Kerry advisor looks for running mate ever so discreetly

[JoFerret]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/04/politics/campaign/04VICE.html?ex=1081659600&en=0703ac22b3f59faf&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
WASHINGTON, April 3 — Senator John Kerry has told associates that he wants to select a running mate within eight weeks, an accelerated schedule intended to help him raise money and respond to a bombardment of attacks from President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney that worries party leaders, Democratic officials say.

Mr. Kerry has turned to an old friend and Washington hand, James A. Johnson, who has set up a shadow organization to help him make what aides say will be his most important decision before the convention. Mr. Johnson has begun interviewing Democrats to see whether they would be interested in being the running mate, party officials say, and he has organized teams of lawyers to begin scrutinizing candidates' backgrounds as they move to make what would be one of the earliest vice-presidential selections in modern history.

Mr. Johnson has had conversations with at least four contenders for the nomination, Democratic officials said. They are Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Gov. Thomas J. Vilsack of Iowa.

Iowa, Missouri and New Mexico are all at the top of the list of states that both parties view as being in contention in the fall.
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Other names mentioned: McCain, Evan Bayh, Ed Rendell, Mark Warner, Hillary Clinton.

[Florida_Geek]

1. Clark is not even talked about

in that piece.... That could be good or bad for a Clark VP run.

[skooooo]

2. EDWARDS! EDWARDS! EDWARDS....

..it has to be. Pick Edwards and I feel confidenent we can win in November.

[JoFerret]

55. You could be right but

I just hated the way he wormed his way right into the center of that United for Victory photo Kerry had with Clinton, Gore, carter etc. Very opportunistic and Zeligesque.

[NMDemDist2]

3. Glad McCain is still getting mentioned

I saw Rendell and Richardson at a Dems luncheon in Phoenix. I think Richardson would be a real mistake as a choice. He was not a good speaker and I don't think he'd carry the SW as the pundits claim.

[MidwestTransplant]

5. McCain would be the best choice from an electability standpoint

Could you imagine a couple of weeks before the election, Kerry naming McCain at VP? The surge would probably be unstoppable.

[Rowdyboy]

6. The convention is in July

The Vice President must be named by then. No way possible Kerry could possibly name a vp two weeks before the election.

Or even better, how about picking another Democrat as vice president?

[mobuto]

8. It it would help get Kerry elected and Bush defeated

I'd support the vice presidential nomination of Theodore Kaczynski, Roy Moore or Jose Padilla. Whatever it takes. But if Kerry nominates some nut as VP, he'd better stay healthy...

[Yupster]

11. Lincoln named a Democrat in 1864 as Veep

Then Lincoln died within a month of retaking office, and the Democrat was president, and there was hell to pay for the next four years.

[mobuto]

22. So Kerry has to eat right, see a doctor regularly

and stay the hell away from Ford's Theater.

[MidwestTransplant]

15. Sorry for the confusion...that was a typo

I mean before the convention.

[Rowdyboy]

18. That makes way more sense...

Still don't necessarily agree with you, but it makes WAY more sense!

[leesa]

23. McCain is a disgusting Bush ass-licker! He has supported every crime

Bush has committed since he stole office. He is a neocon through and through
WHY would you want this kind of traitorous crap as your VP???? Unless you are a neocon posing as something else, then perhaps I can see it...

[surfermaw]

52. You got that right a ssa licker

Next to last in his class at the post, you can see he isn't leveling when he speaks in his mealy mouth talk,and he is arrogant, after graduating from the point, he said he wish he would have been last instead of next to last, this would be the same as voting for Bush

[mitchtv]

32. perhaps a surge of pro choice Dems staying home

I would

[Voltaire99]

41. So would I. McCain is reprehensible.

McCain is anti-abortion and a pro-war imperialist of the first order.

Millions of us would walk away from the ticket. Think you could win without either the pro-choice vote or progressives? If so, my principled centrist friends, just try it. :-)

[surfermaw]

51. A republican, I think not, the campaign would stop in its track

[leesa]

26. McCain is a traitorous neocon who has supported Bush in every single thing

he has done since stealing the election. WHY on earth would you want this traitor to be OUR VP????? He is a neocon, just like Wolfowitz, Lieberman, Zell Miller, Cheney, Jeb Bush, all the rest...haven't you had enough of this SHIT???

[IndianaGreen]

39. McCain is not a neocon

but he is anti-choice and anti-gay rights.

[Voltaire99]

42. McCain's an imperialist

McCain never met a war he didn't like. Major neocons like Krauthammer and Kristol back him.

Brush up on your McCain foreign policy positions here:
http://www.issues2000.org/Senate/John_McCain.htm#Foreign_Policy

[IndianaGreen]

45. We have a surplus of imperialists in both major parties

The GOP likes raw imperialism, while the Democrats prefer lubricated imperialism. Either way you look at it, PNAC or PPI, it is still imperialism.

[David Dunham]

4. I hope it's not Gephardt. Nice but dull and too close to Bush.

[Lorien]

33. Gep sucks the charisma right out of a room

he would kill the ticket, IMHO. Hopefully he'll find a Southerner with charm and a way with words (Edwards might fit the bill-or Clark).

[Voltaire99]

43. Yes, Gep is the Mondale of 2004

Probably the dullest Democrat in the debates (apart from the one about to be nominated, of course).

[TheDonkey]

7. I feel so dirty, but I'd like to see McCain as VP

BUT then again he would have the tie breaker in the senate and we can't afford that either.

But what a landslide it would be.

[Langis]

14. I really hope it is McCain

I know some people here would not be happy though.

[Hotdiggitydog]

21. I'm hoping it is McCain, too.

I have a lot of respect for him - disagree with him on quite a few things, but I think he is an honorable man. Even if something happened to President Kerry, I'd still much rather have McCain as Prez than Bush.

[leesa]

24. No, generally we don't like traitorous neocons!

[mobuto]

29. No, in general we don't like traitorous neocons

That's why we're willing to do whatever's necessary (within the confines of the law) to defeat George W. Bush in November. If nominating John McCain's what it takes, then so be it.

[Voltaire99]

44. Time for you to start examining your logic

The self-defeating argument that "we'll do anything to defeat Bush, even elect a right wing warmongering anti-choicer like McCain!" is one you'll still be reciting, Mobuto, as you jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

[mobuto]

47. Powers of the Vice President

"The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided."

In other words, the Vice President does squat unless the President asks him to do something.

John Kerry is not a "right wing warmongering anti-choicer."

George Bush is.

I don't think I'd be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire to say that replacing a "right wing warmognering anti-choicer" President with a slightly less bad Vice President, an almost purely ceremonial function, is an awful low price to pay for getting a committed, liberal Democratic President.

[leesa]

25. WHY should we appease the neocons?? What is wrong with you idiots?

[Voltaire99]

46. Some think a mini-Bush is better than a maxi-Bush, apparently.

Maybe they haven't heard of the no-Bush-at-all position. ;-)

But indeed it's maddening (if illuminating) to see how some are willing to settle for whatever scraps they can get. That's a form of surrender that is hardly democratic or Democratic.

If you're feeling that drafting a right winger to beat a right winger is what the party and the nation need, then you need a dose of Thomas Frank's cover essay in the current issue of Harper's: "Lie Down For America - How the GOP sows ruin in the great plains."

[mulethree]

49. Bush-Lite

Chomsky Backs 'Bush-Lite' Kerry
By Matthew Tempest
The Guardian - UK
3-20-4

Noam Chomsky, the political theorist and leftwing guru, yesterday gave his reluctant endorsement to the Democratic party's presidential contender, John Kerry, calling him "Bush-lite", but a "fraction" better than his rival.

Professor Chomsky - a linguist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a renowned chronicler of American foreign policy - said there were "small differences" between Senator Kerry and the Republican president. But, in an interview on the Guardian's politics website, he added that those small differences "can translate into large outcomes".

He describes the choice facing US voters in November as "the choice between two factions of the business party". But the Bush administration was so "cruel and savage", it was important to replace it.

He said: "Kerry is sometimes described as 'Bush-lite', which is not inaccurate. But despite the limited differences both domestically and internationally, there are differences. In a system of immense power, small differences can translate into large outcomes."
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http://www.rense.com/general50/bsh.htm

[Piperay]

9. Gosh, no mention of

Wes Clark. :-(

[cetasika]

10. Why not ask Bush to be VP

since its all about "winning" with no regard to ideas.

[mobuto]

12. That's not such a bad idea.

I'd rather Bush be Vice President, a position that has virtually no responsibilities, and have John Kerry be President than have George Bush be President.

[indie_voter]

13. Because it is more about ousting Bush(and his gang) than anything else.

[Nashyra]

16. I think that the lack of Clark's name maybe more telling

As for Edwards we can not afford to have two senators records being put under the microsope and the fact that he was a malpractice attorney would be fuel for the gop, whether it's fair or not.

[indie_voter]

17. How so? My fingers are crossed for Clark! (nt)

[TacticalPeek]

30. My rationalization as well re: Clark.

Not being in the initial parade would possibly mean he is not among the early eliminatees.

:)

[iamjoy]

19. VP

Gov. Richardson may help carry the Hispanic vote, may not.
He will also draw heavy fire because he was Secretary of Energy during the whole Chinese/Nuclear Secrets scandal. The Repugnant-cans could paint him as a modern day Julius Rosenberg
(I didn't say it was fair or accurate, but since when has that stopped them?)

Edwards has charm, and going out on the trail will help persuade undecided voters.

Hard to figure out where Rendell stands on a lot of things

Warner seems ok - and is from the ever-emphasized South - but does he have a personality?

Clinton would be suicide.

[Gloria]

27. Richardson is Republican lite----

I held my nose to vote for him for governor here in NM...

But, he really has said he won't run. And I think he may mean it..

[mobuto]

28. Are you fucking kidding me? Republican-lite?

There may never have been a Governor in the history of the United States who has been so committed to labor as Bill Richardson.

Republican-lite?

What in holy hell are you talking about?

[Gloria]

36. Well, to start with, his tax "reforms' which gave breaks to the high

income levels and zip to the lower income folks...And this is a damned poor state....It was the legislature which finally put in some constraints, with contingencies on what happened to the economy and the budget

Then he did a Christie Whitman (what she did in NJ when I lived there)--raise all sorts of fees.

Then he pushed through some "education reform" and at the same time dipped into a special set aside fund which was questionable.

Then bought a marble conference table for about $15,000+ which ticked off a lot of people.

There are other New Mexicans who have the same doubts about Richardson.

I wouldn't take my eyes off this guy...he's a wheeler and a dealer. Some of his business dealings were a topic of discussion during his campaign.

[mobuto]

54. Cough

1. In two years Richardson has done more to help organized labor than any Governor has ever in our nation's history. That's not hyperbole, I really mean that.

2. He has done more for the environment than just about any Governor ever in our nation's history, and on all levels.

Then he pushed through some "education reform" and at the same time dipped into a special set aside fund which was questionable.

3. You're saying that there's something inherently wrong with education reform?

4. Richardson did pass an ambitious series of tax cuts and incentives, the result has been that New Mexico's economy is one of the fastest growing in the nation, especially when you look at the most valuable, high wage jobs. Taxes were too high. That's one of the major differences between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans only want to lower taxes; that's their answer to everything. Democrats realize that there is an optimum level of taxation: sometimes taxes are too high and inhibit the economy, and other times they are too low and prevent needed services.

So basically your biggest gripe is that he spent $15,000 on a conference table?

[dolstein]

50. To many DU'ers, any Democratic who isn't a socialist is Repub-lite

Many DU'ers are under the delusion that the Democratic Party of the 1960s and 1970s consisted entirely of Dennis Kucinich clones. In fact, there were more Strom Thurmond clones in the Democratic Party than there were Dennis Kucinich clones.

DU'ers see the loss of Democratic majorities in Congress as the product of a rightward shift in the party. The fact is, the loss of these majorities was the product of a sharp decline of Democratic strength in Southern and rural Western districts. These districts, which used to be represented by conservative Democrats, are now mostly represented by conservative Republicans (except for a small number of "majority minority" distrcits in the South).

[mobuto]

53. Bill Richardson is well to the left of Dennis Kucinich

I really don't know what the poster is smoking. You'd have to go to Fightin' Bob La Follette to come up with an elected politician quite like Bill Richardson. And in a state with as many Republicans as New Mexico? He's unprecedented.

[boobooday]

20. Give us a kick-ass liberal woman!

More liberal than Hillary.

Okay, so I'm dreaming again.

Edit: another thought. OPRAH.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[mitchtv]

34. oprah is not a liberal

Barbara Boxer is however. Oprah is a piece of slime

[mobuto]

35. No thanks

Barbara Boxer is a good Senator. But she'd be just about the worst Vice Presidential nominee Kerry could possibly pick.

[ochazuke]

48. HATE the ohpra

Bush's rise in the polls coincided with his appearance on her show.

And you know what she did for AHHnuld.

[PartyPooper]

31. I hope it's Clark! Kerry and Clark would kick serious butt!

:kick:

[Auntie Bush]

37. Kerry and Clark are a sure bet!.

Kerry said early on that his VP would have to be someone who was strong on defense and national security. None of those mentioned as possible candidates have those credentials...except CLARK.

One has to wonder why Clark's name was never mentioned...even though Kerry publicly thanked him for being his surrogate. I think that speaks louder than words and know one is talking about the elephant in the room. IMHO the decision has already been made.

[onehandle]

38. Bull. Hillary is not being discussed.

They're just trying to make the hunt sexier with that leak.

Neither is McCain. I call bullsh*t!

[osaMABUSh]

40. Has to be Gen. Clark or slight chance a Governor

I don't see another Senator (Edwards) nor a Congressman (Gephardt) Why risk the voting record scrutiny? Every vote that differs bt. Kerry and his VP would be negatively potrayed. We haven't elected a Senator since 1960. Two on the ticket would make it much. much tougher to win.

Hillary is not only a Senator but has the last name of Clinton. She is too polarizing for the nation at this time.

McCain? Not going to happen.

A Governor selection is safe but I don't see Rendell as firing anybody up. Richardson is not squeaky clean and he may only help win New Mexico's handful of electoral votes which is not enough. Vilsack could help in the Midwest but like Rendell he is relatively unknown and a regional pick.

And, frankly, if the economy picks up a bit we may need to shift strategy to more emphasis on anti-terror and national defense.

Wes Clark is a national candidate with Southern roots plus, of course, he trumps any advantage Bush may have had in Security.