Picking black woman will result in headlines of pandering . Not picking one will result in headlines of ignoring his base…etc.
Two generations have passed since Castro took office. It’s a thing for AM radio but Cubans are well educated, business oriented citizens. Not a blind voting block.
The Socialism argument is the same. Sanders didn’t have a problem with it. It’s time to get beyond such non-sense.
I believe a major issue is the prospect of the VP assuming the Presidency. There is general concern that will happen during a Biden administration. Harris, Warren, Duckworth and to a lesser extent Rice fill the bill there. I believe Warren or Duckworth would add the most to the campaign. I’d love to see either one debate Pence.
Personally or politically? Personally he may not care. But politically he paid a price - it’s at least partially why he’s not the nominee. And if he had ever gotten to the general election he would have hard an even harder uphill climb. It’s not a dirty word in my circle, but it still is for many MOR voters.
This statement is quite baffling to me. Obviously Sanders suffered from being called a socialist. Granted it also helped him among 30% or so Democratic primary voters. But a lot of the rest were turned off.
If not too much of a hijack, what do you think the reasons/benefits are for Biden announcing ay any specific time. Basically why wait? Or why announce now?
I have a hard time imagining anything is going to come up in the next few days/weeks that is going to change how he feels about any of the short-listers, or the impact they’ll have on the ticket.
If he’s doing OK as is - why not wait until closer to the election? Get a bump closer to the date, and give Rs less time to react. OTOH, not announcing kinda impresses me as dithering.
almost always the VP pick is announced before the convention. Sometimes at the convention for example when Reagan picked Bush in 1980. A few days before Biden was picked he told reporters “I’m not the guy.” Because he wanted Obama to announce it.
Karen Bass looks real good for the position, but her speech praising Scientology ten years ago might sink her boat. She’s not a member (she’s a Baptist), but praising LRH and now saying that they hadn’t yet been exposed for the bunch of wackadoos they are when she made her speech may not fly.
I say the sooner the better. Let the VP running mate duke it out with whomever comes after her. That’s not the kind of entertainment that will keep base excited about the race and grab the attention of the fence-sitters. Additionally, both Biden and his partner need to get some training in before the debates. They need to spend some time in the limelight together so that the American public can see that they have real chemistry. We don’t want another McCain-Palin situation. That was a haphazardly put-together shit show and you could tell.
I agree. Most all of the suggested candidates are a huge conflict w/ (and vast improvement on) Pence. Damn, I’m so underwhelmed w/ Joe. Sure hope he doesn’t screw up THIS decision.
Looks like they’re planning on 3 pres debates (9/29, 10/15, 10/22), and one VP debate (10/7). Basically 1 a week.
I’m not entirely sure Biden OUGHT to agree to debate Trump. Like wrestling a pig…
I can certainly buy that Black women would, in aggregate, be marginally more enthusiastic for a Biden-(Black woman) ticket. But assuming a candidate who equally aligns with them on issues I cannot see such translating into a choice to not bother to vote against Trump. Black women turnout was higher than the national average in midterms. They vote even when it is not easy to, even when others don’t bother.
I suspect the choice will go to a Black woman but not because of increasing turnout of the demographic, but because the best choices by other metrics (inclusive of being best able to step into the job if required, and best able to contribute as part of a Biden administration) are mostly Black women. But the other, Duckworth, would not cause any to stay home.
Independent of that though, I think the demographic is due to have their importance to the party, and specifically to Biden’s primary victory, recognized, and this would be one very cogent way to do that.
For all those who want Warren for VP, please consider that she would be replaced in the Senate by a Republican, making things that much more difficult for taking control of that chamber. The last time a Massachusetts Democrat left his seat during the middle of his term (admittedly via death and not appointment to another position), things did not work out well for the Democrats.
If I had to bet, I’d say Harris isn’t the top choice, otherwise they wouldn’t be putting off the announcement. My guess is that Biden wants to pick Bass. I think that with this delay in announcing the pick, they’re seeing how the public, press and opposition reacts to the Scientology and Cuba stories. I wouldn’t be surprised if the campaign even leaked the Scientology story.
There isn’t necessarily any “putting off” going on. A VP candidate is typically announced anywhere from early July to late August. Biden himself wasn’t announced by Obama until August 23rd.
I’ll bet that Rice is the pick. Foreign policy experience and female and AA. There would be nothing wrong with picking another running mate for other experience, value, etc.
But I feel the VP pick needs to help voters feel that she can take the reins upon illness or death of Joey-Joe-Joe. As much as I hate Pence, I think most citizens would feel okay about even him taking the reins even back when we were hoping for a senate conviction on the tangerine.
Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, initially said he’d select his running mate by Aug. 1. Then on Tuesday, he told reporters that he intended to make up his mind by the end of the first week of August, which would be Aug. 8.
“I’m going to have a choice in the first week in August,” he said, “and I promise I’ll let you know when I do.”
But Friday, two people familiar with Biden’s vice-presidential search process said the announcement is not likely to come next week.
So there is in fact some “putting off.” Months ago, Biden said he was going to make his decision by the first of August. Then by the end of the first week. Now it’ll likely be coming more mid-August.
My suspicion is that they’re giving a few more looks at late-comers like Bass and even Duckworth. The “obvious” choice pundits have been talking about for months (Harris) isn’t going to be the pick.Otherwise they would’ve likely gone ahead with the announcement this week. Instead, I suspect Bass is the current favorite, but has to survive the Scientology and Cuba stories. If these stories end up making Bass too much of a lightning rod in the next few days, I think it’ll go to Demings or Duckworth.
And that’s why they’re delaying the announcement. To see how that plays out.
I think you’re right, pertaining to “feeling them out” amongst social media. I wouldn’t mind Duckworth, Harris might be out, Warren still wouldn’t be bad for me. What’s wrong with the grandparents taking charge for a while?
“You’re all grounded, and you will wear a mask! And tie an onion to your belt! That keeps them rickets away!”
I think he should pick the person with whom he is most comfortable as a governing partner. Whether that is Rice or Bass or Duckworth or Harris, I don’t care. I can’t see Warren filling that role, though I don’t think her seat would be filled by appointment for any longer than until a special election is held, at least according to Ballotpedia.
We’ve had had to deal with a demented and hateful grandfather for the past 3.5 years. I’ll settle for a less demented non-hateful grandfather, but I don’t think it is unreasonable to want some youthful back-up to handle the serious challenges in front of us. And we’ve got plenty of grandparents in Congress. The grandparent set has more than enough representation.
Amen. More profoundly, I think the reason we have such a crisis of leadership is that with our “never too old” attitude about the presidency, deeply ambitious politicians see younger peers as competition, not mentees. They leverage the advantages of having been around to perpetually develop their own brand, their own political capital instead of developing the next generation.
I would totally support an amendment to put an age limit of 75 for running for Federal office.