obama train. He was one who said "Hillareeeee, it don't matter if you have 18 million votes, you don't get to tell the nominee what to do." I think he would be an effective attack dog. Minus: big Hillary supporter, participated in race baiting and is Jewish. The same "hard working Americans" who dislike Obama for being black will equally dislike Rendell for being Jewish. I always wondered if Joe Lieberman's Judaism could have been a factor in the 2000 loss.
Evan Bayh -- boring. Next.
Joe Biden -- good attack dog. Minus: has been in Washington forever.
Tim Kaine -- early Obama supporter, would gin up Obama support in NoVa and the black areas of Va. Speaks Spanish. Minus: his level of experience. I don't know about him.
Claire McCaskill & Kathleen Sebelius -- I don't know too much about them.
Jim Webb -- on paper, good. In reality, not so much. Women problems, confederacy problems, temper problems. Plus you know they'll start saying some ish about his Asian wife and he will go off. No.
Bill Richardson -- too much change for America to take. In addition to the "scary black people" meme floating around, they'll start floating the "illegal immigrant" meme for Richardson. I do think Richardson would be a good fit for Obama, though.
Brian Schweitzer -- don't know too much about him. Have to look him up.
Janet Napolitano -- I think Arizona might already be in play, I think I read somewhere that McCain might be in trouble in Arizona as it is. We'll see about her.
Chuck Hagel -- a Republican. No. Give him a cabinet post.
I saw Wesley Clark get his VP Audition on the other night on one of those MSNBC programs, so look for him to be on the list as well.
No matter who Obama picks, under no circumstances should it be Hillary Clinton. Not because of the racebaiting, dogwhistling and hard feelings and Bill Clinton. Not because Hillary Clinton wouldn't be an effective VP (I think she would). But because Obama is about "No More Drama" and H. Clinton is all about the drama. Their energies just don't mesh.
Ed Rendel ...."is Jewish" WTF - what does that have to do with the price of eggs?
I'm offended by him saying no white man in PA would vote for Obama, aside from that, he would have been perfect IMO.
'Why do people keep bringing up how boring Sebilius is?'
Because we are entitled to or opinion
In the end, I would hope Obama chooses a person who he REALLY considers a friend. It would have to be someone who he knows has superior ability and good judgment and that he could personally trust to be president.
I have the impression the top contender is Tim Kaine. As for Kaine's pro-life beliefs, I think he'd do like all pro-life democrats and make a pledge to support the party platform and uphold the law of the land.
BTW, the ONLY reason Obama would ever put Clinton on the ticket is if he had solid polling data that convinced him that he couldn't possibly win without her. Lets hope we dems don't stupidly bring this dire scenario on ourselves.
Ed Rendel ...."is Jewish" WTF - what does that have to do with the price of eggs?
I'm offended by him saying no white man in PA would vote for Obama, aside from that, he would have been perfect IMO.
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It's the same principle as when people say "we can't have a black and brown ticket" in reference to Richardson. There is still anti-Jewish sentiment out there. The people who don't like blacks or Hispanics don't like Jews either.
Webb does need to be thoroughly cross-examined about his "Confederacy" issues, but if he can prove that he LOVES/Supports Obama's principles more than being nostalgic about "Robert E. Lee," he will have my enthusiastic support.
People need to remember that Franklin Roosevelt built a coalition including the racist Dixiecrats in the South in order to win in 1932.
At this point, I don't think that Obama's VP selection will have any significant impact on the outcome of the election. This race is going to be about Obama or McCain.
However to govern effectively and have a "pitbull" who will help ram legislation through the Congress, it will definitely NOT HURT to have a VP who can speak to the needs of Nascar-loving, Confederate-flag waving, republican-leaning white males.
If he survives the scrutiny of the media checking on his "issues," then Webb is the perfect choice.
co-sign!
You got that right about how popular the bird is in Montana. I lived in Montana for seven months while it was still under Repub rule. You'd think that he was the second coming over there, because Judy Martz, his predecessor, was a total disaster. Her approval rating went down to 20% before she left office. These people were dying for some common sense answers to questions, and for an end to scandals.
He's a farmer and cattleman, number one, and a lot of Montanans are still farmers and cattlemen. However, he's a common sense populist as well and I think that's why he has the touch.
Schweitzer would shore up Obama's negatives among lower class whites and even, dare I say it, the NASCAR dads bunch. Better him than Webb in this case, even though Webb is both a firecracker...and supposedly 'hates' women.
Foreign policy is probably his weakness, but he spent several years in Libya and in Saudi Arabia and speaks fluent Arabic. This would really kill the Reichwing and possibly get Faux Noise debating whether he's a al Qaeda plant, too.
But really, it would also mean that he could read exactly what these bad guys are talking about and also parse and circumvent any BS the State Department and the CIA might cook up. Remember, it will be a while before any of our good guys would be able to make a difference in these respective agencies, because of house cleaning.
Webb got written off my list when I saw that Politico piece. Under no effing circumstances would a Confederacy lover get part of my vote.
A Sibelius candidacy would stick it to the diehard Billary women who want 'time to heal.' What do I know about her? She is crisp, knowledgeable, businesslike, and a new generation Dem. She's liberal but not overwhelmingly so, like Biden. She comes from his mother's and grandparents' home state. Both she and Schweitzer have high ratings as governors. Their constituents would miss them terribly.
Edwards: NO. He says he's not interested, and he wasn't that much of an attack dog for Kerry and I don't see him being an attack dog for Obama.
I like Claire McCaskill & Kathleen Sebelius.
About Kathleen Sebelius allegedly being "boring": So what?
She would be the Vice-President of the United States of America, not a contestant on American Idol.
Napolitano, Sebelius and Kaine all make sense to me - competent executives who'd fit with "change", and all show a willingness to fight on "Red" turf.
For the Clark, Biden and Webb fans out there I'd also suggest Jack Reed as another Democrat who could bring a lot of national security experience to the ticket (while also being a true progressive/liberal).
Obama should do to Clinton like McCain is doing Romney. Show him that she wants it.
Hagel would put him over the top..just imagine, while Lieberman is out there spouting partisan attacks and vowing support for Iraq...then Hagel comes along...a solid repub..saying change we can believe in!
I hope McCain picks Lieberman....LOL
http://stephencrosehome.blogspot.com/2008/05/obama-vp-mt-gov-schweitzer.html
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/06/on-brian-schweitzer-as-vp.html
Say
1. Obama's recent polling.
Look at his polling in EVERY swing state.
2. Obama's recent polling in places where a Democrat hasn't won in like, FOREVER.(Virginia, Indiana, ALASKA) His closeness in those states is terrific.
3. In ALL the polls with the independents, they reiterate that they would NOT support Obama if he had Hillpatine on the ticket.
Between these three things..
Let's just be for real...if his polling wasn't going well, we'd be hearing a whole other story. That we're not, AND because Obama hasn't really been picking up any Clinton folks, it's becoming more and more clear to them: he plans on winning or losing on his own terms. Time for you to come on board.
Hierarchical Analysis Of The Vote
27 Jun 2008 12:25 pm
Thomas Riehle of RT strategies passes along a hierarchical vote analysis he completed for the Cook Report; he first breaks down the vote for each candidate into seven categories measuring enthusiasm, and then he evaluates how that "hiearchy of intensity" holds up across 50 different subgroups of voters.
Since March, Obama has picked up 15 percentage points worth of support from "strong Democrats," 31 points among women aged 18 to 39, and 14 points among those without college education. McCain has picked up support among voters aged 50-64, women aged 40 to 56 (17 points -- he leads Obama overall by four points now), and independents who aren't leaners. But he's lost support among conservative Republicans -- down to 81% in this poll and Republican women -- 75% support him.
The demographic contours of Obama's base are clear: African Americans, 18 to 34 years olds, younger women, less educated (a shift since the primaries), and among voters on the Pacific Coast, the Midwest and the Great Lakes regions.
McCain has an edge in the South -- and really nowhere else. He and Obama are running (roughly) equal in the West, the farm-mountain region and even the Northeast. McCain has a 16 point edge among evangelical voters; Obama has a 19 point edge among voters who aren't born again. He's getting about one in four former Clinton voters and ties Obama among women with college degrees.
Noooooo! Pleeeeeease!
Gov. Napolitano's veto is often the sole effective obstacle between the actions of Arizona's truly insane no-holds-barred-right-wingnut batshit CRAZY state legislature, and those of us who live and/or work in this state. Not that she always does the right thing (she doesn't always) but enough that it's scary to consider her going away before the end of this term and much preparation for who will come after her.
Please don't take Gov. Napolitano away, Senator Obama, PLEASE.
Please.
~I am with rikyrah and B-Serious and anyone else who would love to see an Obama-Richardson ticket but questions if the country could handle it. But I would love it!
~Otherwise, as long as it doesn't leave us high and dry here in AZ and as long as it's not Clinton (who doesn't fit on so many levels), I'm fine with whoever he picks. Not that me being fine with it matters, Senator Obama isn't calling me to ask about it... :)
Oh, hell naw.
This is, as the heroine in The Wedding Date said, too matchy, matchy.
Just echoing that Webb's wife is of Asian descent, which would be a groovy visual in the requisite family pics.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Biden, although I'd be scared every time he opened his mouth, bless his heart.
As for Hillary? Hell to the no. But, I just might be willing to give her a look-see IF she divorced Bill, as suggested above. But, otherwise. No can do.
1. Kathleen Sebelius
Though there is Zero chance Obama carries her state, she's a Gov. with executive exp. and she might be able to convince the "Hillary Vote" that she is one of them
The downside is she, like Barack will be attacked on Abortion Rights to no end. Also, the National Security surrogates who want to make this THE ISSUE wil come out in full force to denounce there combined experience on the subject matter.
2. Bill Richardson.
I agree will all the above posted in regards to him. On paper , he was the most qualified to be president.
3. Evan Bayh. Former Gov. , and Current Senator, and very highly approved in his home state. Rikyrah, is he safe, no doubt, but even if Barack is polling within the margin, of error, with him on the Ticket, that state now becomes blue. I'd say without debate. He might get the Hillary treatment from the GOP as being one of the main people who spoke out the side of his mouth when trashing Barack, and that alone is enough to concern some. The McCain surrogates have already parroted the "THESE ARE HILLARY'S WORDS" line enough. I dont expect it to stop if this guy is selected.