Posted on 05/11/2008 9:47:46 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
WASHINGTON – Sen. Barack Obama's victory in North Carolina and near-miss in Indiana last week remove much of the doubt about whether he will win the Democratic nomination for president. With Obama the likely Democratic nominee and Sen. John McCain long his party's presumptive nominee, the search for their vice presidential picks can now begin.
Below, you'll find the five most logical veeps, assuming McCain and Obama are the candidates, ranked in the order of the likelihood of being chosen. No. 1 on each side is currently the likeliest to be named.
REPUBLICANS
5. Mitt Romney: A few months ago, it would have seemed crazy to include Romney on a list of potential McCain vice presidential picks. It was an open secret that the two men didn't like each another, but politics is a funny game, and Romney is charting an aggressive fundraising schedule on behalf of McCain over the coming months.
4. Charlie Crist: No single politician had more to do with McCain becoming his party's standard-bearer than the governor of Florida. Crist's endorsement of the senator from Arizona just before the Sunshine State primary put McCain over the top and cemented his grip on the nomination. But, if polling is to be believed, McCain may have an easier time there if Obama is the nominee and won't necessarily need Crist.
3. Rob Portman: Portman, who spent 12 years in Congress before several stints in the Bush White House, will be one of the finalists for the job. Why? He hails from Ohio -- perhaps the swingingest of swing states this fall -- and is widely acknowledged as an expert on economics.
2. John Thune: Thune is handsome and articulate and comes across as a moderate, despite his very clear conservative voting record. Thune is also a hero in conservative circles, thanks to his defeat of then-Sen. Tom Daschle (S.D.) in 2004. The one knock on Thune is that he hails from a state that is already well in hand for Republicans.
1. Tim Pawlenty: The Minnesota governor remains the single possibility in the Republican vice presidential field who best fits what McCain wants and needs in a VP. Pawlenty has been elected twice in a Democratic-leaning state that is almost certain to be a battleground in the fall. He is liked and respected by both conservatives and moderates, and he gets rave reviews for his political instincts. He has also known McCain for nearly three decades and, at 47, could allay some concerns about McCain's age.
DEMOCRATS
5. Sam Nunn: It's hard to argue with Nunn's place as one of the pre-eminent Democratic thinkers on foreign policy and defense issues. He spent more than two decades in the Senate representing Georgia and chaired the Armed Services Committee. That resume, coupled with the fact that Nunn is a white Southerner, could well make him an appealing pick for Obama.
4. Tim Kaine: Kaine's great strengths in this process are biography and geography. A former missionary and a man who is eager to talk about his faith, Kaine could help Obama bridge the "God gap" that has emerged in recent presidential elections. He is also the highest-ranking elected official in Virginia, an emerging battleground state, and his popularity, coupled with Obama's appeal to African American voters statewide and white voters in Northern Virginia, could make the contest for the Old Dominion a barnburner.
3. Hillary Clinton: After Clinton's speech in Indianapolis last Tuesday, many within the party thought she was opening the door to the idea of sharing the ticket with Obama. Her rhetoric since then, however, particularly her comments about "white voters," may well quash the "Dream Ticket" talk before it begins in earnest. While Clinton has broad and deep support within the Democratic Party, picking her as vice president would seem to run counter to Obama's change message.
2. Ted Strickland: Although Obama may not feel compelled to name Clinton to the ticket, he is well aware of the need to offer an olive branch of sorts to the backers of the senator from New York. Strickland, the first-term governor of Ohio, may fit the bill. Not only is he an active and high-profile Clinton supporter, but he is also the popular chief executive of a state that Obama must find a way to win if he hopes to be president.
1. Kathleen Sebelius: The second-term Kansas governor earns the top spot because of her ability to further bolster Obama's strengths while not exacerbating his weaknesses. Picking Sebelius would affirm Obama's core message of change and would give Obama's run even more historic weight. Sebelius' electoral success in traditionally Republican Kansas would also echo Obama's pledge to change the electoral map in the fall.
“Picking Sebelius would affirm Obama’s core message of change...”
Oh yeah, that “change” thing.
Kinda like multiplying by zero....
I suspect Webb for Obama and TPaw for McCain. I do not like it either :)
I heard Ron Paul was going to be Obama’s pick for VP...
I like Pawlenty, plenty.
For some reason, I keep thinking Obama will go with a female, not Hillary, from a swing state. Someone like Claire McCaskill, from Missouri.
Obama won’t pick Webb because Webb is a newly-elected freshman and he needs someone with gubernatorial or other executive experience. My guess is Richardson.
As for McCain, Romney makes a lot of sense, but I don’t think they like each other. I’m afraid he may have made a deal with Huckafeller to knock Romney out in exchange for a prize like the VP slot.
“So, candidates, who’s going to get the nod for vice president?”
McCain - Kennedy?
McCain - Feingold?
McCain - Liebermann?
I heard Hillary for McBoob.
An older friend is touting Lieberman for McCain’s pick.
I can’t believe Obama would pick HRC, it would totally blow off his “change” mantra for one thing LOL.
I believe the Dims go first this year. If I were McCain, I would consider further enticing the some H.Clinton voters by nominating a woman probably a governor. The current GOP women governors are:
1. Sarah Palin, Alaska. She is young, just had a child and certainly would add youth to the ticket. I like her as a Veep but a ticket of two people from small western states?
2. Jodi Rell, Connecticut. She brings geographical balance to the ticket. She is 18 years older than Palin.
3. Linda Lingle, Hawaii. She is Jewish which might attract some H. Clinton voters. She midway between Palin and Rell in age. She is single. Again is the GOP going to run a ticket both from small western states?
I do think McCain should consider a woman. I am not sure if any of these three women are conservative enough. I am interested in Palin because she is from a more conservative state and likely to be the most conservative.
Particularly if Obama is dumb enough to pick another US Senators, the GOP needs a governor on the ticket. Then we can watch two US Senators claim to be running as outsiders.
Who is your choice for the GOP VP?
Sara Palin of Alaska is my choice.
On the RAT side, I doubt Obama would pick Nunn, but it would be interesting to see all those Georgia RINO freepers who heaped praise on Nunn as a "true conservative" react in horror. Maybe they'll finally wake up to the fact the old school Georgia Dems are NOT "more conservative" than "most yankees". If Obama wanted a Georgian, he'd probably pick a current office holder or Max Cleland for the "he's a poor disabled person victimed by Republican ads" factor. Tim "freaky eyebrow" Kaine, at least we'd get him out the way as Governor, but he'd make Virginia competative for Obama, which is not good. I don't think Obama will pick the Hilderbeast, though it's possible if she threatens to go third party on him in the general unless she gets the nod. Strickland is a dark horse, Obama will pick him if feels he REALLY needs Ohio badly. Sebelius and Webb are the most likely choices, they have more "gravitas" than Obama and come from states that normally-lean Republican, but are popular enough there to probably swing them.
So I agree it's probably Pawlenty for McCain's running mate, and Sebelius/Webb for Obama.
Then again, alot of presidential candidates have been picking running mates nobody expected to, like when Santorum was high on Bush's radar and he shocked everyone by going with Cheney instead. When I first heard it was Cheney, I thought had to be some kind of errorous reporting.
1.) Sen. Fred Thompson
2.) Rep. Jim DeMint
3.) Rep. JC Watts
4.) Rep. Duncan Hunter
5.) Rep. Steve King
6.) Rep. Adam Putnam
7.) General David Petraeus
8.) Gov. Mark Sanford
9.) Gov. Bobby Jindal
10.) Sen. Tom Coburn
I haven't lived in Florida since I was 10 years old (1970) but FReepers from the Sunshine State hint that their governor is gay and it's well-known. Don't know it for a fact, but I've heard it from dozens of separate individuals.
Sarah Palin is about as outside of Washington D.C. as one can get.
1.) Sen. Fred Thompson — Too old. If the GOP nominee was an energetic guy in his 40s, Fred would be fine, but paired with McCain, the Dems will attack the GOP ticket as old, grumpy, tired, and out-of-touch.
2.) Rep. Jim DeMint — What would he bring to the ticket? He endorsed Romney in the primary, and South Carolina is safe for the GOP. Also, there are plenty of prominent conservative officials in the state besides him.
3.) Rep. JC Watts — Interesting idea, he’d make a great VP, though it might come across too much as pandering if Obama is the opponent. Plus Obama will tell blacks “the GOP says they’re for blacks but they put the most qualified guy at the back of the bus. Vote for me and we can DRIVE the bus!”
4.) Rep. Duncan Hunter — Would make an excellent veep. McCain won’t pick him after he endorsed Huckabee and since he can’t carry California. Might end up as SOD if McCain is smart.
5.) Rep. Steve King — Hadn’t thought of this one before. Interesting idea. Might be a dark horse choice.
6.) Rep. Adam Putnam — Too young. He’s like what, 31? 35 is the minimum age. And he looks young too.
7.) General David Petraeus — Don’t know anything about his politics. Could be a liberal Dem on every issue besides Iraq for all we know. Plus we probably still need him over there.
8.) Gov. Mark Sanford — Excellent choice, has all the qualities McCain lacks, except South Carolina is probably in the bag. Still probably on the top of most short lists though.
9.) Gov. Bobby Jindal — Too soon.
10.) Sen. Tom Coburn — Again, he’d make an excellent veep, but what credentials does he bring that McCain doesn’t already have? Plus the GOP establishment will likely torpedo him.
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