Letters to the Editor
-
Stephen Colbert!
1) Southern white male
2) Personable, whip-smart, funny as hell
3) No experience in politics whatsoever (outsider cred)
4) Born in Washington D.C. (insider cred)
5) Will negate the fundies in South Carolina and bring the coveted Colbert Nation vote
Why not? America's done far worse (coughCheneycough).
-
NOT Hillary.
Edwards? no... but probably for AG or possibly SCOTUS
Powell? no... can't see someone who put his reputation on the line in front of the whole world and was found to either be lying or completely hoodwinked making the cut...
Dashle? Please... no.
Clark? Maybe for SecDef...
What about someone with honesty and a strong sense of ethics, and integrity?
Jimmy Carter? No...
Kucinich? Probaby not realistic; how about creating a post for Ethics Czar?... ;c)
What about Feingold?
-
setme!
Feingold is the person I would have picked for president - but he doesn't want it, and would turn the position down.
-
Russ Feingold for Vice President.
Russ Feingold for Vice President. Don't pick someone just to get more votes. Remember Joe Lieberman? Pick someone because they will make a great President. I don't just what a Democrat as President for the next 8 years, I want one for the next 16 and beyond.
-
Jesse Ventura for V.P.
I think that would be interesting.
-
Obama-Downey Jr '08
Mad men. Iron men. It's morning in America. A cool morning.
And Obama should start smoking again like there's no tomorrow. Smells like victory.
-
It's about Iraq
The biggest thing on President Obama's plate will be overall middle east strategy and getting out of Iraq. This is why Webb or Clark need to be somewhere in the mix, either VP or at Defense.
I'm a huge fan of Russ Feingold and I think he would be a fine VP but he doesn't neutralize McCain the way Webb and Clark do and Obama needs an establishment guy or gal to both work Congress and help with Iraq.
Getting out of Iraq is going to be hard and messy and Obama will need lots of support to do it right. Of course, he might just come up with a middle east policy that helps the whole place settle down (talking with Iran, etc.) and the whole world lived happily ever after. The audacity of hope.
-
My choice not in the list
My choice, John Edwards, is not in the list.
-
Can I change my, err....
Salon readers have good ideas. Webb and Clarke would either one be a strong help to Obama. Clarke, in particular, would be a stellar pick. He is articulate, experienced, photogenic, and quick on his feet. He could hold his own in knowledge, if not speed, with any nominee McCain brings. (My "pick" had been the governor of Kansas.) Webb is a bit too DINO to be quite compelling. He would always look uncomfortable standing next to Obama.
Salon readers seem to have it right... almost.
-
Veep? A baby chicken peep. Who knows? A peep may make a nice quail tweet.
I just left the War Room. Alex Koppelman?
A good running mate skipping a tightrope.
Maybe advisors can recommend a prom dress?
The band played, 'It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp'...
Let's hope UT's Arne has a good wedding cocktail hour....
Arne will tie the knot on the ball and chain in 7-weeks....
-
Feingold? I truly hope you're kidding
Feingold didn't run in the first place likely because he saw his own deficits--he's a short, Jewish, twice-divorced man from a state of just 5 million. There was no way he could get elected, and all he could do to Obama is drag him down, since his religion would double the negative of the racists who are already afraid of Obama. He is not a good choice.
Clark isn't a bad idea, though...
-
The mechanistic breakdown of The Perfect Candidate
Unintentionally, perhaps, this poll shows the foolishness of strategic reverse-engineering of candidates.
My first instinct was, "Jim Webb." But when I answered the individual questions, most of the answers turned out to point away from Webb. (Hispanic western governor, no preference re: hair part.)
Ultimately, of course, what Democrats have been doing (until this election, of course) is dissecting and strategizing and creating laundry lists of what qualifies you to be a winning candidate and more often than not, picking someone who meets all the criteria but goes down in flames.
(White guy, bomber pilot during WWII, senator from the midwest.)
(White guy, sitting VP from the South, fought in Vietnam.)
(White guy, former VP from the midwest.)
(White guy, senator from New England, fought in Vietnam.)
-
Kathleen Sebelius
If the split in the party is real, Obama needs to get more HRC voters than he needs crossover macho (Webb) appeal.
But, he can't pick HRC. He can't defend the indefensible parts of the Clinton era (the pardons being the biggest unvetted pile), he's just been kind enough not to mention them. They might govern well together. But, their campaign would be pulled in two entirely different direction. Hillary would not take one word of advice from Obama/Axelrod/Plouffe and would be making "off-the-reservation" comments every few days.
Enter Kathleen Sebelius. Experienced governor. 24 continuous years of elected experience, despite being a Dem in a ultra-Red state, and still popular. White woman. Midwestern. Of a certain age (within a year of Hillary). Catholic. Politically independent of her husband. And, most importantly, not Hillary Clinton. No pre-existing high negatives. No connection to Clinton-era scandal.
Some HRC voters will be upset with the substitution. The sooner it happens, the more get to know Sebelius.
-
Be really unique
The ideal running mate would be a Republican who has had military service. What better way to heal the country? What about the ex-Senator from Rhoad Island?
-
A Road Less Traveled . . .
I think that we should have more respect for a life time tenured appointment on the Supreme Court than to just throw one to HRC. She is an attorney, but has no judicial experience. Also, she would not want a position on the bench. She is a dynamic woman who wants to be out influencing the world and making policy. That is the very antithesis of the job description of a Supreme Court Justice.
HRC's position isn't likely to be VP either. It will be offered, but declined.
I hope that she has the graciousness to bow out very soon rather than to keep hammering on the racial and gender divisions that are currently gaping in the Democratic party. Continued primary contests will only serve to emphasize those divisions. She also needs to stop making arguments that fly in the face of fairness about seating the Florida and Michigan delegates as voted. Divisiveness and fighting over the rules isn't what the Democratic party needs to be about this late in the game.
Al Gore chose to take a unique road for himself after the 2000 loss. He found his voice and makes a difference on issues globally that he has been passionate about throughout his lifetime with no public office or forum. Surely Senator Clinton can use her powerful name and position as a New York Senator to do extraordinary things under the leadership of a President Obama.
There is much to do.