I read this on my Obama emailing list this morning and was certain it could not be true. I'd love it if someone else would write up a diary that analyzed this possible choice.
Here's the link:
Veneman GOP Running Mate for Obama
More after the jump....
What alarmed me about this choice wasn't that she was Republican (though that is alarming enough) and certainly not that she is a woman. Rather, I don't imagine any of the Republicans who might be turned to Obama are likely to come to his side through a relatively unknown female VP who might, God forbid, be called on to actually BE president some day!
Here are a few things to worry about:
- That although Obama wants to present a bi-partisan front to the nation, he needs to keep before him at all times the idea that he is leading the country, not just appeasing it.
- If he is to choose a Republican, he can't just pick one that he considers non-polarizing ideologically. He needs to pick one who has the heft of possible presidential material because Obama is billed as "inexperienced" by the current GOP leadership and that is the one area he must shore up in his VP choice (imho).
- Looks like Veneman has already had conflicts with Democrats:
The surprise stems from the fact that, while Veneman was seen as an experienced leader for her department, she often clashed with Democrats on a central battle front of the Bush years: regulation. Venemen was criticized by some Democrats and environmentalists, and praised by agriculture and food interests, for lightly regulating the industries and for encouraging trade and biotechnology during her tenure.
When she resigned, the American Meat Institute praised her "vision and commitment."
She also clashed with Democrats — including then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, who is now an Obama confidant — over subsidies for small farmers, which they sought to expand.
In the best-known incident of her tenure, she led the administration's response to cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis, known as mad cow disease. The epidemic was contained, but the relatively light U.S. testing regime has led to continuing barriers for American beef exports.
I'm sure her work with UNICEF as Executive Director is laudable. Still is this the person he ought to be standing next to on platforms for the next four months? I just don't get it.