A fact of which I am well aware.
I just wanted it understood that Georgia Democrats despise the man. In Miller’s recent book he arrogates to himself the authority to speak on behalf of all Southern Democrats. I fear that Northern Democrats who don’t know any better might accept that at face value. But Miller in no way represents my views, or those of other Democrats I know.
Over their careers, McCain is at least, if not more, conservative then GWB.
Kerry’d have a better shot of persuading Pat Buchanan to join him.
Sam Nunn is a revered figure in Georgia (and a true Democrat to boot, unlike Miller).
Nunn is the only VP choice who could put Georgia in play, IMO. Don’t know what effect he’d have in other states. To answer RockyRaccoon’s concern, he is still vital. As I mentioned, I’m pretty sure he is only in his mid-60’s, and he is quite active.
The real question is whether he’d have any interest in the job. he’s done some things to get his name in the news in the past few months (his work on WMD in particular), which makes me think he might have some interest in getting back in the game.
On the other hand, when he was a serving Senator he was always dismissive of the idea of accepting a VP nomination. Don’t know if he still feels that way. It could have been that he just didn’t want to give up his power in the Senate (obviously not a concern any more).
Several people have already mentioned my choice, Bill Richardson, although one drawback seems to be that he isn’t a dynamic speaker. This may or may not be true, but my Latina girlfriend watched him give the Democratic response to GWB’s SOTU on Univision and she came away VERY impressed with him. FYI.
I’ll offer an opinion later, but first, I ask everyone here the same question George Will asked in his NEwsweek column a few weeks ago:
When’s the last time YOU based your vote on the Vice Presidential candidate?
Seriously, when’s the last time you were either undecided or leaning the other way, but voted for a ticket with a Veep you admired?
Let me play psychic… I’m guessing your answer is “never.” How’d I do?
So, if YOU aren’t influenced by the Veep candidate, what makes you think other people will be? Are you assuming other people just aren’t as smart as you? That YOU’D never vote for the other party just because the #2 guy is from your part of the country, but that Southerners are dumb enough to vote for John Kerry if he has a Southerner in the #2 spot?
Frankly, I don’t believe there’s ANYBODY in EITHER party who’s popular enough to turn a red state blue or a blue state red.
So, my feeling is, John Kerry (assuming he’s the nominee) should toss electoral considerations aside, and just pick a guy he thinks would make a good president in the event of his death.
Hey, Dukakis got Lloyd Bentsen to run with him, and, as P. J. O’Rourke said, “Bentsen was two hundred fifty years old and a little to the right of Albert Speer.”
No Edwards - if he becomes Veep then the GOP Gov of SC appoints a replacement
No Lieberman (substitute CT for SC in above sentence)
I don’t think the dems can afford to waste any senate seats on a VP (should Edwards somehow win the primary the same would hold for Kerry)
I think Clark would not be a great choice. He needs to polish for another 4 years and then he would make a great veep (or possibly a tolerable president)
Not Gephardt. Been to the dance too many times.
My first thought is Graham - should help in Florida, although Nunn is a good choice too (although taking either of these guys is following the Dukakis strategy of pairing a youngish Massachusetts guy with a really old southerner). Any of Graham, Nunn or Clark should be able to wallop in the national security arena (probably won’t, but I did say should).
If not a retired senator, might as well go for a big name democratic governor like . . . (okay, so I’m not up on my governors). Though I am not at all sure that the “executive experience” the position brings is as necessary in the #2 spot.
First of all, Edwards is the Senator for North Carolina.
Secondly, Edwards isn’t running for re-election, so his nomination in the VP slot wouldn’t cost the Democrats a Senate seat.
Which is one of the reasons that I think he’s really running for the veep slot. But I dunno, I think the Democrats can do better.
The thing is that the Democrats are really just now raising up a new crop of leaders, and few of them are “ready” to go yet. The Baby Bills have spread out across the Midwest, New Mexico, and other places, but they’ve only been taking root for two to six years. The Democrats will have a great crop of candidates from all corners of the nation in 2008 and 2012, but right now most are still gestating.
So I’d go with Bayh. The key to this election is the Midwest. If Carnahan was still alive, he’d be an obvious choice. Another page in that tragedy.
D’oh. I got the Carolinas mixed up. (stupid SC primary had me confused) You are of course correct. My point was that, should the democrats win the presidency, they would lose the senate seats occupied by Kerry and Edwards. I was thinking that Edwards would be replaced by a GOP’er by the GOP governor, but the governor of North Carolina is a democrat. So Edwards might be the way to go.
Edwards isn’t running for re-election and his term ends this year. A replacement wouldn’t be appointed - or if one was appointed, it’d only be for a few months, not enough to matter. A Democrat will have to win the seat, and apparently there were questions as to whether Edwards was going to do that had he run.
Is there still time for Edwards to file for Senate anyway, as soon as his dreams are dashed, or would he have to go the write-in route?
Erskine Bowles is the only declared Democratic candidate for Senate in North Carolina. I doubt Edwards would step in to challenge him at this late date.
I’m not sure if there would be procedural hurdles for Edwards to run for Senate at this stage of the game.
CNN is reporting “rumors” that Clinton is pushing hard for Kerry to pick Clark as his VP. That’s Bill, not Hillary (I guess one needs to be clear about that these days:)). Clark was pretty obsequious towards Kerry when he exited the race, but I’d be very surprised if this happens. If it does, it certainly will have Clinton’s fingerprints all over it.
He was also a registered Dem.
Sam Nunn – if Kerry could convince him, I might vote for that ticket.
My nickel says Bob Graham.
Maybe Quayle’s “appeal” lay in the fact the he provided instant asassination protection for GHWB. Hell, Daddy Bush probably didn’t even need the Secret Service. Even the craziest of psychos weren’t crazy enough to put Dan Quayle in the White House. 
I don’t much post here but as I recall during the 1988 campaign there was much talk and hope among the pundits that Quayle, as a young and handsome Republican, would be able to secure women’s support for the GOP.
Ah, yes. Or, as Garry Trudeau pointed out in Doonesbury,
“M’am, would you vote for a Presidential candidate if his running mate looked like Robert Redford?”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure someone that good-looking must stand for great values!”
(Unfortunately, the study didn’t take sarcasm into account…)
“Okay, Danny, you’re in!”
“Yippee!”
According to Kos.
Man, that one knocked me over with a feather. Hadn’t discussed it here apparently, but had commented on a blog or two that if McCain hadn’t become an independent or a Dem in time to run for the top spot, why in the world would he do so for the #2 position?
But if he did, I think it would be checkmate.
And I’d welcome him to the party with open arms. I disagree with him on a bunch of issues, but he’s a much more passionate small-d democrat than most Democrats, and for me that’s the One Big Thing.
That site left off the best part of the interview:
“It’s impossible to imagine the Democratic Party seeking a pro-life, free-trading, non-protectionist, deficit hawk,” the senator told ABC’s “Good Morning America” during an interview about illegal steroid use. “They’d have to be taking some steroids, I think, in order to let that happen.”
Not to mention my opinion that McCain should never be allowed anywhere near the presidency. Even a heartbeat away from it is too close.
I’m sorry to say it, and I can’t blame him personally for it, but I am 100% convinced that he has lasting psychological problems after his experience in Vietnam. If he ever ends up having access to The Button, I’m digging a bomb shelter and praying that the cabinet starts reading up on the 25th Amendment.