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For both John McCain and Barack Obama, locked in a tight duel, safety seems to be the prevailing sentiment.
McCain is worried about a right-wing backlash against Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and even against Tom Ridge (the pro-choice Republican former Pennsylvania governor). The eminently safe choice for the GOP is Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota governor. His selection wouldn’t do much one way or the other, but it would give McCain a good talking head to complement his ticket.
Obama will, of course, steer clear of Hillary. He seems to have three key options for VP — Tim Kaine, the Virginia govenor; Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.); and Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.).
Bayh has gotten some flak lately from the left and is suspect on the abortion issue. He also is bound at the hip to Mark Penn, who wins no points in popularity on the left of the party. Kaine has the same defects that Obama has — he’s a former city councilman and mayor of Richmond, a city with less than 200,000 population (some colleges have more). So a state senator will run with a city councilman for president? I don’t think that will work well. Biden — crusty, talkative, argumentative old Joe Biden — might be the best choice. At least he knows where the men’s room is in the White House!
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Obama will select Sen. Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential choice as Russia has beaten Israel to the foreign crises punch. The ever-calculating Obama campaign cannot risk any perception of inexperience, weakness, or ignorance of foreign policy issues and procedures. Joe Biden in spite of his propensity for lengthy dialouge and susceptibility to mistakes, brings confident senatorial and foreign diplomatic experience to the ticket.
Biden also brings the Washington insider blemish to the Obama ticket, but what the hell. Russia has done what Israel has been posturing to do and still could. Barry O. cannot afford to make any other choice.
McCain will stay away from selecting Joe Liberman; the selection of Liberman would present the public image of the two elderly gentlemen in the balcony on the Muppet Show…and Tom Ridge is identified as pro-life, however, he made a statement that he would change to pro-choice if he was selected; and as far as Tim Pawlenty is concerned, he is just a tad-bit above the sterotypes of Jesse Ventura and Al Frankteon. In reality, it will not make a difference on he chooses……they are all not the greatest candidates.
As far as Obama, Evan Bayh has too many past ties to the Clintons, and that would be political suicide. Tim Kaine brings nothing to the table or the campaign and is truly an unknown political contributor other than his local credibility and standings in Virginia. It is apparent, that since Mark Warner will deliver the opening speech at the convention, that Kaine is automatically vetted. And as far as Joe Biden, the crusty, talkative, argumentative old Joe Biden will add to the political void of Obama in foreign policy. And as far as knowing where the bathroom is in the White House, that is a very crucial point, consdiering most of Congress does their best work there and all are most happier there; some even from head to “feet.”
Where have all the statesmen gone?
Snip from Michaelcoogan: “and as far as Tim Pawlenty is concerned, he is just a tad-bit above the sterotypes of Jesse Ventura and Al Frankteon.”
I certainly disagree with the above assessment. I have lived in Minnesota for 50 years, so I’ve seen a lot of politics here. I, personally, think that Ventura is a buffoon and Franken is just a joke. I do not agree with Pawlenty on many issues, but I find him to be a well educated, smart politican who does ‘think’ before he speaks. I do not want to see McCain ask him as a VP, I would much prefer to see him ask Liberman as I think it would be a great balance and I really respect Joe Liberman. I’m just hoping that he does not ask Gov. Romney; I think that would be political suicide.
What Obama is going to do I’m not sure, but he sure gave it away to the Clintons; it would not surprise me a bit if Hillary walks out of the convention with the nomination, not at all! What a mess that will be if it happens. Moey in Minneapolis
• I wonder if a Romney candidacy might support an Obama campaign attack and friendly-press narrative that the maverick is dead, e.g., McCain is yielding to expediency and appears, just like Romney did earlier, to be rudderless?
• With Romney on the ticket, I wonder if it neutralizes McCain positions about Obama’s opportunistic political compass. McCain may net out positive in the mud-wrestling match, but will it be enough to move his margin towards victory?
• Is there polling, or conventional wisdom, that establishes that more in the conservative base will be lost than the middle gained by a Lieberman candidacy? A bold move here might move a lot of people. The smart money in the right-to-life camp will eventually hold their noses and pull for McCain, yes?
I’m a marketer and sales person by trade — not a political expert, however, my experience suggests that a McCain-Lieberman ticket would be electric. The ticket would glow from media coverage and water-cooler buzz. A McCain-Romney ticket would be entirely predictable; over the next few months news copy about the campaign would be good to wrap fish.
Meanwhile, if the Obama campaign continues to drink its own bath water (and they pick Hillary), the Obama team will suck the air out of the room for the next four years. Sure. Bill will be a pest, but the country will laugh it off. Meanwhile, in real life, if Obama’s make up runs, he might run out of the room from Putin during a negotiation. McCain needs to show some real daring here. He needs to “Think Lee, or Think Grant”, not “Go McClellan.”
If McCain gets Lieberman, then the campaign needs to work the storyline that both candidates will vet originalist judges as a matter of principled constitutional stewardship. “We will both pick judges that believe in legislation, not practice it.” “Like almost all of America, Joe and I wretch at partial birth abortion and euthanizing squalling Down’s babies in dark closets. This is the triumph of absolutism, at its worst.”
“Unlike Democrats beholden to absolutists, we will not jam litmus tests down appointees’ throats in public as we have too often seen by some on the Senate Judiciary Committee.” “Life and liberty? –Activist Judges are a mortal threat to our Constitutional form of government, not moderate politicians.”
The choice of Biden was all too obvious. The Obama campaign staff is so-o-o-o predictable. They wanted a no-name like Bayh to allow their Messiah to shine. But given the continued Clintonista subterfuge, the effectiveness of the RNC negative ad campaign, and the deteriorating foreign political climate, Biden was their only choice (sorry Michelle).
The McCain camp has no choice but to equivocate with a seasoned attack dog for VP. The Biden entourage will not give any quarter and has accepted the duty of taking the low-ground, snarling attack right to the jugular of John McCain and his No. 2.
If McCain thinks he can have a continued friendship with Joe Biden after what transpires over the next 60 days, he is truly naive. John is about to learn that unlike VietNam, in this war, there will be no prisoners.