Hi. I'm a fairly recent reader (for about 3 months now) and this is my first diary , so be kind. I'm very political, and would identify myself as a communitarian pacifist anarchist if forced to stamp a label on myself. Party politics has not interested me for a long time, as I have a basic problem with the idea of representative democracy. This is thew first campaign that I have worked on since Jesse Jackson's run for the Presidency in 1988. I truly believe Obama is different , and his focus on communitarianism draws me even more than his policy positions. Much like Michelle Obama, this is the first time I can say I'm proud to be an American. Much like Barack, I think education is important . My own experience has taught me that while going to college and graduate school is important, it is equally important where one goes to school. In some ways I could be labeled as an elitist , and I don't have a problem with that label. Excelsior!
In looking at Obama's possibilities for VP, I set forth a few conditions:
- Whoever is chosen should be able to reflect his message of post-partisanship, the idea that there are commonsense solutions to major social problems, if the only we are able to change the overall meme of how Washington is run.
- They should be an outsider, not a machine pol or someone who has been entrenched in Washington for a long time , thereby echoing Obama's message of change.
- They should be young, much like Barack, again reinforcing that it is time for new leadership,and that the challenges that face us can only be solved by changing the narrative. Two young candidates woulkd also serve to further energize the electorate ,and draw a strong contrast with McCain and his policies of the past. The image that sticks in my head is the Clinton/Gore bus trip of 1992. The age limit I (fairly randomly) chose was 55. While that limiter could be offset by the candidate's body of work, it was a major factor.
- I consciously searched for female candidates - not as a Geraldine Ferraro pick, but because there are not only many woman who will be bitterly disappointed when Hillary concedes , and might be more likely to come back to the fold , but because there are many women who feel that while it is time for a woman in the White House, Hillary isn't that candidate.
- The idea of geographic balance was not a factor (once again I reference Clinton/Gore.)
- The VP choice should be able to make a speech without putting people to sleep.
- They should be smarter than the average bear , with degrees from well-respected universities , once again mirroring Barack.
- I ignored the rumors that some officials have been mentioned as already saying no, as I believe there is a huge difference between being asked by a candidate and being asked by the (presumptive) nominee.
- They can't have been a vehemt supporter of the war in Iraq, whether they voted to authorize or not.
- Hoping against hope that the disappearance of Bittergate and Wrightgate means people are tired of the politics of distraction, I have chosen to ignore any possible scandal in the composition of this list.
Just to narrow the pool, I looked only at sitting Governors and Senators, with two notable exceptions. Here's the list:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar ( D-MN)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ)
Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-MD)
Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT)
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT)
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS)
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Gov. Bill Ritter (Pro-Life) (D-CO)
Gov. Jim Doyle (D-WI)
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA)
Gen. Wesley Clark,
Gen. Merrill McPeak
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
The top 10 are ranked in order , while the next 7 are not. Klochubar, Brown and Reed are head and shoulders above everyone else for me, and Brown would make the most sense politically out of that trio.
Ritter would be the "11th out of 10" were he not pro-life. In most elections the Veep is chosen to balance the ticket, or to fill in holes in the nominee's experience. I think this election is diferent . I think Obama would do best by choosing someone who amplifies his message through their own work as a politician. That's the only way his message of change will continue to resonate.
Webb, Rendell, Clark, McPeak and Hagel are names I've heard floated . While Chuck Hagel as VP would certainly be a change (at least in recent history), I don't think it's one Obama can afford to take.