# Biden's choice for vice presidential candidate **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 10, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505 "2020-04-10T15:04:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 48
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/943 "2020-08-12T22:57:05Z")
I was hoping for Gretchen Whitmer or Tammy Baldwin, or if there really was some kind of requirement that it had to be a Black woman, I would have preferred Susan Rice. That said, I think it would’ve been a horrible mistake to pick Elizabeth Warren, Karen Bass, or Tammy Duckworth, so I’m relieved we dodged those bullets and overall I’m fine with it. Perry Bacon Jr. on the 538 Podcast said a few days ago that all the vocal Black figures who kept doing TV hits and writing columns saying Biden absolutely had to pick a Black woman actually meant he had to pick Harris because they didn’t see any other Black women as truly qualified (none are senators or governors) but they couldn’t say it out loud. So it may be that the fix was really in on this more than we ever knew. I think Biden originally wanted to take Klobuchar but then when she was out he wanted to take Whitmer, and then when everyone insisted so strenuously it had to be a Black woman he wanted to take Rice, but in the end felt he had to take Harris. I have not seen anyone, in all the voluminous “veepstakes” commentary I have read/heard/seen, note the (unintended) influence of two men in leading Biden to this decision: 1. Bernie Sanders. I firmly believe the main reason Biden made the promise to pick a woman at the last Democratic debate was that he knew the race was almost over and he wanted to pre-empt any chorus from the left that the only fair choice would be second place finisher Bernie. Some pundits have said he needlessly boxed himself in, but IMO they are missing the fact that he wanted to be boxed in! Or at least to have Bernie boxed out in a way no one could criticize him for. Pretty clever. 2. Derek Chauvin. I’m sure Harris is as repulsed by Chauvin as most of us are, but I’m convinced that if he had not knelt on George Floyd’s neck, we would have a Biden-Klobuchar or maybe Biden-Whitmer ticket. David Axelrod believes it was actually the Biden campaign that leaked Gretchen Whitmer’s interview, as a trial balloon. If that’s true, we can add one more factor to the list helping Harris: the swarm of angry commentary we got from the Black chattering classes over the prospect of Whitmer. So even close to the end of the process, they may have been really wanting to take Whitmer (who I think would have been the smartest pick), but they needed to feel like there was only a low rumble of dissent rather than an angry roar. Of course, they got the latter, which may well have been decisive in scuttling Whitmer. If so, I guess I have to tip my hat to that group of chatterers for really exerting influence at a crucial moment. Unlikely we will ever know for sure, but it’s a huge pivot point in history so I hope we find out more. Paul Begala pointed out that the qualification for becoming a Democratic veep has, for the past 40 years, been running for president yourself first and failing colossally. 😆 (Let’s just hope that this pattern does not continue to ultimately losing the presidency in the electoral college despite winning the popular vote.) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/944 "2020-08-12T23:05:25Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I have not seen anyone, in all the voluminous “veepstakes” commentary I have read/heard/seen, note the (unintended) influence of two men in leading Biden to this decision: > … > 2. Derek Chauvin. I’m sure Harris is as repulsed by Chauvin as most of us are, but I’m convinced that if he had not knelt on George Floyd’s neck, we would have a Biden-Klobuchar or maybe Biden-Whitmer ticket. You haven’t seen anyone mention George Floyd and the BLM protests as a driving factor in Biden’s selection? Because I’m not sure I’ve seen any commentary that **didn’t** mention that as a factor. Is your quibble that they usually use George Floyd’s name instead of the perpetrator? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/945 "2020-08-12T23:09:31Z")
I suppose people say “in this current climate”, or that kind of thing. But it was the actions of Chauvin, something he could have and should have not done, that ultimately led in this direction. But still, I wrote that awkwardly because I started by mainly just talking about Bernie and then expanded it and left my verbiage a little too absolutist. I definitely have not seen _anyone_ talk about the promise to pick a woman being about stiff-arming Bernie, even though that strikes me as a pretty obvious inference. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/946 "2020-08-12T23:20:59Z")
Just want to apologize for an incorrect post above. I stated that Harris was raised in the US. She actually lived in Canada from age 12 until she went to college. I apologize for not knowing this. Now the Republicans can all start complaining that she is actually Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/947 "2020-08-12T23:28:43Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I think Biden originally wanted to take Klobuchar but then when she was out he wanted to take Whitmer, and then when everyone insisted so strenuously it had to be a Black woman he wanted to take Rice, but in the end felt he had to take Harris. Most folks that knew Biden said that Whitmer would be a surprise because he didn’t know her. And Biden’s notion of the Vice Presidency is someone he can closely work with. That’s why Harris and Rice were high in the end - because they were qualified and were pretty friendly with Biden. Whitmer was one of 11 interviewees and it seems like that is how far she went. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/948 "2020-08-12T23:28:54Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I think Biden originally wanted to take Klobuchar but then when she was out he wanted to take Whitmer, and then when everyone insisted so strenuously it had to be a Black woman he wanted to take Rice, but in the end felt he had to take Harris. Can you point to anything - anything at all - to back up this unique insight into Biden’s thinking? Otherwise I might be tempted to think you projected your own preferences onto Biden. It’s too bad all those Black chatterers swarmed - otherwise you could have gotten your choice! Womp womp. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/949 "2020-08-12T23:30:35Z")
He’s about as energetic and exciting as firewood, but he gets the job done and that’s enough. He’s also the perfect contrast to Trump’s bombast. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/950 "2020-08-12T23:47:17Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Harris is - or is claiming to be - more progressive than her previous record indicates This site has Kamala at the 4th most progressive Senator based on her voting. > **[ProgressivePunch: Senate Members by score / All issues](https://progressivepunch.org/scores.htm?house=senate)** > > ProgressivePunch is a searchable database of Congressional voting records, from a Progressive perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/951 "2020-08-12T23:49:59Z")
She’s the Schrodinger’s cat of progressivism. She’s both more and less progressive than you want. She’s an uber left-wing socialist! She’s an anti-progressive establishment politician! She’s a floor wax! She’s a desert topping! Whatever you want, as long as it’s BAD! ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/952 "2020-08-12T23:56:44Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > Can you point to anything - anything at all - to back up this unique insight into Biden’s thinking? Otherwise I might be tempted to think you projected your own preferences onto Biden. > > It’s too bad all those Black chatterers swarmed - otherwise you could have gotten your choice! Womp womp. He interviewed Whitmer in person, so he was obviously interested in her. Not to mention that it’s common sense for him to want someone who can help him shore up one of the states that crucially flipped from Obama to Trump. And before Klobuchar got tainted by Chauvin’s murder of Floyd and took herself out of the running, he showed many signs of having her as his top choice (in fact, it looked like he made her something close to a promise to pick her as veep in exchange for her endorsement right before Super Tuesday, with that big rally they held together). It has also been widely reported that Rice is who Biden had the most rapport with and felt would be the strongest _governing_ pick. Have you really not seen any of that? As for the “womp womp”: yes, I would have preferred Whitmer or Rice. But Harris is far, far better than Warren, Duckworth, or Bass–so I’m not nearly as disappointed as you seem to think I am. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/953 "2020-08-13T00:00:28Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > She’s both more and less progressive than you want. She’s an uber left-wing socialist! She’s an anti-progressive establishment politician! Trump’s acolytes are used to accepting claims that have no support whatsoever. So they will happily believe that Kamala is simultaneously a reactionary that no one on the left should support, and more radically left-wing than Bernie ever thought of being. But the GOP attacks on both Biden and Harris are weaker than their usual standard. There’s literally no there, there. And this will bother some of the fuzzy middle, those not deeply engaged in politics and not either far-right or far-left. Those folks, seeing how off-target the attacks on the Dem ticket really are, will be wondering if the Republicans are able to get _anything_ right. (Of course Trump’s disastrous pandemic response, er, trumps everything. Nothing anyone decides to believe about Kamala can outweigh Trump’s inertia and/or outright sabotaging of US pandemic healthcare.) ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/954 "2020-08-13T00:06:53Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Why shouldn’t she feel close to her mother’s ancestry? And if other South Asians are excited that someone who has Desi ancestry may be close to the White House, why is that wrong? At a personal level every South Asian is, and should be proud of Kamala’s accomplishment, as far as I know. I am too. That does not mean every Indian-American will vote for Kamala. For example : Some Hindu Indian Americans may not vote for her because of her stance on Kashmir, some Christian Indian Americans may not vote for her because they care more about abortion, some Muslim Indian Americans may not vote for her because of the issues on homosexuality, many Indian-Americans are business owners and they care more about taxes and may not vote for her … The criticism goes on the same lines as some White authors writing stories for the black person. Don’t assume all brown people are the same. Don’t assume all South-Asian people are the same either. We have much nuanced differences that white people don’t get. Just like Irish Americans have their nuances, so do Indian-Americans, numbers not withstanding. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/955 "2020-08-13T00:10:43Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > He interviewed Whitmer in person, so he was obviously interested in her. Not to mention that it’s common sense for him to want someone who can help him shore up one of the states that crucially flipped from Obama to Trump. So, you said Whitmer was his _first choice_ (after Klobuchar dropped out) and your evidence for that is that: 1. He interviewed her in person. 2. She’s from Michigan. Seems like an open and shut case to me! (And yes, I do remember all the reporting about Klobuchar’s endorsement, but that’s not what I’m commenting on.) As for Rice, I have seen a lot of discussion about her rapport with Biden since they worked together for many years. I, too, felt that would likely be a point in her favor. But this is what you said: > [@SlackerInc](#): > > when everyone insisted so strenuously it had to be a Black woman he wanted to take Rice, but in the end felt he had to take Harris. If he had the best rapport with Rice and wanted to pick her, why did he “have to” pick Harris? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/956 "2020-08-13T00:13:35Z")
Regarding the choice of Harris and her educational history, it’s nice to see Montreal getting referenced in presidential politics in something other than the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/957 "2020-08-13T00:15:42Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > That does not mean every Indian-American will vote for Kamala. Yeah no one said that, but you’d have to be really burying your head in the sand if you don’t think the South Asians who are excited about a South Asian VP won’t be extra enthusiastic to get to the polls. There is a reason black turnout was so high when Obama was on the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/958 "2020-08-13T00:23:15Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Yeah no one said that Read my original post #871 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/959 "2020-08-13T00:30:33Z")
Yes, and no gaffes, no sign of his age, he even took a drink of water- _with one hand-_ better than anything trump can do. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/960 "2020-08-13T00:30:55Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > > [@am77494](#): > > > > That does not mean every Indian-American will vote for Kamala. > > Yeah no one said that, but you’d have to be really burying your head in the sand if you don’t think the South Asians who are excited about a South Asian VP won’t be extra enthusiastic to get to the polls. There is a reason black turnout was so high when Obama was on the ticket. It really doesn’t matter; Indian-Americans are a tiny, tiny minority so their votes aren’t going to throw the election. They are wealthier than average, though, so perhaps their money might help. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/961 "2020-08-13T00:41:08Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Just want to apologize for an incorrect post above. I stated that Harris was raised in the US. She actually lived in Canada from age 12 until she went to college. I apologize for not knowing this. Now the Republicans can all start complaining that she is actually Canadian. As a temporary Canadian, she also got to experience what an effective health care system is like. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505/962 "2020-08-13T00:47:51Z")
Let me throw in an anecdote. My children are mixed-race persons of color. They knew Obama as our president and that he’s a mixed-race person of color. They know Kamala as our senator and that she’s a mixed-race person of color. These are politicians they see themselves in. Policy is important, but representation matters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bidens-choice-for-vice-presidential-candidate/851505.md?page=49)