Chris Cillizza of The Fix On Top 10 Veep Choices
Chris Cillizza of Washington Post’s The Fix On the Top 10 Veep Choices
Ask someone who works for either Barack Obama (Ill.) or John McCain (Ariz.) about the search for a vice presidential nominee and, to a person, the response you get goes something like this: “It’s way too early to even be thinking about specific names.”
Bring up potential VP’s with people outside the direct orbit of the campaigns, however, and you get a panoply of names, discussions of running mate strategy, and handicapping of strengths and weaknesses.
Welcome to the veepstakes — where those who know the most are saying the least and, unfortunately, vice versa.
The Fix, as always, navigates these tricky waters for the good of our readers. Conversations with a variety of operatives who are in a position to have a general sense of the veepstakes have produced the lists you will find below. When it comes to picking a vice presidential candidate, we acknowledge it is something of a moving target — so if your preferred guy (or gal) didn’t make the list never fear, they could show up next time.
Also, since McCain and Obama appear to have the nominations locked up, we are, for the first time, ranking the five most likely veep picks. The number one slot on the Line is the candidate with the best chance — right now — of being picked.
Agree or disagree? Have a favorite of your own? Or even a full list? The comments section awaits.
[Lists Top 5 Republican Choices and Top 5 Democratic Choices]
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2 Responses to “Chris Cillizza of The Fix On Top 10 Veep Choices”
Chris Cilizza's lists are interesting. Several thoughts…
(1) Rob Portman is clearly a guy with a future in the Republican Party. He has strong ties to the Bush money-raising machine. He used to be my Congressman.
But he does almost nothing to help McCain in Ohio. He is simply not known in any part of Ohio other than Cincinnati, except among party activists. Since the Cincy area will vote Republican in November in any case, Portman doesn't do anything to help McCain to win Ohio, really.
Look for Portman to continue building toward a 2010 run for the Ohio governorship (or the US Senate, if George Voinovich decides to retire).
(2) Sam Nunn would be an absolutely brilliant choice for Obama.
There are two main criteria for running mates: (a) The running mate compensates for the presidential candidate's deficiencies (or perceived deficiencies); (b) The running mate can get a state for you. Obama is perceived to be deficient on national security. Nunn, former chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, would be reassuring to many voters.
He puts Georgia in play for Obama and, perhaps as an added bonus, may help woo the so-called “Reagan Democrats.” I don't think that he would alienate any of the Democratic base either.
(3) My state's governor, Ted Strickland, would be an interesting choice for Obama for several reasons.
One is that he does compensate for one perceived deficiency in Obama, his lack of executive experience, although Strickland, who served in Congress for some time, has only been governor since January, 2007. (I could point out that as a former pastor, Strickland functioned as a leader, a must for good pastors. But he really didn't serve as a pastor for long.)
Strickland is also popular in Ohio, though all statewide Democratic officeholders are somewhat beclouded by a scandal currently swirling around Democratic attorney general Marc Dann. Strickland and the other statewide Democratic officeholders are distancing themselves from Dann, calling for his impeachment. That may be resolved by the time the convention rolls around. But right now, it's a bit touchy.
The other thing that Strickland would do for Obama is give him a link to Clinton supporters. Strickland supported Hillary Clinton in the Ohio primary.
Mark Daniels
As usual, I don't agree with Chris C. I think Strickland would be terrible. He is not a strong or interesting person who brings anything to the ticket.
Clinton is poison and the democrats need to break from the Clintons totally.
My personal choice is Webb. He fits all the points in a ticket with Obama and would be a great vp for him.