Judging from what I’ve seen on recent news programs, it seems like Senator Kerry and President Bush are “neck in neck” in the political polls. I was just wondering what all you sdmb people think his choice for Vice President will play in the election. Number 1: Who do you think would draw in the most votes for Senator Kerry? Number 2: Who do you think is best qualified for the position? Number 3: Who do you think the Senator Kerry’s Vice President selection will be? Thanks
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George W. Bush
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It hardly matters. The Vice Presidency, in the deathless words of “Cactus Jack” Garner, isn’t “worth a pitcher of warm piss.”
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Edwards. Clearly the popular favorite. By choosing him, Kerry can validate that popular opinion as being more important than the view of the political professionals. As well, he is cute as the Dickens, a trait Kerry lacks in abundance. Lord God, that man is homely!
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Edwards would bring in the most votes. He was a serious contender in the primaries, he’s young and handsome, and above all, he’s a southerner. I heard that one Bush campaign aide gloated, “In 2000 we made Al Gore look like a Massachusetts liberal. Just imagine what we’ll do with a Massachusetts liberal!” Kerry needs a southerner if he’s going to win any of the swing states in the South, most importantly Florida.
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Howard Dean would be best qualified – that is, to be president if Kerry takes a bullet. And that’s all that matters, isn’t it? I mean, what does it mean to say somebody is “qualified” to be **vice-**president? Apart from the tie-breaker vote in the Senate, the duties of the office aren’t even clearly spelled out in the Constitution. Dean won’t be chosen, of course, because, as Dean himself has said, they don’t need two New Englanders on the ticket.
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I expect he’ll go with Edwards.
I’m curious, BrainGlutton, why do you think Dean is better qualified to be president (i.e. left standing after a bullet takes out Kerry) than Edwards? I’m not disagreeing with you; I truly want to know.
I doubt that Edwards can deliver the South. I really doubt that he can even deliver North Carolina. These areas are far too opposed to Kerry’s liberal policies to vote for him, whatever the origin of his running mate.
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Bush will draw more votes for Kerry.
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Kerry has to go with Wesley Clarke.
I spent the primary season campaigning for Kucinich, just out of principle, but Dean was my next choice. He opposed the war from the beginning, he’s highly intelligent (an M.D.!), he’s charismatic (despite the “scream” thing and all that), he’s principled (I’ve never seen him caught out in a lie, or even a serious reversal of a position), and he has experience as governor of Vermont that is worth far, far more than Bush’s experience as governor of Texas (a state where the governor actually has very little power). Besides, Dean is and looks like a grown-up, which Bush is not and does not.
Don’t forget Florida, where the vote was whisker-close in 2000 and looks to be so again in 2004. It’s not exactly a “Southern” state the way North Carolina is, but there are a lot of self-identified cultural southerners here – they form a very substantial minority. And some of them would jump at the chance to vote for a southerner. Edwards on the ticket could, conceivably, make the difference between Kerry winning Florida or losing it.
Who is the best VP choice for Kerry?
Speaking for myself alone, I will consider voting for Kerry unless he picks Gephardt as his running mate. That would be too much an endorsement of protectionist economic policy. I’m not really inclinded to vote for Bush, but Kerry isn’t making it easy for me to vote for him (Kerry). A VP choice like Gephardt will pretty much rule out that possibility.
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Not possible to say. How will the campaign evolve?
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Bob Graham
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Bill Richards of New Mexico, if he’s willing to go back on his pledge to complete his term as governor.
Dean is a poor fit and a risky choice. He would add something in spades Kerry has a void in, fire in the tummy. If it looks like Kerry is permanently stuck behind Bush, then Dean’s the man.
No Gephardt. He’s been a fine legislator, but he didn’t have a whiff of support in the primaries, he’s not charismatic, and he’ll bring jack shit to the ticket.
Personally, I like Edwards. He’s one of the finest stump speakers I’ve ever heard (even though I’ve just heard clips of him speak–never the whole speech). I think he’ll help the ticket.
He would bring WVA, which would have given Gore the election in '00 if he won that state, and possibly PA and OH, too. Not quite jack-shit when you’re counting electoral votes.
I relied on more than instinct, I ran the Veep-O-Matic.
I ran it and got a tie between Gen. Wesley Clark and Senator Bill Nelson of Florida. I could live with either guy.
1- I like Nelson if only because Florida is indispensible.
2- Most qualified- probably Gephardt.
3- Most likely, Gov. Richardson of NM.
Why would Gephardt help win West Virginia? Native stepson vote? Heavy union influence? Doesn’t that state only have about 6 Electoral Votes? I’d probably not vote for Kerry because of Gephardt… I have a strong distrust of him. And the Bush/Cheney/Rove smear team would absolutely destroy him.
The Washington Post ran an article last week about how little information is coming out about the VP candidates from the Kerry campaign. Apparently it’s frustrating the Press Corps to no end.
The one thing I did pick up on was that both Gephardt and Edwards were being thoroughly vetted out with background checks and the like. So those two are definitely on the short list.
Me? I’d go overboard and named not only my VP pick but the top 4 or 5 cabinet choices, too. See if that sort of surprise move can garner support in several swing states. It’ll only take one or two to decide the election.
So I’d go with
VP Edwards (he’s popular with the democratic electorate and is really good on TV)
SecState: Wes Clark
SecLabor: Gephardt (admit it…he’d be good in the role)
SecCommerce: Bob Graham
SecDef: McCain (OK, that’s a fantasy but he’d be great in the role)
One of my reporter friends says that if Kerry really had any balls he’d openly offer the VP slot to Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE). Hagel is known to be a bit of a maverick. He ran McCain’s 2000 primary campaign, is excellent on TV and the stump, and (like McCain) is not what you’d call ‘sympathetic’ to the current administration.
I admit, that would make me laugh out loud the first time I heard it.
Oh, and I just took the Veep-O-Matic (thanks, Bob!).
I selected
Southerner
Battleground State
Military Experience
Big Name
Foreign/Defense Expertise
I got Wes Clark.
Second was Bill Nelson from FLA. Then a host of other with 3 of my qualifications.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Sam Nunn’s name has been mentioned. Nunn was asked about it, said he hadn’t been contacted. When asked whether he would be interested, he didn’t say no. He said he hadn’t though about it. Ledt the door wide open in my estimation.
I think he’s the only VP choice who might put Georgia in play, for what that’s worth.
It is generally considered a Bad Thing to have a VP candidate who is more interesting than the presidential candidate.
How are they going to avoid that in Kerry’s case?
Select Dean. Then have Kerry resign as presidential candidate. Then Dean becomes presidential candidate and nominates Kerry as VP. Yeah. That’s the ticket 
The way things are going, he might be able to select Colin Powel as his Sec of State!
I would be a little bit worried about Edwards. While he is good looking and a good speaker, I can’t shake the belief that a ticket with one Massachuesetts career politician and one big-money lawyer would be Karl Rove’s wet dream.
I would say Wesley Clark for getting the most votes. He brings geographic diversity and lots of credibility on support for the military, and I think he would do pretty well against Cheney in the vice presidential debate (Lieberman came across as a snoozer last time). If he was chosen, Arkansas might be in play for the Democrats, and it would help in Missouri and maybe other southern states. There are several where Bush’s margin of victory wasn’t overwhelming last time.
I do have to say that Bill Richardson’s record in New Mexico looks quite impressive from what I’ve seen. He would do well on the domestic side if, God forbid, he actually ended up as President. Of courses there’s no knowing how he’d to on the military/foreign affairs side.