Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Democratic VP pick

Bil Browning writes at HuffPo that Evan Bayh will be named Obama's VP on Wednesday, partly based on the announced schedule of the Obama campaign - an event Tuesday afternoon in Indiana, but departure on Wednesday afternoon without any events in-between. Browning updates his post at Bilerico to later say this may not be the case, while Howey Politics says Obama could just be spending the night at home in Chicago (via Bilerico). Rumors abound...

Evan Bayh could be a decent pick - two-term Governor and two-term Senator in a traditionally Red state, that is a toss-up this year and could turn Blue. But he apparently was front-and-center in supporting the initial decision to invade Iraq. Further, the (possibly re-elected) Republican Governor Mitch Daniels could replace Bayh with a Republican for the next two years, which would reduce the Democratic Senators count by one (but as Sylvia Smith points out, the potential Dem pickup in Alaska post the Ted Stevens indictment could compensate for this loss). I wonder how Susan Bayh's directorship of many companies - in areas where Senator Bayh apparently cast many votes - will play out.

I would personally prefer either Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius or Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, both of whom have been re-elected in Republican states with good majorities. Sibelius is apparently personally pro-life, but has repeatedly vetoed legislation banning abortion (after all, this is Kansas). Napolitano has called for federal comprehensive immigration reform, based on her experience as both a US attorney and as the AZ Governor (via Wikipedia). Both were named among five best Governors in America in November 2005 by Time magazine. So they are excellent candidates - who happen to be women. Of course, since both of them endorsed Barack Obama during the Democratic primaries, an Obama/Sibelius or an Obama/Napolitano ticket may not be the "unity" ticket some see in with Obama/Bayh. And Kansas is unlikely to turn blue, while Arizona may well remain red, given recent polls.

Still, I'd love to see either Sibelius or (especially!) Napolitano on the ticket. Probably not Senator Hillary Clinton; this video has Mitt Romney using her words twice to criticize Obama, while an Ohio Republican ad just came out featuring Clinton yelling "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" Not to mention the fact that the Clintons represent Washington-as-usual...

8 comments:

Alkibiades said...

Being a woman myself, I would love to see either of the ladies you mentioned as VP pick. I have some reservations, however, about having two "non-white-males" on the ticket.

I hate the fact that I have those reservations.

Perhaps it's because I live in a red state that I think it's important to have a white male as VP in order to win the election, but I really do. That being said, I am not inspired by the short list on the gents' side.

At least Obama's choices are better than McCain's, though!

RS said...

Give it time... Texas will turn blue ;-)
What about Chet Edwards?

Alkibiades said...

The best thing about having Chet Edwards on the ticket would be the utter mental turmoil it would give all his fellow Aggies. Aggies vote for Aggies, period. I wonder how many of them would just stay home? :)

RS said...

Good one!
Yeah, my sole visit to A&M convinced me of their militaristic tendencies... :-)

Nina Miller said...

Bunch of things to comment on, but only have time for this: seriously, if Bayh voted for Iraq, how does that square with the centerpiece of Obama's primary campaign (good judgement + less experience is better than more experience but poor judgement)? Isn't Bayh tarred with the same brush as a certain other person?

My personal feelings aside (which I'm sure you can imagine), this would spark a "flip-flop" festivus amongst the chatterers.

and fyi - there are plenty of people who are personally 'pro-life' but support Roe for its underlying principles (one of which is the 1st amendment establishment clause - the government can't choose sides in essentially religious disputes such as when 'life' or 'ensoulment' begins). Plenty of people, many in elected offices. Surely you've heard the "Personally I would never have an abortion, but as a person who believes in... " construction before?

RS said...

Evan Bayh - ewww. 'nuff said!

I am sure there are many people who are personally pro-life (probably ALL politicians!) Still, that point about Sibelius is about her willingness to go on the record in deep-red Kansas... Just one specific example each of Sibelius' and Napolitano's positions, that's all.

Nina Miller said...

Ah, I see.

Do you really think the MSM can accept a woman a heartbeat away from the presidency? I have the feeling the tenor of the coverage would change - that we'd start hearing more talk of Obama "underperforming" and making mistakes... I think their enthusiasm would be dampened, though most of them would be hard pressed to tell why.

RS said...

There's only one way to know for sure... :-)