Clearly, speculating on potential Democratic VP's is one of the favorite and most pointless hobbies of Kossacks. This isn't meant as an insult, as I have done a decent amount of such speculation myself, including a 4,000 word diary entry on why Jesse Jackson Jr. should be VP. However, I think that our speculation has gone too far. Here is a complete list of potential VP's for Dean that were endorsed by at least two people in the comments section of the "Picking a Back-up" story from a few days ago (I'm all names listed in first text box for emphasis):
Barnes, Roy (!)
Bayh, Evan
Biden, Joe
Breaux, John (#)
Brown, Jerry
Byrd, Robert (8)
Cantwell, Maria
Clark, Wesley
Cleland, Max (!)
Clinton, Bill ($)
Clinton, Hillary
Durbin, Dick
Edwards, John
Feingold, Russ
Feinstein, Dianne (7)
Ford, Harold ($)
Gephardt, Richard
Gore, Al (%)
Graham, Bob
Harkin, Tom
Hegal, Charles (?#)
Jackson Jr., Jesse
Kaptur, Marcy
Kerry, Bob
Kucinich, Dennis
Landrieu, Mary
Levin, Carl (7)
Lewis, John
Lincoln, Blanche
Locke, Gary
Milkulski, Barbara
McCain, John (?%#)
Moseley-Braun, Carol
Napolitano, Janet
Nelson, Bill
Nunn, Sam (8)
Pelosi, Nancy
Powell, Colon (?)
Pryor, Mark
Reid, Harry (#)
Richards, Ann (%7)
Richardson, Bill
Rockefeller, Jay
Schroeder, Pat
Schumer, Charles
Shaheen, Jean (!)
Spitzer, Eliot
Stabenow, Debbie
Tauscher, Ellen
Warner, Mark
Wirth, Timothy
Zinni, Anthony
This list includes three Republicans, two people over 80 (8), four people over 70 (7), four people who hope to overturn Roe vs. Wade (#), two people who are ineligible ($), two people who have already lost campaigns to Bush (%), three people who lost elections in 2002 (!-two of whom are from Georgia), and almost every statewide elected official throughout the south. John McCain is probably the best insanity pick, since he has already endorsed Bush, is chairing Bush's Arizona campaign, wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade, already lost a campaign to Bush and is a Republican. I just can't get enough of those liberals who love McCain and want him on the ticket! Worst-choice-ever.
If all of the candidates with any of the obvious objections I already mentioned are removed, we are left with 38 possibilities for Dean's VP:
Bayh, Evan; Biden, Joe; Brown, Jerry; Cantwell, Maria; Clark, Wesley; Clinton, Hillary; Durbin, Dick; Edwards, John; Feingold, Russ; Gephardt, Richard; Graham, Bob; Harkin, Tom ; Jackson Jr., Jesse; Kaptur, Marcy; Kerrey, Bob; Kucinich, Dennis; Landrieu, Mary; Lewis, John; Lincoln, Blanche; Locke, Gary; Milkulski, Barbara; Moseley-Braun, Carol; Murray, Patty; Napolitano, Janet; Nelson, Bill; Pelosi, Nancy; Pryor, Mark; Richardson, Bill; Rockefeller, Jay; Schroeder, Pat; Schumer, Charles; Spitzer, Eliot; Stabenow, Debbie; Tauscher, Ellen; Vilasick, Tom; Warner, Mark; Wirth, Timothy; Zinni, Anthony
I'll go ahead and throw in some more:
Boxer, Barbara
Johnson, Eddie Bernice
Murray, Patty
Reed, Jack (either the Senator or the guy from Reds--both would be fine)
Vilsack, Tom
I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. What other names can people seriously suggest?
