richterbjack wrote:The Jim Webb, I am big fan, but how often has a second- year senator appeared on a presidential ticket? With Obama's "experience" being turned into an issue by Hillary McCain, it seems an unlikely move.

He's first-term senator but don't forget his years as Reagan's Secretary of the Navy. If it's Webb, the campaign will stress those years.

Not Webb. He was a weak candidate who only won thanks to Allen's "macaca" gaffe. His "some whites are racial victims too" comments would alienate Obama's black base, and of course his "women in combat" remarks wouldn't exactly help Obama gain ground with Clinton's base come November.

Strickland seems likely.

FuzzBob wrote:Not Webb. He was a weak candidate who only won thanks to Allen's "macaca" gaffe.

Yes, but he wouldn't be on the ticket just to win Va (which Obama has a shot at no matter who he picks).

And I guarantee you that his "some whites are the victims of racism" would, in no way, prevent black people from voting for Obama. No way.

connor wrote:

richterbjack wrote:The Jim Webb, I am big fan, but how often has a second- year senator appeared on a presidential ticket? With Obama's "experience" being turned into an issue by Hillary McCain, it seems an unlikely move.

He's first-term senator but don't forget his years as Reagan's Secretary of the Navy. If it's Webb, the campaign will stress those years.

Hey, I forgot. I can see it then.

Considering the single biggest challenge in an Obama first term would be getting out of Iraq and managing the fallout of doing so, not to mention the myriad foreign policy ramifications, Clark seems like the leading candidate.

we've been joking that he should get edwards on the ticket as a ruse to get votes, and then when he gets elected, edwards back out "for family reasons" and al sharpton take his place. dude it would be like insurance - what hick will want to assassinate obama when sharpton would take his place? golden.

yeah, clark would be a good choice, too.

clark or richardson.

kenoki wrote:what hick will want to assassinate obama when sharpton would take his place? golden.

brilliant.

Steve V. wrote:I'm gonna say Strickland. Ohio's electoral votes would be important for Obama and Strickland could pretty much guarantee the state. He won in 2006 with something like 60% of the vote and receives much support from Republicans. Ohio's unemployment has increased less than the national average since he took office, which Obama could play up given the present shit state the economy is in currently. Fairly clean candidate, no major scandals and very high/low approval/disapproval ratings.

His Achilles Heel may be that he supported Hillary Clinton, which may label him as a turncoat. Supposedly his support of her in the primary lost him some favor with Obama supporters, but still, he could be quite a rally for an Ohio win for Barack Obama.

Re: guaranteeing Ohio. If this is true, then Strickland is definitely the VP candidate. If Obama can pick up Ohio, McCain is in deep shit. I don't know if Strickland does indeed guarantee Ohio in the way that Richardson would guarantee New Mexico. Obama is inexperienced, Strickland has only been Ohio's governor for two years. If McCain could paint them both as total lightweights, that would be harmful.

Re: no major scandals. Who knows? As Roseanne Roseannadanna often said, "it's always something."

Re: Hillary Clinton supporter. This is a major bonus for Strickland. Rahm Emanuel said, "the way the loser loses determines who wins in November." Hillary Clinton will need concessions in order to procure an exit she can feel good about. She will want someone loyal to her on the ticket.

tmidgett wrote:Ed Rendell

McCain could put up a fight in PA, and Obama's "bitter" comments were directed specifically at this state. Ouch. Still, it's hard to picture McCain winning here. In a closed primary, 225,000 Republicans still went out to vote against McCain in a primary that was completely inconsequential for Republicans. Meanwhile, the Democrats registered 1,000,000 new voters due to the heated nature of the PA primary contest between Obama and Clinton.

While Rendell would be a strong choice, (he's very close to the Clintons, he has experience, he's a major power broker within the party), there are other Clinton loyalists with even higher profiles and even bigger upsides...namely, Wesley Clark. Rendell would ultimately guarantee Pennsylvania's electoral votes for Obama, however (21).

Ty Webb wrote:Considering the single biggest challenge in an Obama first term would be getting out of Iraq and managing the fallout of doing so, not to mention the myriad foreign policy ramifications, Clark seems like the leading candidate.

Also, can McCain really compete with the experience of a fucking general??

FuzzBob wrote:Not Webb. He was a weak candidate who only won thanks to Allen's "macaca" gaffe. His "some whites are racial victims too" comments would alienate Obama's black base, and of course his "women in combat" remarks wouldn't exactly help Obama gain ground with Clinton's base come November.

Strickland seems likely.

I think something that the Democrats will have to consider is the possibility of having Senate control switch to the Republicans if Webb resigns from his seat, which is tight as it is. Virginia's demographics have definitely changed from when I was a kid, but there's still enough uncertainty about statewide seats that it might make an earlier-than-expected Senatorial fight really unappetizing for the local and national party.