I always thought Graham was a bit off, too eccentric, to really make sense as a Veep. I don't know Richardson, but i think Edwards is the logical choice, for all the reasons you suggest. it'd be interesting to see if he could pull in some of the deaniacs, or if they'll just take their ball and go home when howard does. Gephardt would be an unusual choice, but remember, this wasn't a bunch of republicans sitting around trying to come up w/ a ridiculous VP so kerry would lose- the article was about democrats coniving to get gephardt on the ticket, so there must be some people out there to whom it makes sense. why not sam nunn- a real southerner, and a conservative? that'd be a fairly formidable team on foreign policy, although IIRC Nunn opposed GW1, along w/ Kerry.
LOL....I despise your arrogance...but THAT was funny. It has to be Edwards--the most logical and strategic route at this point. Someone mentioned LBJ helping Kennedy pick up Texas and votes in the south. A Kerry/Edwards tickcket would have much the same flavor. A liberal, East Coast Democrat of some wealth that was a bonified war hero paired with a "good-ole-boy" southerner that made good and rose from humble roots. Either way, it will be NARROW marigin again for whichever ticket prevails.
With Edwards as the most prominent challenger at this point I think he has to essentially campaign against Kerry. That may make for a too many hard feelings from the Kerry camp for him to be added to the ticket. Besides, apparently being the VP nominee on a losing ticket does not bode well for getting the nominaiton next time around. Kerry is young enough that he may want to wait this one out. ( isn't that Rchardson guy for decriminalization of mar1juana? Makes sense to me)
Who said they would lose? If you think George Bush's election is all but certain, open up a newspaper, any newspaper.
I'm not sure if Bill Richardson (D) is a decrim guy or not, but you may of been thinking of the previous Gov of New Mexico, Gary Johnson (R) who was very pro-decriminalization.
more speculation: "kf hears semi-reliably that Kerry's polling shows that Edwards on the ticket doesn't win any states for Kerry, even in the South--while Evan Bayh does win Indiana (which is hard to believe, Indiana being a pretty Republican state)"
I don't know who "kf" is, but I expect Evan Bayh will get serious consideration. Not that he's my pick, mind you.
khan: Pretty sure kf is kaus files, from slate.com. Bayh wouldn't be my choice either, but then I hate the DLC. I don't think polling, especially at this point, is a good indicator of a VP's lack of appeal (surely Bayh moving Indiana is worth a look). The positive impact Edwards would have on the ticket would be felt in campaign appearances and the VP debate. Any poll right now is, in a way, a referendum on Edwards on paper. While Kerry's strong in the abstract (resume, bio, etc.), Edwards' strength is in the room. I don't think you can gauge his impact until voters have been 'in the room' with him -- by watching him at the convention and in live and TV appearances after that. And I think he does a great deal to balance the ticket's demeanor and make voters more comfortable with Kerry. He'd have a sort of Bizarro Cheney effect. Voters wanted to have a beer with Bush but didn't think he had the gravitas to be president. Cheney significantly helped there. Edwards would help with the beer question (Who wants to drink with John Kerry? Not me.) -- unfortunately a huge deal with American voters.
Here are Ron Faucheux's (current) odds. (Faucheux publishes Campaigns and Elections Magazine, kind of a trade mag for political professionals.) It really is too bad there aren't any prominent Dems from Ohio ... DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION 2004 TOP TIER CHOICES: Sen. John Edwards (NC), 4 to 1 (20% chance) Gov. Bill Richardson (NM), 9 to 2 (18.2% chance) Gov. Ed Rendell (PA), 9 to 1 (10% chance) Gen. Wesley Clark, 9 to 1 (10% chance) Sen. Bob Graham (FL), 10 to 1 (9.1% chance) Sen. Evan Bayh (IN), 12 to 1 (7.7% chance) Sen. Bill Nelson (FL), 15 to 1 (6.3% chance) U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt (MO), 20 to 1 (4.8% chance) LONGSHOT POSSIBILITIES: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA), 30 to 1 (3.2% chance) Sen. John Kerry (MA), 50 to 1 (2% chance) Ex-Sen. Sam Nunn (GA), 100 to 1 (1% chance) ex-Sen. Max Cleland (GA), 100 to 1 (1% chance) Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT), 100 to 1 (1% chance) Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY), 100 to 1 (1% chance) Sen. Richard Durbin (IL), 100 to 1 (1% chance) Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA), 100 to 1 (1% chance) Ex-Tr. Sec. Robert Rubin, 100 to 1 (1% chance) Sen. Joe Biden (DE), 100 to 1 (1% chance) Gov. Howard Dean (VT), 200 to 1 (less than 1% chance) AG Elliott Spitzer (NY), 200 to 1 (less than 1% chance) Sen. Blanche Lincoln (AR), 200 to 1 (less than 1% chance) Sen. John Breaux (LA), 200 to 1 (less than 1% chance) Al Gore (TN), 200 to 1 (less than 1% chance) Someone else, 30 to 1 (3.3% chance) THE FAUCHEUX ANALYSIS: A Kerry-Edwards ticket seems logical in many ways, although their relationship could become strained if this primary contest wears on. Richardson has a great resume: an Hispanic governor from a swing state with strong international experience. He also locks in NM and could pick up AZ. Rendell is an intriguing possibility especially if Democrats forego a Southern strategy and concentrate on protecting the "Blue States" -- as governor of Pennsylvania, Rendell could "firewall" a key state the GOP is desperate to win this time. Bayh could give the Democrats a possible shot at Indiana, a "Red" state in the heart of the crucial Midwest; he also projects a clean, moderate, youthful image and wouldn't hurt their effort to carry Ohio, a critical swing. Ex-Astronaut Nelson is an interesting prospect; if nothing else, he'd give the Bush Bros. another fight for Florida. Gephardt could help bag MO, another "Red" state Democrats would like to win back. Question: Is there any Democrat in Ohio -- other than Dennis Kucinich -- who'd like to be VP? http://www.campaignline.com/
I still have a feeling Kerry will pick Clark as his running mate. It balances out the ticket geographically and out of the beltway. It also plays well to the central theme of the Kerry campaign that his admin will be strong on defense. Having a decorated vet at the top and a former NATO commander does that. Also the problem with Edwards is that personality wise he is more attractive than Kerry and both have similar baggage from the Senate. Clark's personality won't overshadow Kerry and he is an outsider to deal with the problem among Dems. that Kerry voted for the Iraq resolution.
Nice way of putting this. "Bizarro Cheney"... you got that right! Richardson is intriguing. Being in New Mexico now, Batman, have you gotten any feel for how he might affect a Kerry ticket? I hadn't given much thought about him in this role, but the more I think about it, the more I think he might make a good one. He would have a broad appeal... sort of like Henry Cisneros did before all the baggage. With Latinos now the largest minority in the country, it wouldn't hurt to have them more energized about the election. Edwards could end up the more valuable choice for the South, but Richardson deserves a hard look.
I'll never get over people calling me Batman. I just love it. For the record. I don't have any special insight to Richardson from living here for a couple weeks. I still think he's a major player for the spot though. I watched the Kerry, Clark and Edwards speeches tonight though and the one thing that was clear was that any two of those three guys would just kill Bush and Cheney. And I mean kill them. It was so easy for those guys to be smarmy without a record, but they've got one now. And thanks to that they're just dead. Like father, like son. This race is over before it started. Happily we've got nine months to watch them bleed. Couldn't happen to a nicer couple of guys.
People also run losing nomination campaigns for later elections. Edwards is getting his name out there as a viable and strong candidate. People who never heard of him before are being introduced to him. If Kerry wins the nomination -- and loses the presidential election, Edwards will be in a strong position in four years.
