With the nominations of the two presidential candidates now wrapped up, speculation turns to whom will be each party's vice - presidential nominee. Each party will have different criteria for the choice they make for the vice - presidential campaign. It is this writer's opinion that the GOP choice will be more difficult and will be more critical for the party's autumn campaign. The Democratic choice will probably take in account having the ticket more balanced geographically than the Republicans, and they may have the VP nominee from an important battleground state essential for winning the election.=
Here are some of the names that are reportedly on the prevailing list of possible Democrats under consideration:
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Hillary Clinton...............NY senator
Joe Biden........................DE senator
Bill Richardson..............NM governor
Michael Bloomberg.......NYC mayor
Wesley Clark..................retired four star general
Tom Daschle...................SD former senator
Chris Dodd......................CT senator
Claire McCaskill.............MO senator
Chuck Hagel....................NE senator
Tom Kaine......................VA governor
Ed Rendell.......................PA governor
Sam Nunn.......................GA former senator
Kathleen Sebelius...........KS governor
Jim Webb........................VA senator
Evan Bayh.......................IN senator
Ted Strickland................OH governor
Mark Warner..................VA former governor
Phil Bredeson..................TN governor
Al Gore.............................TN former senator; former Vice-President
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I would think Obama will choose someone with significant military experience, foreign policy expertise, or a Southerner. My top guesses would be Webb, Biden, or Clark.
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On the Republican side, here is the list of some of the names being given the greatest consideration:
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Charlie Crist...........FL governor
Mitt Romney.........MA former governor
Tim Pawlenty........MN governor
Sam Brownback.....KS senator
Mark Sanford.........SC governor
Condoleezza Rice....current Sec'y of State
Bob Jindal...............LA governor
Mike Huckabee......AR former governor
Phil Gramm............TX former senator
Jeb Bush.................FL former governor
John Thune............SD senator
Joe Lieberman.......CT senator
Sarah Palin.............AK governor
Fred Thompson.....TN former senator
Rudy Giuliani.........NYC former mayor
Kay Hutchinson.....TX senator
Colin Powell............retired four-star general
Tom Ridge..............PA former governor
Rob Portman..........Director OMB
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The McCain presidential campaign team will probably opt for a governor, possibly a southerner, with experience on economic and social public policy. My guesses would be Crist, Pawlenty. or Romney.
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The national conventions for both parties will be held in the final two weeks before the Labor Day Holiday, with the Democrats holding theirs in Denver from Monday 25 August through Thursday 28 August; the Republicans will conduct theirs in Minneapolis from Monday 1 September through Thursday 4 September. One can anticipate the announcements of the vice-presidential running mates to occur sometime in mid to late July.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Democratic_vice_presidential_candidates%2C_2008
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Republican_vice_presidential_candidates%2C_2008
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http://www.oddschecker.com/specials/politics-and-election/us-presidential-election/republican-vice-president-candidate
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http://www.oddschecker.com/specials/politics-and-election/us-presidential-election/democratic-vice-president-candidate
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If the GOPers can’t see why Alaska Gov Sarah Palin WILL CHANGE THE WHOLE BALL GAME ASSURING VICTORY FOR MCCAIN, making all of this other discussion irrelevent (that is, IF THE GOP WANTS TO WIN THE ELECTION) then, with all due respect, I can’t have too much respect for those opinions. This is NOT rocket science, folks.
ReplyDeleteSee the below C-SPAN Washington Journal program from this morning if you still have any question on this. (Watch the whole segment!)
rtsp://video1.c-span.org/archive/c08/c08_wj060808_oconnor.rm
John, I think you're reading McCain wrong. I think he'll go for a social conservative OR a woman. Leading candidates for me would be Hutchison, Romney, Huckabee, and Brownback.
ReplyDeleteCrist is rumored to be gay. McCain has enough trouble with the fundies to choose him.
Powell is retired and his luster has dimmed anyway.
Palin would be exciting, but two years as AK governor isn't enough to get taken seriously.
He doesn't need any southerners to help carry states, since he'll sweep the south anyway. I think he'll be more likely to go for a westerner than a southerner.
Ridge and Pawlenty might be second-tier prospects.
I think Wes Clark is the best choice for Obama, though Richardson would be a good choice, too. Clinton isn't going on the ticket. Neither is Edwards or Gore or Biden. The Dems need Webb in the Senate and they need Mark Warner to win the VA seat up this fall. Daschle wants to be HHS secretary, not vice president, McCaskill is too inexperienced, Hagel's an R (that's not going to happen), Bloomberg is basically an R, and who the hell is Bredesen?
Other than Clark or Richardson, I see Sebelius and Strickland as the next tier. Don't forget about some others, including perhaps John Kerry, Brian Schweitzer, and Florida's Bill Nelson.
The VP picks are great fun to talk about, but Vice Presidential candidate's don't win elections. They may help some, but the vast majority of the time not enough to win it.
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