I never entirely got my head around Obama's decision to go with Joe Biden, and I kind of like the guy, but it's clear he's not successor material, and Obama knew that when he picked him.
So, I can't help but wonder. Does it make sense to go to the 2012 election with a non-successor in tow? Is 2012 an opportunity to change to a real successor and line up 2016? Plus, if Joe keeps tripping over his mouth at his current rate, prudence demands a contingency plan. If it was me, I'd be tempted. Besides it's Sunday and I'm bored and pissed off with Joe.
So, if not Joe then who?
I know what you're thinking. Why is he going there this soon? Don't we have enough to think about? The thing is, a couple of the best leaders I've ever worked under both said the same thing about sucession. It's never too soon to start thinking about it if you actually care about making a lasting impact. And Joe keeps on being, well, Joe and that ain't adding much value.
It's been said and written many times that Obama is a different kind of politican. It's still not clear if his deliberative, delegating style will stand the test of time with the electorate. My best guess is that the electorate (the Centre-Right to Medium-Left parts at any rate) get Obama's style more than the media and are, at least for now, pretty resistant to the media's misjudgments about him. Meaning he probably will last.
Joe Biden, for all his unique and abiding Joeness, is still a holdover from the previous generation of Democrats. It's my sense that, if Obama wants a succession to perpetuate his style and cement his generation of leaders, he needs a VP of his own age who thinks, acts and leads more like him. A midterm selection (with a compliant Congress) also gives him an opporunity to put someone in place who will need a year or two in office to gather weight and credibility. The case for an experienced VP carries less weight now that Obama is no longer a young, insurgent first time candidate.
So my own guesswork leads me to look at people like Kathleen Sebelius and Janet Napolitano, because, at 10,000 miles distance we've heard of them, and they seem like solid picks who have similarities to Obama. But, I'm sure that at this distance there are Senators and Governors of Obama's generation that I haven't heard of who might be good picks. So, I thought I'd see what people on the other side of the ditch might come up with.
So, care to float a name?
And finally a poll, just to really annoy you.