Who's it going to be?

-Ted Strickland
*Popular Ohio Guv. Would he guarantee Ohio for Obama?
*66. Lends maturity to the ticket.
*6 terms in Congress (I think).
*The NRA gives him an "A" for gunnuttery.
*Clinton loyalist (she'll likely want a major say in Barack's VP choice as part of a primary exit strategy).

-Jim Webb
*Macho dude from VA...VA is a state where Obama will be competitive.
*"Reagan Democrat".
*Puts a hurt on John McCain's Iraq boner. Had the balls to stand up on Iraq to GWB's face.
*Talk about working class appeal.

-Bill Richardson
*Guarantees New Mexico's five EVs for Obama. Would generally be helpful out west in the desert states/lower Colorado.
*Wildly qualified to be Prez.
*The "high risk, high reward" candidate. Would rule as long as he doesn't say something stupid ("let's take the Midwest's water down to the Southwest!"). Yet, he would bring Latino voters into the fold.
*Probably a no go: 1) not white (white=safe...familiar in a position of power). 2) stabbed Hillary in the back...again, she'll likely have power over Obama's VP choice.

-Wesley Clark
*Clinton loyalist.
*Totally undermines John McCain's whole "macho vet Republican" thing. Would likely make McCain look dumb by comparison.
*Has likely learned from mistakes in his presidential campaign from 2004.
*The ultimate candidate for 1) military experience. 2) curing Obama's "Obambi" problem.

-Tom Daschle
*An Obama mentor and good buddy.
*Seems unlikely. What does Tom Daschle really bring to Obama's electability? What does Obama need his own Dick Cheney-type character for?

-Hillary Clinton
*NO WAY IN HELL.

-John Edwards
*Could be. Who knows? Makes sense...he's got the populist mojo working overtime.
*Could he help carry the Carolinas? Obama is actually competitive in both of these states.
*I've never heard his name thrown around as a VP choice...and he never did Obama any favors.

If I had to venture a guess, I would guess Wesley Clark will get it...but Obama has attractive options that could very possibly garner electoral votes. So, that clouds the picture. A lot of insiders predict that Ted Strickland is the guy...but can you imagine what a lame bumper sticker that would make?

I DEMAND that this thread be titled The Elites' VP Selection for the Sell-out Liberals: A Primer.

I forgot about Sen. Evan Bayh from Indiana.

-Evan Bayh
*Clinton Loyalist.
*Would likely bring Indiana's eleven electoral votes into the Obama column. The Bayh family brand is popular in IN.
*Another Democrat with conservative credentials and blue-collar appeal.

Also Kathleen Sebelius: popular two-term Democrat governor of Kansas; age 60; strong red-state heartland appeal without turning off liberals; would bring in older and/or female voters now in Clinton's camp.

Wikipedia wrote:As of 2008, speculation remains that she would be a contender for the vice-presidential slot on a ticket headed by either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.[18]Speculation that the Vice Presidential nomination lies in her future was heightened by the fact that she was chosen by the Democratic Party's congressional leaders to give their party's official response to Republican President George W. Bush's 2008 State of the Union Address.[19] The next day, she endorsed Obama's campaign, one week before the Kansas caucus on Super Tuesday [20]. Obama won the caucus easily, with 74% support.[21]

ctrl-s wrote:Also Kathleen Sebelius: popular two-term Democrat governor of Kansas; age 60; strong red-state heartland appeal without turning off liberals; would bring in older and/or female voters now in Clinton's camp.

Well, she came out for Obama somewhat early, right? Again, watch for the Clinton loyalist thing.

Obama has to beef up his image. The only woman in America who could really help him to do this is Hillary Clinton...and even if she actually accepted the VP slot, it would be a disaster for the Obama campaign/administration...win or lose. Sebelius's sex might also be perceived by the Clintons as stealing Hillary's thunder...a woman on the ticket who is NOT Clinton would likely inspire silly media controversy. Morons would ask, "if you're going to put a woman on the ticket, why not choose Hillary?" Obama's people likely want to avoid more superficial prattling in the vein of the Jeremiah Wright problem.

Rahm Emanuel succeeded in taking back Congress in '06 by trying to undo the image that the Democrats are the "mommy" party. Obama is seen as wimpy and elitist at the moment. He needs a macho man on the ticket, and there's some fitting choices in that department that occasionally come with an electoral bonus.

Even if Sebelius carried Kansas's six electoral votes for Obama, that doesn't do him much good considering Strickland (20 votes) and Bayh (11 votes) or even Richardson (5 votes).

EDIT: Why did I say that Kansas had three electoral votes in May? Stupid.

True. Then again, Sebelius' father was the governor of Ohio and she grew up there, which might help with those 20 electoral votes. Just rounding out the list, as there's been a lot of talk about her as a possible VP this past week.

ctrl-s wrote:True. Then again, Sebelius' father was the governor of Ohio and she grew up there, which might help with those 20 electoral votes. Just rounding out the list, as there's been a lot of talk about her as a possible VP this past week.

Yeah, I've been hearing this talk for a while, too. Her Ohio connection re: electoral votes isn't likely worth very much unless she's actually an elected figure in Ohio.

I always forget about her as a VP candidate...mostly because I don't think it makes much sense.

Minotaur029 wrote:Sebelius's sex might also be perceived by the Clintons as stealing Hillary's thunder...a woman on the ticket who is NOT Clinton would likely inspire silly media controversy. Morons would ask, "if you're going to put a woman on the ticket, why not choose Hillary?"

The Clintons might see it that way, but there are also plenty of voters (example: me) who'd really like a woman to be on the ticket but aren't into HRC. Sebelius doesn't have foreign policy experience, though -- a definite drawback.

Ed Rendell or Jim Webb.