Just for fun - another "What if" thread: VP edition

[sniffa]

I thought Joe was a great choice but I did get squeamish that Obama did not pick a running mate from one of the many states he was trying to flip.

Assuming Obama would hold the majority of the states he carried (I think he would have almost regardless of whom he picked) what McCain states could he have added with a choice of a native son? Which one would have been the best state to add whether by EV grab or slap in the Repubs' faces?

Personally, I think the states that were close could have been flipped with the addition of Schweitzer, or whomever is popular in GA.

I don't think AZ would have flipped with Napolitano, or Texas with that no name guy that was being floated, or Kansas with Sebelius (and with Obama's roots). I would have loved any of these for the slap-factor but I don't think it would happen.

[marco86]

1. Biden plays well in Ohio and PA

[sniffa]

3. But does he help in states McCain won?

[MadBadger]

2. Janet Napolitano could have I think helped make a run at AZ

She is more popular than McCain there, and I think if they did some campaign events there, they could make it very close. Arizona I think would have been an Obama state if not for McCain.

[sniffa]

4. I think it would have been down to the wire

but I still think McCain would have won by a minuscule margin. That would have been the ultimate slap in the face. :D

[jpgray]

5. Schweitzer gave one of the best speeches at the DNC

I think he's a great voice for the party, and a good deflector for "gun grabber" criticisms. His policy stances on some national issues are still unclear to me, however.

[sniffa]

6. He was great

I assume he's popular in MT since he was elected governor and he may have put Obama over the top in that state. I think it's a slap but it won't leave quite the mark as some other states.

[XemaSab]

7. Schweitzer is my future boyfriend

:o

[Jennicut]

8. Blah...I hate choosing a VP just to get a state. Bill choose Al in 1992 and that was a brilliant

choice and they were both from the South so pundits wondered what he was doing. But it energized the campaign. Biden was chose to govern, not to flip a state, I think those days are long past for Dems. Lieberman was from CT (my state!) and its really blue and Edwards really would have had a tough time making N.C. blue at that time. We have not picked a VP for a region or state in a long, long time.

[sniffa]

9. Like I said, this is just for fun

Assume Obama won the states he did - could one of McCain's states have been taken with home town VP?

[chiefofclarinet]

10. I think Biden may have helped to flip Ohio and Indiana

Even though he is from Delaware and close to Pennsylvania, some of the people he appealed to in rural Pennsylvania are similar to rural Ohio and rural Indiana. He spent a lot of time in Ohio, and it probably helped Obama/Biden secure Ohio.

As for your actual question, I think Napolitano or Schweitzer would have been the best. Montana would have gone blue with Schweitzer on the ticket, and Napolitano would made Arizona a major swing state, and annoyed McCain to no end.