How many think Max Cleland would be VP had he won re-election?

[Hippo_Tron]

Southern and a fellow veteran to help Kerry. Too bad he lost re-election and will probably end up secretary of veterans' affairs.

[JohnKleeb]

1. not to knock Max but he voted for IWR I believe

[bluestateguy]

2. Also

He is not a good campaigner. We All sympathize with him because of how he was treated, but he should have fought back hard. He should have run a "chickenhawk" ad against Saxby Chambliss. Cleland could have run an ad that would have ended Chambliss's career for good, but he chose the Joe Lieberman approach to the Democratic Party.

[JohnKleeb]

6. he should have, I agree

[Hippo_Tron]

15. I didn't realize that...

Well maybe had he run that Ad we might be considering him for VP.

[flaminbats]

18. I believe Cleland was a better campaigner than Barnes.

Yet Barnes did better because he had a clear record to campaign on, and he motivated the Democratic base more than Cleland in 2002. But they both lost due to the huge right-wing backlash in the south.

Cleland did worse with the Democratic base because of his votes for the Bush tax-cuts and the war in Iraq. Most importantly Max Cleland did not establish himself as a widely accepted leader in the policy arena, as have southern Democrats like Ernest Hollings, Sam Nunn and John Breaux. So even though he did a great deal to shape the Homeland Security legislation behind the scene, it was not passed while he was in office.

Cleland has always been a friendly and outgoing campaigner, but in 2002 his problem was that neither Democrats or Repukes in his state were in a friendly mood. As a result, Cleland wrongly became another political scapegoat for the failures of this adminstration.

[billbuckhead]

3. Roy Barnes would have been at the top of the VP list if he won re-election

[mobuto]

5. Agreed

I like Cleland a lot, but he is not an effective campaigner at all. Roy Barnes is. But Barnes blew it when he lost.

[JohnKleeb]

7. Barnes was an Edwards endorser yes?

not that it matters, but I am curious.

[mobuto]

9. Correct

Barnes endorsed Edwards. Cleland's a long-time friend of JK's and endorsed him.

[JohnKleeb]

11. thats what I thought

thanks.

[leyton]

4. Was Max Cleland a successful Senator?

Or Governor (or was he ever Governor? I'm not from Georgia...)?

I really only know of Max Cleland because of that dirty 2002 campaign ran against him. While he should not be forgotten, is the guy to bring energy to Kerry's ticket and to keep the party moving forward? How does this guy compare to Edwards or Landrieu or Graham in the Senate, or in general to the others on the short list?

[salonghorn70]

8. Roy Barnes

He would have run for President if he had won re-election.

[ulysses]

16. never governor

He was a good Senator. He did vote for the IWR (for all the electoral good it did him), but I'd vote for him again. I don't think he's the guy for the VP slot, though.

[mot78]

10. He wouldn't be Veep

As much as I admire the guy, and my sympathy towards him, his voting record is a little too conservative for me. He's more DLC than mainstream liberal

[JohnKleeb]

12. hard to be liberal in Georgia but I agree

though I much admire him.

[mot78]

13. Most Southern Democrats can't get the nomination in a primary

Clinton and Gore were real exceptions, and mainly because it was the first time we tried using the DLC's approach.

[JohnKleeb]

17. yeah

they were exceptions.

[mobuto]

14. Really?

Because Cleland's very liberal for Georgia - he's much more liberal than other Georgians who have or have considered entering national politics, including Jimmy Carter and Roy Barnes. His ADA lifetime voting record, an admittedly imperfect metric, is a none-too-shabby 83.