It’s looking pretty likely that Barack Obama and John McCain will be the two major candidates this year. Who are their likely VP picks?
I could see Obama going for Bill Richardson. He’s a good pick among hispanics/latinos, who aren’t necessarily thrilled with a black candidate. There’s no obvious short list on the Republican side, though.
Obama needs a vice-President with an exemplary military record - a retired General who has criticized the war in Iraq, for instance - to balance out the fact that he has no military experience. General Wesley Clark might be a good choice, although he was pretty much the 2004 surrogate for the Clintons.
Clark endorsed Clinton some time ago, and in 2004 he proved he was a bad campaigner. If I were running for office I wouldn’t trust him to make it a success. Military experience isn’t a requirement any more in any case - GW Bush had practically none, Clinton had none, and skipping further back, Reagan had none.
The names I’ve heard suggested for Obama here are Kathleen Sebelius and Tim Kaine. Ticket balance, particularly in terms of geography, seems to be going out the window, and I like what I’ve heard about Sebelius.
What Marley23 said. My money’s on Sebelius. She’s a Governor, so that gives his ticket someone who’s had “executive” experience. Not only is she a Governor, but she’s a Democratic Governor of a Red state, elected twice. She’s a woman (duh). She’s had some major accomplishments in her state. And she has a reputation for fighting clean. See these campaign ads.
She campaigned for him yesterday in Cincinnati, which is her home town. I suspect (hope?!) there’s a reason she’s starting to increase her visibility in his campaign.