Obama's successful trip may lessen the need for a national security VP

[BluegrassDem]

enter Gov. Tim Kaine.

I think Obama wants to pick Kaine, but Kaine lacks those foreign policy creds. However, if Obama seems to have conquered the national security, foreign policy questions, then he can be free to choose someone like Gov. Kaine for VP instead of being forced to go for a Biden or Bayh.

[Eric J in MN]

1. I never believed that Obama needed a VP with foreign policy or military experience.

The majority of Americans want the troops to come home from Iraq and a focus on domestic issues.

[TwilightGardener]

2. I think he'll still want a VP who knows his way around the world--

we have very fast-changing, challenging international issues right now--not JUST the wars, but terrorism, changing alliances between countries, trouble with Russia, competition with China and India, third-world problems: Jack Reed and Joe Biden fit the bill.

[Larkspur]

4. You don't need a VP for that. You need a National Security Advisor and Sec of State

for that job.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer is my favorite for VP. Unlike Bush, Schweitzer is a real rancher/cowboy who respects others and loves horses. Bush is more like outlaw Jesse James and Bush is scared of horses.

Schweitzer worked in Saudi Arabia early in his life. He also speaks Arabic and is familiar with Arab culture.

Schweitzer can help Obama bridge the gap with Appalachia voters. He's got a folksy charisma. Schweitzer is basically Jim Webb minus the pro-confederacy and anti-woman history.

Schweitzer is a proponent of getting us off foreign oil dependency and using alternative and renewable energy.

And Schweitzer is a shrewd and smart politician who won in a Red state when the Beltway Dems didn't offer any help to him in 2004. Schweitzer won the governorship of Montana even though John Kerry lost Montana by 20 pts.

[salonghorn70]

3. I Agree

For the last couple of weeks, I was thinking that it would be Biden. I now agree with you about Kaine. You know that Obama is testing all of these choices by polling to see who can add what. It may be that someone like Biden who does have foreign policy experience just doesn't add as much as someone like Kaine who might actually carry a blue state. Now I would still say that Bayh may still be in the running because he might carry Indiana.