Letters to the Editor
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Would Maria Shriver make Senator Obama an unbeatable candidate for president?
To get himself elected JFK, a charismatic, young, superrich, Catholic Harvard graduate chose LBJ, a popular, middle-class Disciple of Christ from Texas. The rest is history.
A bullet replaced the president, who reconciled critical Cuba confrontation and won worldwide acclaim for pronouncing at the wall dividing Europe "Ich nin ein Berliner!" with a Veep who declared "War on Poverty" waging a no-win war in Vietnam.
Barack Obama owes American voters and the restof the world an assurance that his dreams survive his tenure if, God forbid, history repeats itself.
Neither a citizen nor resident of the United States, I define selection criteria that professional observers abroad consider important. The backup for Obama should be a woman, preferably a white Christian mother, with a professonally recognized record, but unemburdened by dubious belt-way deals. The most credible running-mate imaginable was groomed to become the first female president of the United States. I am looking forward to Salon's in-depht discussion of pro and con for the nomination of Maria Shriver, California's discreet First Lady, who to the best of my knowlege never ran for political office. Would The Terminator's wife make Obama an unbeatable candidate for president?
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a couple of things...
1. Uh.... male or female?? hello?
2. Edwards is already on the record as saying he'd be uninterested in the VP slot this time around. His run was for the top slot only. I understand why.
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Lots of good choices
Clark and Webb would be excellent choices: Military credentials and the balls to chop the legs off the GOP attack dogs.
Gov. Kaine of Virginia would bring executive experience, Southern white man cred, and a genuine friendship with Obama.
Rendell would help with Hillary supporters, PA and Florida voters, older and blue collar voters. Plus he knows how to go on the attack when needed. Likewise for Strickland of Ohio.
Gov. Sebelius would be intriguing, but an Obama/Sebelius ticket would be too radical for many and would lose in November as a consequence.
Absolutely no way: Powell, Bayh, any Clinton.
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I was worried until I got to the second page
Parts his hair? We've got real, electable people here.
Any of the first four choices would be outstanding, particularly Sebelius, or Napolitano or McCaskill. But no DLCers please, which includes Hillary. Clark is close enough a fellow traveller, but his military/security credentials and his integrity trump any concerns.
Whoever wins the presidency, John Edwards will be the economic Al Gore. All praise to him. And, yes, let Elizabeth write the healthcare policy. It's the least we can do to show our appreciation.
Chris Dodd is the most outstanding choice of all, but wasted in this role. He's needed as the new Senate Majority Leader.
This whole campaign has been a battle for the future, and the soul, of the party. Like Michelle, I'm starting to feel proud of the country again.
Unless, as Toles says today, Hillary keep tossing the plumbing. You expect it from the elephants.
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What is Joe Biden ...
chopped liver?
For my money, he's eminently qualified to balance Obama's lack of foreign policy/Washington experience.
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Sorry, Bill's ineligible...
Slider, et al.
Bill Clinton is ineligible for VP under the 12th Amendment, which states:
"no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."
Were he appointed to any other position in the line of presidential succession, the succession would simply skip over him, as it currently does for Secretaries Chao and Guttierez (who are naturalized citizens). One amusing scenario would be if Bill were appointed to serve out Hillary's Senate term upon her becoming POTUS, VOTUS, AG or whatever. By tradition, the president pro tempore of the Senate (4th in line) is the oldest member of the majority party but a former president would also be logical candidate for such an honor. In that case, the succession would go from Speaker to SecState.
Also, the requirment is for "natural born citizen" -- not "born in America." A requirement to be born on US soil would exclude every Army brat born overseas -- like, for example, John McCain. I see that Jerry Springer's parents were Nazi-era refugees, so who knows what their citizenship status was at the time of his birth? (I doubt it was American though, so Jer-REE is sadly ineligible.)
And I agree that the VP should not be a democratic senator. Those don't actually grow on trees, and we'll be losing one as it is.
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Jim Webb
Having alot of military experience, serving as Asst. Sec. of Navy in the 80s, he's been somewhat vetted.
He is outspoken and not afraid to play the attack dog and has the same populist streak and intellect to keep up with and passion for good government as Obama.
I have felt Webb would be the perfect choice for obama since last year.
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Sam Nunn
Your list omitted one of the most well-qualified and intriguing candidates: former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn.
Nunn is a 70 year old moderate-to-conservative Georgia Democrat who has endorsed Obama. In the past he had aspirations to run for the presidency himself.
He has exceptionally strong national security credentials, and has been very involved in the anti-nuclear proliferation area. He was a senator for 24 years (1973-97) including service as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He is still very respected in the Senate and would be a potential asset to Obama in dealing with that body.
He could potentially attract republican, independent and moderate democratic voters.
He is also a southerner who could help win southern and border states.
Nunn also has potential drawbacks (for progressives) including a history of opposing gays in the military in 1993 and service on numerous corporate boards --eg. Chevron.
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Optimus Prime
why limit yourselves to fleshies.
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@ The person who is right about Bill not being eligible
Yeah, that pesky 12th amendment is a problem. Damn, I really like the idea of seeing Limbaugh and his ilk go nuts at the thought of Bill's return.
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Jim Webb, yes ...
an excellent choice, probably at the very top of Obama's VP list. And by the way, he wasn't Asst. Sec. - he was THE Secretary of the Navy under Reagan.
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Why limit ourselves to politicians
Since we're supposed to be moving away from "the same old system", why not broaden the scope to include academics, business people, and innovators from other fields?
No one has mentioned Howard Dean, a former governor. If you haven't noticed, he's doing pretty well with the 50 State Strategy.
Robert Reich? Jimmy Smits?