Personally, I like Barak - I like him a lot, he’s a great orator with some real smarts. But I also believe he needs some experience in the White House. Would a VP slot be best for the man? If he was VP to say - [ insert name here ] I think I’d vote for him in 2012.
What do you think and why?
Wouldn’t [ insert name here ] be the general candidate for the 2012 election? It seems that taking a VP slot would push off presidental aspirations for eight years instead of four.
Of course, if Obama lost in the primaries, a VP slot couldn’t hurt any.
Perhaps thats what I’m saying, I don’t think he can win the top seat, and if he doesn’t I’d like to see him as VP. For who though?
I agree; as I’ve said here before many times, having Obama in the Veep slot garners pretty much everybody who likes him, plus there isn’t the problem with inexperience.
My ideal ticket: Gore|Edwards/Obama. (Since nobody really knows if Gore is running, Edwards is my second choice for Prez. I wouldn’t vote for Clinton unless she were the only candidate.)
I’m beginning to think along those lines myself.
seconded
So you think that Edwards doesn’t need experience in the White House?
Why does Obama need more experience but Edwards doesn’t?
I don’t necessarily…I was leaning more on the Gore/Obama ticket not the Edwards Obama one. However, I’m reading Edwards website and will come back to this…I don’t want to speak truly when I haven’t done my reading.
Edwards has had a full term in the Senate, for one, and Obama will have had two years of his first Senate term in the national spotlight, which is half of his term thus far. Obama has a term and a half (4-year term) as an Illinois state Senator, and Edwards has not been in any state legislature, but I think that six full years in the U.S. Senate is more experience than six years in the state Senate, two years as a nondescript Senator, and two years as one of the Senators everybody examines constantly.
In what way? If he doesn’t win the nomination outright, then yes, VP is probably better than nothing. I’d rather see him as the Presidential nominee because I’m not particularly moved or inspired by the other candidates that I know of. In particular I don’t want to see Gore or Edwards again. I think the Democrats would do better to leave the past losers behind and pick somebody new.
Speaking as an outsider to US politics, but would the dems really want him on the VP ticket , or have him take a run at the whole enchilada.
I keep thinking back to Dan Quale being chosen as VP for the unspoken reason of being impeachment insurance. Some how I cant see Obama being credible in that unspoken role.
Declan
I seriously doubt that anyone is worrying about impeachment for any major Democratic candidate.
By the way, it’s ‘Quayle’, not ‘Quale’. Though good job for being that close. I doubt that I could name many non-famous former leaders of foreign countries (And to any other country, the VP doesn’t really matter).
The best way to “run” for the VP slot is to run for the presidential slot in the primaries. But I think Obama is shooting for the stars. He might as well. He doesn’t need to even think about the VP slot until the primaries are in full swing. If he’s not doing so well, he can start making overtures.
But the problem he has is that if he doesn’t get the presidential slot, it’ll most likely by Hillary. And she’s much too cautious a politician to pick him for a running mate. She’s more likely to pick a safer candidate who gives her credibility in the western states. Richardson, anyone?
The VP slot appears to be a likely destination for Obama in '08, but I just don’t think that would help his chances of eventually becoming President.
If his ticket wins the election, then he has to wait until 2016 to run for President, by which time the bloom will be off the rose and a there will be a new Democratic darling. Even if his ticket wins reelection in 2012 and is exceptionally popular at the end of its second term (which is a long shot for any White House), it would be foolish to expect the public to want a third straight term for the incumbent group (see Al Gore, who couldn’t ride the previous administration’s excellent approval ratings to the White House). If his ticket wins in '08 but loses in '12, that makes it even harder for him to get elected in '16. His best bet if he accepted the #2 slot on the ticket this time around would be for the Democrats to lose a close election.
I feel that, if Obama can’t win the nomination, he should decline the VP slot and “hope” (for his own sake) that the Democrats lose so he can try again in four years instead of eight.
Strongly disagree. I like Obama a lot, but I’m a political cynic, and a firm believer that the more time one spends in politics, the more of a prostitute one becomes. He’s a smart guy – let’s just get him into the White House before he becomes a company man.
Edwards IMHO embodies the wrong kinda of candidate. An ambulance chasing lawyer, a southerner and not one with great experience. I thought Gore could have made a much better choice the first time around, and would find it absolute madness to repeat a Gore/Edwards ticket this time.
I see Obama as a very solid VP that would help drive votes for the ticket. See him as a crap shoot as the top dog.
The problem was more that he couldn’t run on Clinton’s record because of Lewinsky. I doubt anyone will argue that if Bill Clinton hadn’t gotten a blow job, Gore’s campaign would have been a lot easier. Oh, who am I kidding? On the Dope, anyone will argue something.
I don’t think anyone will offer him a spot. Nobody picks a running mate with star power.
Bill Richardson plus Obama!
Governor of the Southwest plus the new face.
If they don’t tear each other apart in the primaries, it could work great.
VP? That’s where potential presidents go to die.
Yeah, like Nixon, H.W., Ford, Johnson, Truman, Roosevelt, … For roughly the last century and a half, the Vice Presidency has widely been seen as a stepping-stone to the Presidency; before that, it was Secretary of State, but I think we can all agree that’s out of the picture nowadays.