Who would you like Obama's running mate to be in 2012?

[Radical Activist]

This isn't meant as an attack on Biden so don't make it a BFD. He'll turn 70 in 2012. That's not too old to serve another term as VP but he might decide to step aside. That would leave Obama with the chance to pick a front-runner for the 2016 nomination.

Who would be your ideal pick for an Obama ticket in 2012?

[Arkana]

1. Biden.

If he decides to step aside, that's of course his right--but I don't know anyone who could replace him.

Plus, this is the last job Joe's ever going to have. He gets to be VP for four or eight years (hopefully eight) and then he goes off to a quiet retirement (which I'm sure he'll be looking forward to).

[Cha]

42. +1 I want Biden..they can groom someone else

who would make a good Democratic Prez..he/she doesn't have to be the VP.

[Arkana]

44. Plus, sitting VPs rarely do well in Presidential elections.

See: Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey

[Cha]

45. Exactly..see

Gore even though he won but not by enough to make up for the cheating.

cheney would have killed this country off and so would have the senator from AZ and the former 1/2 term gov of Alaska.

[TTUBatfan2008]

55. Bingo...

Unless you have hands down the best administration in history, the VP is going to have some baggage whether it's for political or other reasons. In Gore's case it was other reasons. Clinton's scandal made it somewhat easy for Bush to run as the outsider that was trying to somehow "clean up" the supposed moral failings of Clinton. Even though Gore had nothing to do with Clinton's personal failings, enough people bought it to where the Rethugs could steal the election because it was a close vote.

[Arkana]

57. VPs make bad nominees because they're caught

between trying to make themselves seem independent of the administration they served in while simultaneously trying to run on the administration's record. They try to have their cake and eat it too--mostly because they can't go whole hog one way or the other.

[TTUBatfan2008]

58. Exactly...

One foot in the door and one out the door. Ultimately it's too easy to attack the person for being inconsistent in that situation. "Are you proud of your record or not?"

[BeyondGeography]

2. I doubt he'll step aside and the country's getting plenty old anyway

Not to mention 65+ is where Obama does the worst. Biden's still just about the best we can do, IMO.

[Radical Activist]

13. hmm...

That's the best political argument I've heard for keeping Biden.

[RollWithIt]

3. Biden.... if not I'd say.... Hillary? Or maybe.... Schweitzer from Montana? NT

[Radical Activist]

8. Schweitzer would be interesting.

A populist from the west is appealing. I wonder if being VP would free him up to be more liberal or if he's a centrist at heart on some issues.

[racaulk]

23. Schweitzer would be a GREAT pick!

Assuming Biden decided to step aside of course. :hi:

[rox63]

4. I've seen no indication that Biden intends to step aside

So I support Biden for VP in 2012.

[zipplewrath]

5. Dean

Well, that's the first name that rolls off my head. I'd have to think about it a bit. You want someone who can run in 2016 as a successor, and who will be the leftist candidate we can find. How's about Feingold?

[rurallib]

21. Dean was my first choice. Then someone said Schweitzer

It would be nice if Biden were to step aside and allow someone else to be groomed.

[woodsprite]

6. Biden or Dean - I like both of their personalities. n/t

[Jennicut]

7. Biden. Someone can earn their own nomination. Being VP running for Prez

has not seemed to work out in the last few elections any way. And Biden may be very valuable to Obama...he has no agenda. Why does Obama want that headache? Cheney was supposed to be that for Bush but obviously he was an egomaniac nutball.

[Radical Activist]

11. It would make for a more interesting primary.

The '04 primary was an interesting battle over the direction of the party. So was '08 but its a shame things were dragged out long after there was a clear nominee.
And you make a good point about the running track record. It ties a candidate's electability to how popular Obama is after two terms.

[Jennicut]

14. There is also no way Obama wants to get entangled in the drama.

Biden is a lot easier to have as a VP...there was incredible tension between Clinton and Gore for Clinton's mistakes.

[wizstars]

34. it worked well in 2000....

...notwithstanding the theft by SCOTUS

[Jennicut]

39. Actually, Gore was caught between running away from Clinton and at the same time

being hurt by not having his influence on the campaign trail. It was a reason the vote was so close...some backlash against Clinton did exist. Gore could not exclaim to not be a part of it. We won in 2008 without needing a candidate that was "set up". I really don't think Obama would trade a loyal VP for having to groom another politician the Presidency.

[RelativelyJones]

9. Nancy Pelosi

She ought to be our first female president

[Uzybone]

15. Pelosi turned 70 not long ago

[Radical Activist]

16. Even if she were younger

I don't see how her running for President would be anything but one long culture war that Democrats would be on the losing side of. I've already heard enough of that "San Francisco values" garbage, but it does work in many states.

[RelativelyJones]

19. They are going to do that no matter who is nominated

So screw them. We win and get past this stupidity.

[Radical Activist]

22. Running any candidate from California or Massachusetts is a waste of time

if we want to win a national election.

[RelativelyJones]

30. You think being from Chicago is more palatable than being from MA or CA?.

Dukakis and Kerry lost because they couldn't connect with the public. Had Obama been from California, NY or Massachusetts he'd still be president right now...and he had a lot more to contend with than his home state. He lit a fire under peoples' asses and that's why he won.

[Radical Activist]

36. Yes it is much better.

Being from Illinois meant Obama had to attract votes from rural areas culturally southern and geographically south of Richmond Virginia. There's a Midwestern sensibility Obama understands. It has a lot to do with why Obama and Edwards did well in Iowa while Dean and Kerry didn't. People from New England and California tend to rub a lot of people the wrong way. Being from Mass does have a lot to do with why people didn't connect with Dukakis and why Kerry was an easy target for the "arrogant liberal elite" label. If you're not from the rural Midwest then you'll probably never get it.

[Radical Activist]

37. I'll be more specific.

When Obama was running for Senate in the Democratic primary, and for years before that, one of the most frequent criticisms of his campaign style was that he came off as too arrogant. People don't care for that in Illinois, especially from a Chicago candidate running statewide. Obama had to deal with that and over time he changed how he interacted and related to people.
That wouldn't have happened if he had been a Senator from Mass and kept that typical arrogant New England attitude that the South and Midwest dislike. He never would have been forced to drop that Harvard attitude like he needed to do to be elected statewide in Illinois. So no, he wouldn't have won the Iowa caucus, he wouldn't have been able to connect as well with the average voter, and he wouldn't be President today if he had been from Mass. Geography matters.

[RelativelyJones]

40. It isn't the rural midwest that elected Obama

If anything, it was the urban regions of Ohio and Indiana that tipped the scales. I know IN and KY pretty well, and there are a hell of lot of people there struggling with the idea of a black president. You are right in that geography matters, but the urban/rural distinction is far more meaningful than national region. A rural Californian or New Yorker would do just fine in the rural Midwest. Democrats should actively try to appeal to rural voters, but not at the expense of alienating urbanites who are the base of the party and constitute an ever larger portion of the US population. Rural Midwesterners need to catch up with (arrogant!) Northeasterners/Californians, who have no problem supporting Southern or Midwestern candidates.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/election/uscounties.html

[Radical Activist]

52. And if Obama had done even worse in the rural areas

then the vote in urban areas would not have been enough to overcome the margin. It's not simply a matter of giving credit to the areas where he won by the largest margin.

You can preach about what rural midwesterners and southerners need to do all you want but that won't change the political realities, and that kind of preaching is exactly why self-righteous candidates who look down their nose on rural hicks don't win national elections.

[RelativelyJones]

74. For someone who dismissively tags others as self-righteous

you sure don't mind writing off entire regions of the county in insulting, cartoonish terms (even if they are Yankees or West Coasters). I've read some of your stuff, and you can do good analysis, but your smugness marks you as nothing but a dime-store Mark Penn. Just because you, in your infinite wisdom, deem something "a political reality" means it is actually true. When people like you hold too much sway, we as a party become parochial.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

48. They used the word "arrogant" and "uppity" to connote that the black guy had

the audacity to run for higher office.

Those words mean entirely different things when it comes to race. It was o.k. for Bush. It was "confidence" and "strong". For people of color, it's "arrogance" and "uppity". It's not fashionable to use the N-Word anymore, so this coded language would have to suffice.

Sick, ain't it? :puke:

[Radical Activist]

50. Even when it was black people saying it?

Cut the knee jerk crap. I realize there are people with that attitude but that's not what this was about. Frankly, people said it when he was just running for little State Senate.

[Arkana]

51. I disagree. The right candidate from California could win.

[Radical Activist]

53. That one in a million super candidate can win from any state, but realistically

coming from California is a big negative to overcome. Nominating another New England or California candidate is a major risk for the Democratic Party. Those aren't there areas where we need to persuade voters and those aren't the candidates with the most national appeal.

[Arkana]

56. Massachusetts, maybe, but what if the candidate was from New Hampshire?

Out of curiosity, did you think this when Democrats chose an Illinois native as their nominee (with his closest rival being a New York native)? I don't remember us having electoral problems in either state, or a bloc of voters in either state we needed to persuade.

I'm just saying--your home state is only a strike against you if you watch the pitch as it sails by.

[Radical Activist]

70. Illinois is an advantage

because it helped Obama win key Midwestern swing states like Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan and Ohio. A major part of that was regional identity and a candidate well suited to deliver a message that appeals to Midwestern sensibilities. Obama won every state that borders Illinois except Kentucky. Kerry lost three of those states (Missouri, Iowa, Indiana) and had to invest significant resources to barely win Wisconsin. There's your margin of victory.

And while New Hampshire may not have the same stigma as Massachusetts after Kerry and Dukakis, I would say that, yes, many of the same problems will arise with a candidate from New Hampshire. Iowans take their role as the first caucus state seriously. But as a Midwesterner, I found the level of arrogant entitlement New Hampshire residents have about being the first primary state to be very off-putting. It's no coincidence that the last two New England candidates had a difficult time connecting with voters.

[Dr Morbius]

38. Nancy Pelosi is perfectly placed as Speaker of the House.

She's awesome there; I wouldn't move her to a position where she'd essentially be useless. I like Joe Biden. I think he's a LOT smarter than most folks think he is. I think that to the extent that a VP influences his President, Joe Biden is a good, liberal influence on President Obama. If Joe wants to retire, I'd ask Mrs. Clinton if she wants to remain SoS or be VP. Assuming she wants to remain SoS, I'd be cool with Grayson.

Nancy Pelosi is the best Speaker I can recall, period. We have to go back to Tip O'Neill, and I think Mrs. P has it on ol' Tipster.

[Radical Activist]

72. Oversight of the Executive Branch is primarily a Congressional responsibility.

Whatever else Pelosi does, the failure to exercise that oversight against Bush will be remembered as one of the worst mistakes in Congressional history.

[krawhitham]

10. Sherrod Brown and only because Joe will be too old to run in 2016

[Radical Activist]

18. He could be good.

What has Brown been up to lately anyway? I haven't payed much attention to him since he was elected Senator.

[Forkboy]

20. I like that pick.

:thumbsup:

[damntexdem]

12. Al Franken.

No, actually, not a senator.

[Radical Activist]

17. I like it. Why not run our own actor for President?

It could work and he'd be a good attack dog on the ticket in 2012.

[martymar64]

77. Why not an Al Franken Administration? He already had an Al Franken Decade.

:)

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

24. Rick Astley..... Think about it. The entire country gets Rick-rolled. It would be fucking awesome.

[dionysus]

25. never gonna bring your taxes up, never bring your benefits down...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

26. .

[babylonsister]

33. LOL! nt

[caledesi]

27. If Biden witnhdraws, Alan Grayson wld be great! nt

[mkultra]

28. he will not. No reason to toy with it.

[Fire1]

29. Dennis Kucinich! n/t

[AtomicKitten]

31. Joe B, wingman. nt

[TlalocW]

32. Sarah Palin

Offer it to her. See what she does. Sit in a chair in the front yard and listen to heads exploding from the houses of your teabagging neighbors.

TlalocW

[Solomon]

76. LOL Yep. She would quit her teabagging in a heartbeat.

LOL It would be funny to see how far a hypocrit can go. You betcha!

[Iggo]

35. Joe Biden.

[Radical Activist]

41. I think he needs to pick a female running mate.

It's obviously time to break the Presidential gender barrier. Why let the Republicans do it?
Patty Murray, Hilda Solis, Maria Cantwell, Amy Klobuchar, Janet Napolitano, Claire McCaskill. There are plenty of good candidates to choose from.

[Pisces]

43. Cory Booker

[emilyg]

46. Hillary

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

47. Joseph Robinette Biden!!!! n/t

[AllentownJake]

49. I'm holding out for a primary challenger

:rofl:

[craigmatic]

54. Hillary- she could help him win AR and possibly be ready for her own run in '16. nt

[Politicalboi]

59. John Edwards

LOL! I couldn't help it.

[Radical Activist]

68. *snort*

He was in every other VP conversation for at least 8 years, so why not?

[Hekate]

60. Biden. There is no earthly reason to give him the boot, which is what this would be. nt

[marlakay]

61. I like Biden there I think he keeps Obama in check

especially with military and the environment. Also he fights for the trains I want.

[Radical Activist]

66. ugh

It makes me nervous to have Biden advising Obama on foreign policy. Biden has been so consistently wrong, including his support for the Iraq invasion. I hope Obama is keeping Biden in check.

[ohheckyeah]

62. If Biden were to step aside

I think Obama's pick would depend on what kind of opposition the Republicans put up. Obama may need to run someone who can carry the south.

[Radical Activist]

67. He would only need one or two

Southern states. I'll bet he could find a Southerner to help him carry NC, VA or FL again. That would almost guarantee victory.
On the other hand, western states will gain electoral college votes after the census so there may be more value in going with someone from CO or AZ.

[ohheckyeah]

73. I agree.

I don't think it would take a lot for him to carry Virginia.

[golfguru]

63. Hey what's wrong with turning 70???

I will be turning that milestone soon, and I am playing at the lowest
handicap golf of my entire life. Surely some of it due to improved
skills but lot of it is just good physical conditioning by walking
instead of riding on the course.

[Radical Activist]

65. As I wrote

"That's not too old to serve another term as VP..."

[golfguru]

82. Touche!

[madchick44]

64. Hillary Clinton

or Michelle Obama.

[polichick]

69. If Biden decides he doesn't want the job, I'd like a true and bold liberal leader for veep...

Someone who could hold the president's feet to the progressive fire along with us.

[Dr Morbius]

71. I've reconsidered. If Biden wants to retire let's tap Anita Sanchez.

She tells it like it is. Alan Greyson has a bright future in House leadership.

[Sebastian Doyle]

75. Howard Dean

and then he can run as a semi-incumbent in 2016.

[Warren Stupidity]

78. Biden if he wants it.

[jillan]

79. Biden.

[Beacool]

80. Easy, the person who polls higher than any other politician in the nation.

Hillary Rodham Clinton

:D

[Vattel]

81. Clarence Thomas

Gets him off the Court.