I do think he would be a red flag to Hillary supporters and there's really enough trouble in that direction already. .

................. And then (to be entirely shallow) there is the haircut. I TRY to listen to him, and when I do he seems pretty sensible, but it's way too easy to get fixated on the haircut (what must his skull be shaped like?) and not hear anything being said. Plus imagine where the audience's attention would be in a debate between Kaine and Mitt Romney????

Posted at August 7, 2008 12:33 PM in response to Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia as Obama's VP - Opinions

Bob Casey could be good (he's sort of new to JQP but his 'name' is not) except he's anti-choice. That wouldn't necessarily send folks running to McCain but would, I think, dim the fervor and raise the anxiety of a lot of Obama supporters, especially the young. Enough worries about the youth vote actually turning out.

Michigan? Don't entirely follow the reasoning that it will be *the* important one, but still if McCain should pick Romney..... that's 17 electoral votes that would hurt a lot if they don't wind up in Obama's column.
-- Governor is ineligible (born in Canada);
-- Sen. Stabenow is new to many and a non-Hillary woman
-- Carl Levin???? Hmmm - there must be some reason his name has never been mentioned (to my knowledge) but I have no idea what

Posted at August 7, 2008 12:24 PM in response to Kerry for VP?

Got to admit the (unwarranted in both cases, esp Obama) "elitist" image would be a real drag to deal with in an Obama/Kerry ticket.

So, personally, I'm back to Biden as being the best possible choice. He's from Scranton PA, dad a car salesman, takes the train home every day, went to Syracuse not Harvard, and had the lowest net worth of anyone running in either party. Hard to get to "elitist" from that.

Looking at Atreideshawk's helpful list, with the "safe feeling" requirement in mind, I'd rank them after that as Richardson (tho there may be other problems there), Bayh, Clark, Rendell .. and then branch off into Gephardt, Daschle, maybe Nunn(other problems there), or someone logical that just hasn't been mentioned, or a Republican (Hagel? Lincoln Chaffee? Really like William Cohen, except he's a close friend of McCain's) Webb would do but he's taken himself out and there are the other problems (statements about women, 3 marriages, etc.)

Kaine, McCaskill, Sebelius, et al. - even Warner -might well be absolutely excellent, but to Joe Q. Public (including all those white males in MA), they are just about as "new" as Obama.

Posted at August 7, 2008 7:51 AM in response to Kerry for VP?

Fine -- then who does fit this criteria (quoting from Jonze above): "He needs somebody who the voter can feel safe with as his running mate. I think people will want to vote for Obama, but they will be nervous doing so - you put a name with experience and a track record on the back of the ticket and I think people will feel much more at ease "taking a chance" on Obama."

There are a lot of voters -- older voters, late-deciding voters, frightened voters -- who are going to want some degree of comfort, security, familiarity when they flip that lever. That may well be a big factor in the still-very-close polls. Selecting a president is a more 'personal' decision for American voters than any other election.

Who can Obama select as a VP that will address that concern? Because, to be blunt, short of announcing his Cabinet before the election (a few 1,000 reasons that's a bad idea), selecting the right VP is the *only* way Obama is going to be able to address it.

Posted at August 7, 2008 12:13 AM in response to Kerry for VP?

Is there still a chance that he will announce his VP pick before leaving? That made sense, actually -- let the new guy (or gal) carry the story while he gets some VERY well-deserved time with family and away from the 24/7 pressure. But no time for that, I suppose.

Sen. Obama's grandmother is very elderly and he hasn't been able to see her and share any of this with her since the whole thing began. Think about it -- she and his sister, who is there with her, are his only family - the family he grew up with. Just imagine going through all he has gone through for the past year without any of your very own family to support you. I doubt Mrs. Dunham can travel, and so he must. I can't believe there is a person in this country who can't understand and identify with that.

Posted at August 6, 2008 10:49 PM in response to Is this Obama vacation a bad idea?

That's it --- it needs to *feel* safe to vote for Obama. (For many people, especially those my age and older, McCain is going to *feel* safe even if he won't *be* safe.) So who is "a name with experience and a track record on the back of the ticket" who would bring that? You say not Kerry (tho I don't consider him particularly energetic, exciting and 'change'). Then who?

I truly think this is very important, perhaps critical. Those 'last minute deciders' during the primaries were - and are - a big concern and I think this is why they veered away from Obama. The VP selection could well be the answer to that problem. In fact, it may be the only way to answer that problem. So ... who?

As indicated, I think Biden or Kerry would fit best. Maybe Dick Gephart (you did say they don't need any more excitement, right?) Tom Daschle? Gore obviously but don't think he would.

Clinton just wouldn't do it, I don't think. Talk about anxiety-producing images! Just think about tossing Obama, Hillary and Bill in the White House! And frankly she doesn't have all that experience and track record, not when compared to McCain.

Who?

Posted at August 6, 2008 10:39 PM in response to Kerry for VP?

People do change and they can have tremendous strength in one area and crippling flaws and weaknesses in others. I will always believe that there has been and is a great deal about McCain, his life and actions that is worthy of tremendous respect.

It seems to me that the parts one can't reconcile (the apparent treatment of his first wife, getting involved with the Keating Five in the first place, what is happening now) falls under one category: ambition. Some ambition is a necessity if one is to be a success, certainly in public life but too much ...

I keep thinking back to the Dem debate when Joe Biden was the only one of the candidates who voted for a war appropriation bill because passage of that bill was necessary to get the properly armoured vehicles to the troops. In one of his tossed-off lines, he said - something like "There are some things more important than becoming president." or "some things I won't do to become president" Along those lines. I keep looking at McCain now and wondering if there is any limit of that sort for him.

I think this is an excellent, and extremely sad, post.

Posted at August 6, 2008 8:19 PM in response to Past His Sell-By Date....

Swiftboats would sink! It's so accepted now that that was untrue and unfair attack that "swiftboat" is now a verb with recognized meaning.
---- And it WOULD remind people of what they lost ... the chance to be rid of Bush FOUR YEARS AGO!!
---- He's certainly vetted.
---- He's Presidential calibre (said the second-largest number of voters in the history of America)
--- Much as I hate to admit it, he's got a measured quality, a self-control that perhaps Joe Biden doesn't always have (which is why I'd rather see Biden as VP and Kerry as Secy of State, actually)
--- He, like Biden, would appeal to those older people, moderate Reps, and independents that are drawn to McCain
--- And he would "wipe the floor" with any VP candidate the Republicans could put up (unlike Edwards did when it was his turn)

And he has shown by his strong surrogate work that he's way above the pouting need to put down someone who may well succeed in ways that he didn't (unlike a certain ex-president). Still prefer Biden but I could get very excited about an Obama/Kerry ticket.

Folks, it really does have to be someone *known* - not to put down the Warners or Kaines or Schweitzers, etc. But the undecided and older voters (who are numerous and who vote very consistently) are going to veer toward the *known* at the last minute, just as those last-minute deciders went for Clinton in all of the primaries. A Joe Biden or John Kerry "trump" John McCain when it comes to giving people a sense of familiarity, respect earned over the long haul, etc. Even Evan Bayh isn't in that ball park (although the same voters are more likely to remember his father)

George Bush may be a lousy president but he's no fool and he would never have won the first time except, being a relative unknown, he chose Dick Cheyney as his running mate. (Cheyney was, at the time, quite respected by moderates and even some liberals.) Newcomer Bill Clinton ran with a very familiar, respected person who had an even more familiar and respected name. Even JFK took the very powerful Senate Majority Leader to, among other things, give him some 'gravitas.' ---

And Obama is "newer" and more "unusual" in many ways than Bush, Clinton, JFK and "riskiness" has been the most powerful argument against him all along, in the primaries and now. The only argument *against* selecting someone strong, respected, well-known and reassuring is that it takes a big person to have someone like that standing behind, partly in their shadow. Michael Dukakis misplayed it in that regard ..... but I really, truly do not worry that Obama isn't "big" enough for that or any other challenge.

And, finally, there is a BIG difference between McCain's many years in the Senate and the equally long careers of Biden, Kerry, Kennedy, etc. Go back and count up which party was in power (Congress and White House) during that span of time. A Republican Senator, such as McCain, could have achieved FAR, FAR more than he did, had far more power to change the "way things were done" than any of the Democrats. It's what you achieve with what you have to work with: Biden, Kerry, Kennedy and others have achieved far more than McCain ever has ..... and they had to do it "dancing backwards and in heels" so to speak.

Posted at August 6, 2008 7:35 PM in response to Kerry for VP?

In response to a piece on First Read about Michelle Obama's hosting a series of roundtable discussions today,
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/08/06/1250915.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage

a commenter named "Kris" wrote this:
"The contrast is too much to not bring up:
One candidate's wife speaking on bread-and-butter issues to veterans' families and not attacking an opponent. The other candidate offering up his wife as the butt of sexist jokes in front of bikers."

Unforgiving Clinton supporters, PUMAs --
Try to picture Obama standing at that biker rally and saying the things about Michelle that McCain said about Cindy. You can't, because he wouldn't. So which candidate is it that you intend to vote for? Which one do you want to have holding the future of women's rights in his hand when it's time to appoint Supreme Court justices?

Posted at August 6, 2008 6:02 PM in response to McCain pimps his wife...

If John Edwards wishes to step back from public life, he has that right, and the public has no right or reason to inquire into the private life of private individuals. If/when he again seeks an elected position or is proposed for a position of high power, such as a Cabinet post, there will certainly be full investigation of this rumor (whether or not it's appropriate, which can be debated). In the meantime, however, there is no rationale for continuous stories about this -- and they would serve no purpose except to make lives miserable.

Posted at August 6, 2008 8:12 AM in response to Birth certificate for alleged Edwards' "love child" lists no father