Ambinder: Time To Vet The VP Candidates

Just after twilight on July 1, 2004, John Kerry slipped through the garden in the back of his Georgetown town house. Accompanied by a single aide and two Secret Service agents, he walked about 60 feet uphill, crossed a side street, and entered the home of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. There he found a fellow senator, John Edwards, waiting for him.

Edwards had just flown in from a private Florida airfield near Disney World. As Kerry and Edwards began the conversation that persuaded the Massachusetts Democrat to choose the North Carolinian as his running mate, reporters from the major news networks, a wire service, and The New York Times milled about in front of Kerry's house. A source deep within the Democratic advance world had tipped them off that the party's presidential nominee would secretly meet that night with the person he would most likely ask to join his ticket. Kerry returned home by 9 p.m. Shortly afterward, floor by floor, the lights went out. The reporters left. Kerry announced his decision on July 6 on his own terms.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[jsarets]

Obama has a well-developed theory about politics, and his VP will be somebody thats reflects his vision of a political party based on a bottom-up organizational structure.

A commitment to this kind of politics is more important to him than a commitment to any particular ideology, because a political operation organized around these principles lives or dies by its ability to reflect the will of the people.

If there is an ideology, it's one that is tried and true in the business world: the customer is always right, and in the business of politics, the customer is the voter.

The operative question is, when Obama is no longer president, who will play the part of Obama? Who will fill his shoes? Who believes in the same kind of politics that Obama is using to remake the Democratic Party into a new progressive majority?

There are undoubtedly several choices, but none as prominent as Howard Dean. He's the prototypical VP for Obama, and if he isn't on the bottom of the ticket (because prominence may not be a desirable attribute), whoever it is will be from cut from the same political mold.

[inthecolour]

I think the Obama campaign and Obama want Gore badly.

[TrueIndy08]

I doubt it

[Alfannell]

BREAKING NEWS: Chuck Hagel says he's interested if Obama ask him to be the V.P.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_el_pr/obama_hagel

[closetodemfection]

GAG - GOD NO! I really will vote for Mc Same then!

Pro-life 100% rating
0% NARAL rating
0% HRC rating - anti gay stance
No on stem cell research
No on gay hate crimes
60% rating on civil rights - horrible
0% rating on Environmental issues
*A* rating from the NRA on gun control
12% rating on public health care
95% support of B-ush on Family Values
0% rating on separation of church and state

... and the list goes on. No, no a thousand times no!

[DevilAdvocate]

Calm down...Obama won't do it!!! but I really wouldn't mind Obama/Edwards or Obama/Biden or Obama/Gore! Wow that would be grand!

[JDJase]

Agreed. I live in Nebraska, and Hagel is a shady character.

[riverhouse]

We've had scant few clues about how Obama is thinking, but what little he's offered are pertinent. Won't be Hillary. We saw that door slam shut. And his comment that he had confidence and was comfortable with foreign policy issues tell us he's not thinking he needs a military man or an old geezer like Nunn. Commentators are dragging up the same conventional names, but I think we may be surprised by his choice.

[Forest]

Hillary would make it the winning team and Obama must know this. Anyone else will be vetted full force by the Repub. swift boat crowd. On the other hand, if the ticket is Barack and Hillary, they can talk about the issues rather than waste precious time defending their histories. Also, Hillary is formidable and knows all the players.

[JDJase]

I agree, i think the choice is going to be a surprise to everyone

[torsienj]

Joe Biden, head of the Senate Foriegn Relations Committee, no body can argue with his abilities to answer the phone at 3AM

[DevilAdvocate]

yep! Obama/biden my first pick!

[4wehttam]

Just don't make it someone too old, too angry, too Washington and too Hillary Clinton.

[DennyCrane]

In all the talk about VPs, no one is asking a much bigger question which is who would make a good President after Obama's terms are up. After all, the person he picks as his running mate will be the frontrunner in 2016. That's why I don't want someone like Sam Nunn. Can anyone picture him as President in 8 years? No. Obama should think about the future and pick someone who'll best be able to continue the changes he hopes to start.

[ChristopherLib]

What about Nunn for the first term and then someone else as VP for the reelection. And it's not a rule that the VP has to be the front runner after a two termed President.

[riverhouse]

Nunn is an ancient Southern conservative. He's totally inappropriate. He's too old to be president should the vp need to step in. People would have no confidence in Nunn as vp.

[speakingtruth2power]

GD PC program here chokes free expression!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bbbear]

I will of course wholeheartedly vote for whomever Obama chooses. Yet I'd prefer a savy civilian over a military man, even one as brilliant as Clark. Sure, Clark is razor sharp. Another plus is he's from a hard working middle class family. His genius I.Q. assured him a place at the point and his performance there put him on a fast track to General.

Wes Clark also won the Kosovo war in 30 days without losing one NATO soldier in combat. In fact, had not Clinton's republican sec of defense ( I seem to remember his name was Cohen? ) not balked at marshaling NATO troops on the border of Kosovo, Clark would have probably won that war in a week. Which would have saved a lot of innocent people from being killed by so-call smart bombs which were coated in cancer causing depleted uranium.. It would have also precluded the use of cluster bombs... which are often later picked up by innocent children before blowing up..

Clark also ran the infamous School of The America's in Panama, which produced the infamous South American death squads. So even though he was fully against invading Iraq, he does have a bit of baggage which, in fairness, usually comes with attaining 4 stars... That is, he did the jobs assigned to him with extreme efficiency.

[DevilAdvocate]

I like clark too... perhaps, sec. of state?

[NotMcCain]

I understand your feelings about military/civilian separation, but Clark would be an excellent choice as he understands that better than civilians (and was a -real- maverick who ticked off some of the traditionalists/hawks in the military).

I actually think some civilians trying, post 9/ll, to prove "how tough they are" would be more dangerous military-wise than some of the wiser former generals (i.e. Clark, Powell). McCain is scary. And I think Hillary would feel pressure to show how tough she is, too (just like the current president did).

Clark was against the Iraq war when it was unpopular and has spoken candidly about this administration when it was unpopular. I personally loved how last week he took down McCain's PR image as somehow being a military and foreign policy expert just because he'd been a POW. Clark was not afraid to shred that myth to bits--and he's got the cred and brains and likeability to do it.

Also, he didn't have anything to do with training death squads.

He'd be a good president, but paired with Obama--what a tremendous ticket that would be (and McCain's worst nightmare). Clark is also a businessman and very knowledgable about economics (another important issue that McCain knows nothing about).

Here's the wikipedia bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Clark

Obama/Clark '08

[theone718]

I give NotMcCain a "fullthroated" endorsement of his assessment of General Clark. That is my number 1 pick for VP, Obama/Clark would be two men who could, without a doubt run this country efficiently and effectively.

[zull2]

I still think Howard Dean would be a great choice for VP. He's the guy who devised the 50 state strategy, he could probably help Obama run it just fine. Tewes is already pretty much running the DNC anyway. Also, the one thing that sticks with people more than anything else is Obama's lack of conciseness when he answers questions. It creates the impression with the attention deficit majority that he's talking around a question, when in actuality it's just a habit that gets ingrained if you go the legal route with your career. Dean always was able to form a concise answer that was awfully hard to refute, as well as cut through all the BS and go for the throat when needed. Sure, he doesn't "automatically give Obama the (insert minority group here) vote", but that mode of thinking is insulting to those various groups, to think they'll only be appeased if they get one of their own.

[olivia]

Dean has earned it.

Not sure he's be the best choice though.

Anyone but Hill.

[nclayla]

I think that Obama will use the same excellent strategy to select his running mate that he used to win the nomination. I will back whoever he selects.

[schicklett3]

Long as Senator Obama dosen't pick Hillary... I still can't stand her.

[Forest]

Why, exactly?

[ChristopherLib]

You're an idiot.

[AfricanusI]

No need to to get cheesy and insulting, after all the guy is only articulating his/her views about her. So why fret?

C'mon life is better than being abusive and vindictive and foolishly passionate about someone who does not even know u exist. Take it easy!

[NotMcCain]

Don't worry. Bill and Hillary's finances (missing 2007 tax return, earmarks, library donors, Bill's role as a paid lobbyist for foreign governments, other questionable business deals like with Kazakhstan uranium) will never, ever be vetted.

VP's really not that great a job anyway, though. She could probably have a second-tier cabinet job (there are better choices for AG, SOS, SOD, Nat. Security), but if I were her, I'd stay in the senate where you have a lot more influence and a lot more opportunity to make a difference--especially as the majority party.

[closetodemfection]

That's all BC's business. It has nothing to do with her ability to serve as VP. One set of divorce papers and she wouldn't have to worry about it.

Besides, the WSJ backed off from that story once they realized that most of his donor list had already been released. It's a red herring, just like the taxes.

That said, I don't believe she has any interest in being VP anyway. Even though I wish she did.

[rubyrubyruby]

Princess Caroline is picking Obama's VP...what a joke...anyway John Edwards doesn't want the VP slot any more than HRC does.

[DevilAdvocate]

he changed his tune, read the news, he's open to it.

[NotMcCain]

John Edwards was a good choice in 2004 and would be a good AG for Obama in 2008.

As for VP? My money is on Wesley Clark. (Extremely smart*, personable, a 4 star general, genuine hero, military expert, knowledgable on economics, devoted family man, great team player, and former Hillary loyalist who immediately began effectively criticizing McCain v. Obama after the nominee was chosen).

*"Smart" as in "Clark graduated first in his class, was valedictorian, at West Point." McSame, of course, was 894th out of 899 at Annapolis and still can't keep "Shia" and "Sunni" straight.

[Raymondf]

The thing is Clark and McCain have almost the same IQ in the high 150's.

[coolrepublica]

He was smart enough to survive 5 years of torture. I will take his smarts over yours any day of the week. I like surviving better than talking BS.