Obviously it is abnormally early to think about running mates, but there is something to be said for putting a bit more thought into the Number Twos. Slopping vetting gave us John Edwards: what if Edwards, cheating on his cancer-stricken wife, fathering a baby, and possibly committing financial irregularities, had become vice president in 2004, or president or attorney general in 2008? Cover-ups, impeachment? Doing a more thorough job might have spared us Joe Lieberman, Dan Quayle, or Dick Cheney, who was given the job of picking the running mate and anointed himself.
Joe Biden will be 70 next year, and Obama no longer needs Biden to lend him gravitas, if indeed he ever did. So there are many options: Hillary; whose favorables are 23 points ahead of Biden’s; also Kathy Sebelius, Bill Nelson, one of the Virginia Democrats, Schweitzer, or possibly someone else who could run well for president in 2016.
But my wild-card pick to run with Obama would be…Charlie Crist. Politically Crist is not far from where Obama stands. Crist supported Obama on the stimulus plan, he vetoed GOP budget cuts, he wants to cut pollution, he opposes offshore drilling, he fought against insurance companies, he fought for a compromise health-care plan, he has good relations with the black community, he supports civil unions but not gay adoption, his staff was reaching out to moderates, he appointed both moderate and conservative judges. He does have conservative positions on capital punishment, “partial-birth abortion”, the Defense Of Marriage Act, school vouchers, school prayer and concealed-carry, but are these issues insurmountable?
The Republicans will be tricky to forecast this time. Will they try to balance the ticket, with a hardcore tea drinker paired up with a more boring fiscal conservative? At least one must be a Tea Party fan: last time the arch-conservatives felt that (a) McCain wasn’t pure enough, and that (b) he must be counterbalanced with someone trusted by the far right, which is why McCain was forced to go with Palin rather than someone who was actually fit for office like Ridge.
One candidate I would be wary of is Thune. Thune twisted arms in the Senate, to get his hands a bunch of stuff which would have been better left undone. Such as: provisions supporting ethanol, to help South Dakota farmers, even though it is really stupid policy; language supporting wind-power, to help his hometown; a crooked $2 billion deal for the crooked railroads he used to lobby for; forcing an amendment to a troop support bill so that the folks back in South Dakota can enjoy concealed-carry gun rights; saving an unnecessary air force base in South Dakota. "I've said all along that I'm going to play whatever cards I have to get the best possible outcome I can for my base." If you’re from South Dakota, or one of Thune’s crooked paymasters, or a nut with a gun, or someone who hates gays, or hates women’s rights, Thune is your pal. For the rest of us, who want good honest policy, not so much.
Desperate Republicans have been talking up Jeb Bush, but Bush isn’t interested in the presidency itself, and the electorate isn't interested in him: a spring 2011 poll shows Bush losing by 20 to Obama, and that was before the bin Laden raid. Bush’s baggage includes the Schiavo case and far-right views on school vouchers, affirmative action, library funding and tort reform. The leftwing blogosphere is hollering about his alleged links to Miguel Recarey who was apparently nailed for Medicare fraud. So far the rest of the media has steered clear of that issue, but if we were using the Jeremiah-Wright-Bill-Ayers guilt-by-association rules….Could Bush turn Florida red, as vice presidential nominee?
Another prospect who is very popular with speculators is Rubio. He's been in the Senate for a few months, he has an incredibly thin resume, and he's a Cheney guy. Some Republicans think he could help in Florida and with Latinos, but he is really too inexperienced.
Another name that has been floated is Pataki. Good luck: the Cato Institute calls him a big spender, he's pro-choice, he likes gay marriage, he signed a comprehensive health care plan; he also signed big cuts in taxes and education.
Joe Biden will be 70 next year, and Obama no longer needs Biden to lend him gravitas, if indeed he ever did. So there are many options: Hillary; whose favorables are 23 points ahead of Biden’s; also Kathy Sebelius, Bill Nelson, one of the Virginia Democrats, Schweitzer, or possibly someone else who could run well for president in 2016.
But my wild-card pick to run with Obama would be…Charlie Crist. Politically Crist is not far from where Obama stands. Crist supported Obama on the stimulus plan, he vetoed GOP budget cuts, he wants to cut pollution, he opposes offshore drilling, he fought against insurance companies, he fought for a compromise health-care plan, he has good relations with the black community, he supports civil unions but not gay adoption, his staff was reaching out to moderates, he appointed both moderate and conservative judges. He does have conservative positions on capital punishment, “partial-birth abortion”, the Defense Of Marriage Act, school vouchers, school prayer and concealed-carry, but are these issues insurmountable?
The Republicans will be tricky to forecast this time. Will they try to balance the ticket, with a hardcore tea drinker paired up with a more boring fiscal conservative? At least one must be a Tea Party fan: last time the arch-conservatives felt that (a) McCain wasn’t pure enough, and that (b) he must be counterbalanced with someone trusted by the far right, which is why McCain was forced to go with Palin rather than someone who was actually fit for office like Ridge.
One candidate I would be wary of is Thune. Thune twisted arms in the Senate, to get his hands a bunch of stuff which would have been better left undone. Such as: provisions supporting ethanol, to help South Dakota farmers, even though it is really stupid policy; language supporting wind-power, to help his hometown; a crooked $2 billion deal for the crooked railroads he used to lobby for; forcing an amendment to a troop support bill so that the folks back in South Dakota can enjoy concealed-carry gun rights; saving an unnecessary air force base in South Dakota. "I've said all along that I'm going to play whatever cards I have to get the best possible outcome I can for my base." If you’re from South Dakota, or one of Thune’s crooked paymasters, or a nut with a gun, or someone who hates gays, or hates women’s rights, Thune is your pal. For the rest of us, who want good honest policy, not so much.
Desperate Republicans have been talking up Jeb Bush, but Bush isn’t interested in the presidency itself, and the electorate isn't interested in him: a spring 2011 poll shows Bush losing by 20 to Obama, and that was before the bin Laden raid. Bush’s baggage includes the Schiavo case and far-right views on school vouchers, affirmative action, library funding and tort reform. The leftwing blogosphere is hollering about his alleged links to Miguel Recarey who was apparently nailed for Medicare fraud. So far the rest of the media has steered clear of that issue, but if we were using the Jeremiah-Wright-Bill-Ayers guilt-by-association rules….Could Bush turn Florida red, as vice presidential nominee?
Another prospect who is very popular with speculators is Rubio. He's been in the Senate for a few months, he has an incredibly thin resume, and he's a Cheney guy. Some Republicans think he could help in Florida and with Latinos, but he is really too inexperienced.
Another name that has been floated is Pataki. Good luck: the Cato Institute calls him a big spender, he's pro-choice, he likes gay marriage, he signed a comprehensive health care plan; he also signed big cuts in taxes and education.
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