On the historic occasion of the Democrats finally settling on a nominee, I think it's time for a fresh vote. I also wanted the opportunity to change the options as well as my pick. Who do you like and why?
Jim Webb. His military experience would counter balance McCain supposed strength. I am not sure Webb would take it though, not unless Webb has Presidential aspirations. It will be very interesting to see who Obama picks. He has made so many right campaign decisions so far.
I've favored Webb ever since Obama announced. And I absolutely think he has presidential aspirations. I still think he'd be a great pick, but I'm with Sebelius as of today.
I'd be pretty excited about any of these options other than Nunn or Clinton, btw. I really wish I could have posted like 20 options. I had to leave off so many great and/or realistic options. I chose these because they're the names I've been hearing most often and because they represent some of my favorite choices (esp. Sebelius, Webb, Edwards, Richardson and Clark). Mark Warner, Janet Napolitano and Tom Vilsack would be among my favorites I didn't include.
I like the choice of Sam Nunn. He has worked extensively in foreign policy, and has years of legislative experience as well. He is from the South, and should help Obama with the "white working class" demographic.
From your list, I see many potential members of the Obama Admin: Jim Webb - Vice President Chuck Hagel - Secretary of Defense Bill Richardson - Secretary of State John Edwards - chairing a health care reform council
Obviously, I voted for Clinton. But I wanted to add that if he chooses to go female and doesn't pick Hillary, I'd go with McCaskill before Sebelius. Both are reasonably moderate, but McCaskill is a much better speaker and campaigner and I'd wager she would go over well nationally with women. She's been a very loyal supporter of Obama since January, and as a Clinton supporter, her talk show appearances have been more persuasive to me than any of Obama's other endorsements. Plus, she's from a swing state in the fall, whereas Sebelius is not. The negative, of course, is that she's a first-term Senator. But she's been in politics for 20+ years, and combining that with Obama's general "outsider" theme I don't think it'd be that big of a deal. (Plus, in many ways, the lack of a detailed record can be a good thing.) As for why I voted Hillary, I think most of you already know my case for that very well.
I chose Richardson because I'm a big fan of his and I think his expertise perfectly fits in with Obama to make a fantastic team. That said, I know it won't happen.
The logical choice is Hillary Clinton. Not just to unify the party, but to play the dirty attacker. What is better than Obama talking poetically of his message of change and that he took Hillary to unify the party - but then Hillary going off on McCain like an attack dog. She has the publicity and media coverage to just rail him into the ground. Look what she did to Obama - image her going even more viciously after McCain. It's the perfect match made in Heaven to maximize Democratic turnout and at the same time have one-two powerful good cop-bad cop knockout punch.
Sweet Lou: I don't think Obama wants an attacker as VP nominee this time around. I know that's the usual way of things (and Edwards was certainly derelict in that duty in 04), but Obama doesn't want to run this campaign in the usual ways. Your argument for HRC is one of my primary arguments against her this time around. The Cat: I adore McCaskill and I think she'd be awesome. But two first term senators spells trouble to me. And I am so optimistic about the general this year that I'm not willing to agree that KS can't be a swing state -- especially with a governor who's shown such incredible crossover appeal there. leroy: Richardson might be at the top of my list if I wasn't so worried about his grabby hands and - to a lesser extent - his weird lie about being drafted into MLB. He was also exceptionally disappointing on the national stage in the primaries. But you're right that he has the best resume of anyone in the running. I'd go so far as to say he probably has the best resume of anyone in the country.
John Edwards chairing a health care reform council??????????? The guy is a trial lawyer that made a living suing the industry. Thats like putting the wolf in charge of the hen house!
I don't really care for Hillary anymore, but choosing her would not only unify the party, but it would actually contribute to Obama's claims of working with people he doesn't always agree with on the issues for the greater good.
Maybe like but not as bad as letting Big Pharma write the medicare prescription bill. The hen house may be in need of a few wolves.
For some reason, he reminds me of Jeb Bartlett on The West Wing. You're right, though. He was terrible on the national stage. He'd make a fantastic Sec. of State.
That's funny, since Martin Sheen endorsed Richardson (he moved over to Obama once Richardson was done). Obama reminds me of Bartlett, actually. A friend emailed me after the famous speech on race to say, "Man, that was a Bartlett speech!" I agree Richardson would be an excellent Secretary of State. So would Joe Biden. Before this race, my pick for that position was Bill Clinton, but I honestly think he has gone insane.
