Obama Veeparama - Will It Be Sebelius Or Schweitzer?

Today's MSM Three for Obama Veep are Biden (Keith's Olbermann's apparent choice), Bayh and Kaine, in that order, sort of. All are wrong choices.

The two most likely choices are Kathleen Sebelius and Brian Schweitzer, the Governors of Kansas and Montana respectively. Both have seismic potential.

The scenario under which Sebelius might get the nod is that it would be part of a rapprochement with Clinton that she'd go with. Hillary and Kathleen suddenly become the SAME THING and Hilary's supporters back off.

Schweitzer would be Obama's laugh at everyone, a manifestation of great confidence on Obama's part and the choice of someone who really does rank as a political original and potential leader beyond the others in the Barack VEEP stable.

These two candidates speak chance and excitement and none of the MSM three promise more but endless picking over of the boring question WHY.

I think the choice of one of these would force McCain to choose Lieberman and run on a Strangelove platform. All the neocon apocalypse you can imbibe. Talk about Kool-Aid.

Schweitzer would also nail down the clear Western Strategy the Obama camp is running. Count the Western states among those that Obama regards as battlegrounds by simply listing those in which he's placing his most recent ad.

The states are AK, CO, FL, IA, MI, MO, MT, NM, NV, NH, NC, ND, OH, PA, VA, and WI.

Now if it came down to Schweitzer or Sebelius, what would the list above tell you. NO KANSAS. Kansas is McCain's as of now.

Schweitzer is a THINKER who has put together the restoration economy for this whole country.

I would guess from observation of comments on the Obama Blog that Schweitzer has increased his popularity among Obama loyalists as they have discovered him by listening to his videos, including some at the link below.

BRIAN SCHWEITZER FOR VICE PRESIDENT

Brian Schweitzer Talks about The Restoration Economy

Here are some additional helps in doping out the Democratic veepstakes:

Al Giordano has all the twists and turns you could wish for in his current take on the Democratic veepstakes, including a list of hopefuls with some of them crossed out followed by cogitation and a civil comment section here.

Brent Budowsky on Alternet asks where Gore is when we need him to point to the toast that is the McCain environmental plan. That has some tangential relationship to the VEEPARAMA, one thinks. Schweitzer is the most environmentally committed of the current list, see here.

Here is a New York Times list of those THEY regard as viable. My biggest argument for Brian Schweitzer is that he is NOT on the Times list. Kathleen is however. Check it out.

Finally:

An intelligent comment on why it won't be Biden.

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Comments

[BlueBoomer]

All during the primaries it seemed almost obvious that Bill Richardson would be the Democratic VP...
Anybody besides me wonder why he's not among the annointed "short list"?

[mjc]

Reading through these posts I noticed that many of you think Wes Clark would be a good vice presidential pick. Clark was told that there was no speaking role for him at the Convention! Can't see how Obama could then ask him to be his veep given the way the campaign, most specifically Obama, has treated him.

[DoubleBarrellBunnyAnger]

Gov Schweitzer is an energy expert - particularly clean/alternative. Fluent in Arabic, having lived in Libya.

Took the lead in opposing "Real ID"

[112985]

I am a HRC supporter and i dont care who he puts on his ticket - i am not voting for him i am voting JOHN MCCAIN a lot more of her supporters will not vote for him he has disrespect her enough even
though she had more votes than he - she should be asked to be on that ticket - the problem is he does not want a woman on that ticket!! why had you not heard for Claire Mcskell lately - because she is upset that she has not been asked i read that somewhere!! notice he does not want a woman on his ticket and women should turn they back on him too!!!

[ckdogs]

Hillary lost the primary because she ran a poor campaign - with infighting and back biting among her staff. She was a different person each week - sometimes warm and sometimes hostile and angry. We never knew which Hillary would show up. She lost in the popular vote, and in the delegate count - though it was close. She did not concede graciously either. Obama has been more than accomodating - given the circumstances ie the hostility of both Clintons. If things were reversed - would Obama be speaking at the convention, and would his name be put in nomination? NO - because the Clilntons are not gracious. Vote for McCain, if you wish - it's a free country - but remember the reasons that you supported Hillary ie the policies that will govern this country for the next 4 years. Do you want more of the same? And Hillary will have a stronger voice, with a Democratic administration.

[kauffmanr]

I used to be a wes clark fan, but then I realized that if Obama picks clark the media will spin it as if Obama needs him because of BO's lack of policy experience. Whether or not he actually has a gap with McCain is dubious. If he picks schweitzer, however, he picks up someone from the far west who knows how to speak to gun toting rural white voters. Everyone already knows that Obama cannot do that already. The news will be schweitzer and how dark horse he is, how charismatic he is, how montana went blue for the first time in a generation.

Obama/ Schweitzer 08

[AgathaX]

I hope its Schweitzer for a couple of reasons. Most importantly because I think he's a great candidate: good on the issues-environment, energy, liberty--and a great campaigner, whose selection won't rob the Senate of a Democrat. Secondly, because it will show the MSM for the asses that they are. And I guess finally, because I predicted it a long time ago.

[mergina]

I think he will pick Lieberman. That ego of his thinks his mate is insignificant and that the only deciding factor in his choice is that he likes them.

[julianna]

He CANNOT pick a woman without totally pissing off Hillary supporters. Schweitzer has always been my first pick, but he's never mentioned. The first chapter of David Sirota's book, "The Uprising" is devoted to what he's accomplished in Montana. He would be a great VP and prez of the senate. A gun-totin' western governor, is just what the doctor ordered.

[onlinesavant]

My pick : Schweitzer. Smart, and intellectual, but as shoot from the hip as a politician can be.And we have the same birthday (September 4.) except he's much older.Also­, comes across as having his own vision, but can still work within the framework of the Obama presidency­.Definitel­y think that once the country gets to know him, most will fall in love with him, but at the very least, he will be respected.

[mergina]

I totally agree with you. I really never cared who won the dem primaries, but as a woman, after the way clinton was treated, I would be totally pissed if he picked another woman, and i like sebelius.

[MiddleRoadLiberal]

Obama needs to pick someone who is an excellent sleeper. Someone who doesn't care that apart from the first week of their selection they won't get any attention. Someone who can nod their head quite efficiently, but also someone just capable enough to wipe the floor with whoever has the misfortune to be begged by McCain to run with him in the debate.

Enter Stephen Colbert. Colbert nails even the toughest challengers four nights a week and since he has a comfy gig already, he won't have any trouble finding things to do with his time spent as the VPOTUS.

[AuntSally]

Nice choices, both, but....

... I haven't seen anything evenly remotely resembling bold from Obama since his race speech in Philadelphia.

[WilliePilgrim]

I sure liked it when Switzer told the Dept of Homeland Security that Montanan's didn't need ID to fly and was ready to make it stick.

[slg]

Sen. Obama surely needs someone world smart and tough as nails. Whoever it is will inherit Cheneys' job, not the same position it was before him and the world in a lot worse shape since. The choice can't be political as in the past, it must be chillingly pragmatic to demonstrate unequivocally just how serious Mr Obama is about the job.

[ESerafina42]

Gen. Wesley Clark is the smart choice. Who better to shore up any doubts about Obama's foreign policy/military credentials than a former NATO commander? Who, by the way, unlike McCain, knows how to win wars, or better yet, not to get into them in the first place.

[Mildmannered]

It won't be Sebelius.

(1) Choosing a woman other than Hillary would really piss off the Clintons and the PUMAs.

(2) She doesn't have any foreign policy experience.

(3) And those ignorant democrats who are reluctant to vote for a black man as president would really not vote for a ticket which also includes a woman.

[MPeter]

I prefer Sebelius but would take Schweizer any time. Now look at Libby Drole

Dole: Don't lie about my age
Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on August 13, 2008 - 1:46pm.
Tags: ads | Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee | Elizabeth Dole | Senate '08 | Under the Dome



U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is hitting back on a TV ad.

The Salisbury Republican's campaign called an ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee a "below-the-belt" attack on her age. (Dole is 72.)

In the ad, two old men sitting in rocking chairs debate whether Dole is "93" or "92" — though it turns out they are talking about her effectiveness ranking and the percent of the time she votes with President Bush.

Dole's campaign argues that the ad exaggerates Dole's age by more than two decades.

"Also, the Senator typically hits the treadmill before embarking upon an average 16 hour workday — and she doesn't even own a rocking chair like the ones used by the men appearing in the ad," the campaign says in a press release.

The campaign attached an audio clip from Dole appearing to take the ad in good humor, though.

"I think if folks are going to fib about a lady's age, they really need to make her younger," Dole said.