Tuesday, July 8, 2008

More VP Musings

NPR's politics section had an interesting piece from The Political Junkie about VP speculations for Obama. While some of them were no doubt far-fetched (e.g. Obama-Lieberman, Obama-Nader, etc.), others were interesting if not all similarly themed. The new ideas floating around involve many older white Senators including Patty Murray (D-WA), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Joe Biden (D-DE), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), etc. Now if I am not mistaken, there was quite a surprise when not one, but BOTH of the nominees were chosen while serving in the Senate. The last time a sitting Senator became President was JFK so why does everyone assume that Obama will choose one of his Senatorial co-workers? As interesting as a Vice President Murray may in fact be, I see this as beyond the realm of possibilities. Even more strategic choices like Barbara Boxer (D-CA) or Sherrod Brown (D-OH) seem unlikely. Obama must choose someone with some clout, gravitas, etc. but I highly doubt that s/he will come from the Senate. This is why I was not at all surprised to see Jim Webb (D-VA) remove his name from consideration. Sure he had a lot to add, what with being Sec. of the Navy under Reagan and such, but a Senator with even less experience than Obama? Come on.

Oh and PS, Dems would probably hate the idea of losing their slim majority in the Senate, so they probably wouldn't like to take a popular Senator away from a swing state.

My money is still on NM Gov. Bill Richardson or a former member of the Armed Services. Because of the hoo-ha surrounding the Clinton-Richardson break, I don't know if it would make the best choice for Obama, but come on, didn't anyone watch the West Wing? Jimmy Smitts proved how important the Latino/a vote can be. He did choose Leo McGarry (an elder statesman) as his VP though. I guess there is a lot to consider, but I'm pretty sure we can rule out the 48 Democratic Senators from consideration. (oh and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) too)