Tim Kaine as Obama VP?

[Richard Parker]

Gov. Tim Kaine (D-Va) is on the shortlist for Obama's VP. He strikes me as a decent choice. He doesn't add to Obama's national security credentials, but I think he does basically everything else Obama needs. He could help him take Va, which would be pretty big. He speaks fluent Spanish, so we might be a good campaigner among latinos. And he has the sort of clean outsider credentials that Obama's VP needs to have.

Strikes me as a decent choice, possibly better then Sibelius. Thoughts?

[Marley23]

All I know is that they both seem like intriguing options and good choices. I've been saying Obama needs a kind of 'new blood' governor, which probably isn't a very unique view, but I think they both fit the bill.

[Frylock]

Originally Posted by Richard Parker

Gov. Tim Kaine (D-Va) is on the shortlist for Obama's VP. He strikes me as a decent choice. He doesn't add to Obama's national security credentials, but I think he does basically everything else Obama needs. He could help him take Va, which would be pretty big. He speaks fluent Spanish, so we might be a good campaigner among latinos. And he has the sort of clean outsider credentials that Obama's VP needs to have.

Strikes me as a decent choice, possibly better then Sibelius. Thoughts?

Who is Sibelius*, and where can I read this "short list" you've referenced?

-FrL-

*With a name like that, please let him be some kind of magician or elf or something. Or an animal familiar.

[HoldenCaulfield]

Originally Posted by Frylock

Who is Sibelius*, and where can I read this "short list" you've referenced?

-FrL-

*With a name like that, please let him be some kind of magician or elf or something. Or an animal familiar.

A simple Wikipedia search would've helped you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibelius

Personally, I'm not too fond of his nationalist bent.

Or try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius

[monica]

I love Tim Kaine. I really do. I worked on his Gubernatorial campaign (and man, did I get good at phone banking!) I screamed myself horse at his rally, and I still get all warm and fuzzy inside when I see his name with the world "Governor" in front. No one could say that I wouldn't want to see him as VP.

However... I think Obama would do better with a war hero on the ticket. I really think that Wesley Clark would be the best bet. Obama's biggest criticism is that he doesn't have enough experience, and I don't think that Kaine helps that problem much.

Much as I would love to see an Obama-Kaine ticket, I really don't know that it would be the best choice.

[dalej42]

Still, this could be an unconventional year. Gore wasn't a conventional choice for Bill Clinton.

The Democratic nominee needs to only pick up one state and carry all the Kerry states to win. If Gore would have picked Bob Graham, Florida would have been his.

[Shayna]

Originally Posted by monica

However... I think Obama would do better with a war hero on the ticket. I really think that Wesley Clark would be the best bet.

Highly unlikely to happen, seeing as how Clark has endorsed Hillary Clinton.

[RTFirefly]

No, not Tim Kaine!

I think he'd be a good choice, but I don't want the national party to steal him from Virginia, a state where the Dems are still trying to fight their way towards parity. Sure, they've got 2 of the 3 high-visibility offices (Senator and Governor), and have an excellent shot at making it 3 of 3 this fall, when Mark Warner should win the other Senate seat. But the GOP has 8 of the 11 House members, plus the state Lt Gov and Attorney General.

And in VA, the governorship seems to exercise a big influence on convincing voters to elect other people of the same party to other offices. Without Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, there's no way Jim Webb would have won last year, no matter how badly George Allen did himself in. I really want to see Kaine serve out his term, and help keep Virginia moving from red to blue.

[Happy Lendervedder]

I've said it before here, and I'll say it again: Phil Bredesen for Veep '08!

The only thing I can see that's wrong with him is that he has no military experience.

[Spit]

Oh yeah, he has done such a great job here. Let's see how mediocre he can be at the national level.

Jerk stiffed one of my servers (who was excellent, and cherry picked to serve him) when I was managing a restaurant, and according to some other locals, it wasn't the first time. Obviously this is anecdotal and ymmv on the tipping issue- In my eyes it was unforgivable.

[tds1273]

Please, please, please let Obama's running mate be Kathleen Sebelius. A white, uber-likeable, female Governor from a redder than red Kansas?
There could be no better fit.

Actually, I think that if she ran for the whole thing this year, she would have put Hillary out of the picture long ago. She could have lock up the womens' vote not just on the Democratic side, but probably most on the Republican side as well.

Going by the State of the Union rebuttal, her quiet(read:not "shrill" like a certain other Senator), though still quite firm tone is also a nice contrast to Obama's fiery prose. I watched the replay of her rebuttal on Fox News, just to see their reaction; Brit Hume looked absolutely gobsmacked and scared. She provides right-wing smear machine with nothing to dislike about her, only her policies- that is a debate they can't handle. I know Hume is just a talking head, but he generally seems to speak for the Neo-Con right.

Most importantly however, is that Gov. Sebelius is willing to stand up and fight the good fight. She stood up to the coal industry in her state, plus, and I love this, there is this quote from her wiki:.

She is credited with bringing the agency out from under the influence of the insurance industry. She refused to take campaign contributions from insurers and blocked the proposed merger of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, the state's largest health insurer, with an Indiana-based company. The decision by Sebelius marked the first time the corporation had been rebuffed in its acquisition attempts

Finally, and I'm so sorry that I even have to consider this, but I want someone who will provide an incentive for someone to not try and harm Obama. As much as I respect them and understand what they can bring to the ticket, I especially do not care to see a Clark or Webb behind Barack. I fear there are too many folks out there, and in power right now to be frank about it, who would do whatever they can to try and get the 'white military guy' into the driver's seat and take a chance with him, Dem or not.

Besides, I don't think Obama will need that kind of VP(military and/or southern male) to help him win in the general election anyway.


Should Clinton get the nod, though I've long figured she would run with Clark, at this point she would pretty much have to take Obama as her Veep. Whether he wants that role or not, for the good of the party and the country, I don't think he could pass on it.

[Phlosphr]

Originally Posted by tds1273

<snip>

Should Clinton get the nod, though I've long figured she would run with Clark, at this point she would pretty much have to take Obama as her Veep. Whether he wants that role or not, for the good of the party and the country, I don't think he could pass on it.

I agree with much of your post except the underlined part above. IT'S not going to happen and yes he could pass on it. It would go against much of his already illustrious campaign to be veep for HRC. Again, I don't see Obama losing much steam at all in this primary season.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by tds1273

Should Clinton get the nod, though I've long figured she would run with Clark, at this point she would pretty much have to take Obama as her Veep. Whether he wants that role or not, for the good of the party and the country, I don't think he could pass on it.

I think he could easily pass on it, even if circumstances lead her to decide that she needs to ask him. And I think she would definitely prefer not to ask him.

[tds1273]

Good point on how joining up with Clinton, could tarnish the luster of Obama's appeal.

I suppose you are both right that at this point she would not need him on the ticket, as probably either, with anyone, could beat Mccain and the broken Republican party right now. However, I think just don't see how the party could afford to alienate all the new voters and interest in the party that Obama brings.

Howard Dean and the rest of the Democratic party really look to be trying to build up what the Republicans had in the 90's and early 00's. They need those new voters now and can't afford to wait another 4-8 years till Obama can run again.

To mine, and the dismay of many others, it seems that they are so intent on building such a broad base that they would not even risk holding the current administration accountable for anything. There is no way they will chance losing the 'Obama-bloc' either; Dean will see to it.

Plus, remember that Hillary is the one that keeps bringing up the 'united party' stuff. She probably really does not want Obama stealing the spotlight on her ticket, but I think that she knows she would have to swallow her pride. (I know there is a Clinton joke there, but I'll leave it up to one of y'all)

[Diogenes the Cynic]

My suggestion would be Bill Richardson. He doesn't have military experience (which is an overrated qualification anyway), but he does have extensive diplomatic and international policy experience. He's been around the block on the intenational stage, not only as a former UN Ambassador but has also negotiated for the release of political prisoners in Iraq, North Korea and Cuba.

Domestically, he's a former Energy Secretary, which gives him insight and experience on the energy industry as it pertains to the Global Warming issue.

He's also pro-gun rights, which might help with swing voters, he's Hispanic, which might help with Hispanics and he's from New Mexico which might help with the Southwest.

[tds1273]

Correct me if I'm wrong, which odds are I am, but wouldn't Richardson be better suited to be Secretary of State? It would seem to be the most effective way to make use of his diplomatic skills for both security and the environment(Kyoto and such).

Obviously it wouldn't gain as much with the other points you make(NM,pro-gun,hispanic), but has a presidential candidate ever tried to help boost their run by announcing during the election who would be in their cabinet and not just their VP?

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by tds1273

Howard Dean and the rest of the Democratic party really look to be trying to build up what the Republicans had in the 90's and early 00's. They need those new voters now and can't afford to wait another 4-8 years till Obama can run again.

Dean has zero say in who the VP choice is. I'm sure he can wheedle if he wants to, but it's not like he has the ability to approve anything.

[tds1273]

Doesn't he have a lot of control over what happens with Florida and Michigan? I don't know the delegate counts, but if say Clinton did well in Texas and Ohio, couldn't Dean force her hand to make a deal, and say that FL and MI will be done over and awarded, maybe even as caucuses? Primaries or caucuses eitherway, do overs, though especially caucuses, would only benefit Obama.

FTR I'm well aware that I could be way off here, and just need my 'ignorance fought', so please bear with me.

[Marley23]

I guess he may be involved in decisions about those delegates, but that only matters if nobody wins even after the superdelegates weigh in- I think they want to resolve this much sooner. And it sounds like the DNC wants a re-vote with campaigning in those states; they don't want to just seat the delegates after telling people not to get involved.

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by tds1273

Doesn't he have a lot of control over what happens with Florida and Michigan? I don't know the delegate counts, but if say Clinton did well in Texas and Ohio, couldn't Dean force her hand to make a deal, and say that FL and MI will be done over and awarded, maybe even as caucuses? Primaries or caucuses eitherway, do overs, though especially caucuses, would only benefit Obama.

FTR I'm well aware that I could be way off here, and just need my 'ignorance fought', so please bear with me.

I'm not sure he has control of anything - but what he could do is negotiate a settlement which would avoid a messy floor fight, which is one of the ways the Dems can lose this year.

Given the divisiveness of the campaign, and the need for unity, I'd expect the VP choice of either candidate to come from the other side. That Clark endorses Clinton is no big deal - after all Reagan chose Bush.

[Icarus]

I called VP for Richardson a long time ago, and I still see it that way. Even though I agree he would be more effective as Sec of State (who was it who said the VP job isn't worth a bucket of warm spit?) the balance he would bring to the ticket would be immense. He strong on foreign affairs, has executive experience, beltway/cabinet experience, and would draw the hispanic voters. And, as his failed presidential campaign showed, he wouldn't ever be able to upstage Obama. Hillary, or Sebelius, could conceivably compete for the spotlight.