CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
June 4, 2008 – 11:52 p.m.
CQ Politics VP Madness: Who Should Obama Pick?
By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff
Now that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, his attention — and ours — can turn to the process of selecting a vice-presidential running mate.
CQ Politics’ contribution to this summer’s biggest political parlor game is “Dem VP Madness,” which allows visitors to CQ Politics to whittle down a field of 32 potential Obama running mates to one winner, using a single-elimination tournament not unlike the “March Madness” college basketball tournament.
CQ Politics last month introduced the Republican version of the tournament, and readers selected former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to run with Arizona Sen. John McCain .
In the hours since Obama clinched the nomination on Tuesday night, when the Democratic voting concluded in Montana and South Dakota and the votes of superdelegates put Obama over the top, the biggest question has not been which candidate Obama might choose — but whether or not he will choose one candidate in particular: Hillary Rodham Clinton , his chief rival for the nomination. In fact, the second biggest story late Tuesday was Clinton’s apparent willingness to accept the No. 2 spot were Obama to make the offer.
Her voluble backers point to the nearly 18 million voters who backed her in the Democratic primaries — about as many as Obama — and the specific voting blocs, such as lower-income whites and Hispanics, in which she outperformed Obama and that will be influential in the fall campaign.
So Clinton does stand out in this field of 32 contenders. But there are a lot of other qualified Democrats who Obama may consider, and CQ Politics’ Dem VP Madness briefly outlines their strengths and weaknesses.
CQ Politics welcomes your feedback on Dem VP Madness. Play the game. And, if you’d like, use the comments section below to tell us who we excluded from this list of 32 that Obama should consider as a ticket-mate.
We’ve carefully seeded the candidates so the ones we’ve deemed as the strongest won’t go up against each other in the early rounds.
• Will Top Seeds Succeed? It’s no surprise that Clinton is one of four “No. 1” seeds in this tournament. Two of the other three top seeds also are former Obama rivals for the Democratic nomination — former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards , who also sought the presidency in 2004 and wound up as Democratic nominee John Kerry ’s running mate, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson , who previously served in Congress and in President Clinton’s Cabinet.
• They Couldn’t Beat Him, So Will They Join Him? Along with Clinton, Edwards and Richardson, we’ve included two more Democrats Obama vanquished in the primaries — Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut. Biden and Dodd have a combined 69 years of service in Congress. (Apologies to Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich , who didn’t make the cut.)
• Give the Guvs Some Love: Obama, who is running as a political “outsider” and emphasizing themes of change, certainly will consider running mate possibilities outside the Senate, including some of the 28 Democrats who are presently serving as governors. Neither Obama nor McCain has executive experience. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, the past two Democratic presidents, came from the executive branch of government. Governors can tout balanced budgets and other accomplishments, and they don’t have voting records that hamper presidential candidates who come from the Senate.
The fourth No. 1 seed in Dem VP Madness is a governor, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. We also include Tim Kaine of Virginia, an early Obama backer; Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania; Brian Schweitzer of Montana, where Obama easily won the June 3 primary; Phil Bredesen of Tennessee; and Janet Napolitano of Arizona.
Former governors on our list include Evan Bayh , who has been a senator for the past decade, and Tom Vilsack of Iowa, whose campaign for the Democratic presidency failed. Both Bayh and Vilsack backed Clinton.
CQ Politics VP Madness: Who Should Obama Pick?
• Military Might? Polls show that while the public by and large supports Obama’s anti-war stance, it trusts John McCain more on national security issues and handling the Iraq War. So Obama could choose a running mate with personal and/or professional experience in military matters as he campaigns against McCain, a Vietnam War veteran. We’ve included Jim Webb , a Vietnam War veteran who served as Navy Secretary to President Ronald Reagan. Webb’s election to the Senate in 2006 clinched a Democratic majority in that chamber.
Others on the list include Wes Clark, who had been a supporter of Clinton’s candidacy and a candidate for the Democratic nomination himself in 2004; Tim Roemer, a former Indiana congressman (1991-2003) who served on the Sept. 11 commission; Anthony Zinni, a former CENTCOM commander who was an early opponent of the Iraq War; Max Cleland, a former U.S. Senator from Georgia who was severely wounded in Vietnam; and Colin Powell, a former Secretary of State to President Bush and a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Will Obama Pick a Woman? Clinton, Sebelius and Napolitano are joined in the 32-candidate bracket by a pair of women senators from politically competitive states — Claire McCaskill of Missouri, an early Obama supporter, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who backed Clinton. The first black presidential nominee in history selecting the second woman to run as the vice-presidential nominee of a major party — Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 was the first — would be a powerful statement in a nation that has seen only white men serve as president and vice president. But would it be too politically risky for Obama to run with a woman?
• Only Democrats Need Apply? Might Obama pick a running mate who is not a Democrat? It’s a far-fetched possibility, but we’ve included several non-Democrats on this list. They include New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who switched from Democratic to Republican prior to becoming mayor and who recently became a registered independent. Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel , who is retiring from the Senate this year, disagrees with Obama on a number of issues — but not on the Iraq War, which both men oppose.
Enjoy the game!
Video: How we picked the candidates
Comments
1. The selection of either Bloomberg or Hagel would be rare, but not without precedent; Obama's acknowledged hero Abe Lincoln chose a non-Republican when he ran for re-election in 1864. 2. Some glaring omissions - Kean[NJ], Hamilton [IN], Granholm[MI], Feinstein and Harman [both CA], Murray and Cantwell [both WA], Mitchell [ME], Rockefeller[WV], and Tester[MT].
Complete longshot I know, but Washington Governor Christine Gregoire. Balanced budgets, popular enough, fiscally conservative (enacted a rainy day fund), socially progressive, on Obama's side with respect to social issues, long resume including battling tobacco companies, environmental stewardship, and a dedication to early childhood education. Fostered a robust economy in an otherwise unfavorable job market, filling government coffers. Possibly could speak to western voters. Strong advocate for progressive causes. Can be a bulldog when she needs to be. Could bring gender balance to the ticket after Clinton's close race.
CLINTON IS TOXIC. HE CAN'T PICK HER. Jim Webb would be a good choice. He's from the mid south and a military man and was secretary of the Navy.
The top two candidates are Richardson and Webb. Richardson brings both main stream and latino cred, comes from the West, locks in New Mexico, helps with Colorado, has lots of foreign policy experience, significant administration experience both state and national and reinforces Obama's messages about talking with potential adversaries/undesirables and change (first Latino candidate). Richardson has almost no negatives. Webb brings blue dog cred, reinforces the Iraq message with military cred, and helps to cement Virginia. Webb has some racy passages in a book he wrote that's been blown out of proportion. Alan Levy P.S. Your Bill Richardson graph doesn't match his percentages. Also, there was a typo in the summary on, I believe, Sam Nunn.
Russ Feingold - Against the war from the beginning, formidable speaker and debater, extremely intelligent, proudly progressive in domestic policy, capable of working across the aisle, from a state Kerry barely squeaked by in, and Jewish (hello, Florida & New Jersey).
Very interesting read. Broad selection. Just want to make one correction. The Gov of Michigan (Granholm) was born in Canada, so she does not qualify for VP of the United States. I like Webb. He could help with the blue collar vote. The only problem with picking a woman is that Hillary supporters may become more enraged that Obama chose a woman, and it was not Hillary.
In your brackets, Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio is described as socially conservative, being pro-gun, pro-life, and opposed to federal efforts to combat global warming. I might offer a correction. While Strickland is generally pro-gun, in his House career and in his campaign for governor he made no secret of his pro-choice views. Additionally, while I do not know in any detail what his interaction with the federal government has been as a governor dealing with global warming, environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters have given him generally quite high ratings. See these interest group ratings, compiled primarily from his House career: http://votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=311 This may be worth correcting before votes are tabulated.
Max cleland would be in my opinion the DREAM TICKET. He was the victim of a ad in 2002 questioning his patriotism by Saxby Chambliss & Karl Rove. Cleland is the poster child for democrats to the GOP nasty, dirty attack ads that still has dems across the country angry & it made independents sick to their stomachs.
Phil Bredesen may be best. He has a BS Physics, Harvard University he's Governor of Tennessee he's a WASP, and he only had one draft defermet during Nam and considering he got a degree in Physics I think most people would be ok with that.
I think Bonnie's answer is right on. I heard Webb being interviewed on NPR by Terry Gross, and he struck me as one of the best combinations of intelliigence, candor and integrity I've ever seen. His military background would be very helpful, and he's fully qualified to be president.
Sen. Kent Conrad from North Dakota. What few comments Obama has made openly about his approach to VP selection indicate he's looking for a policy expert whose knowledge would complement his own, but not necessarily in the military / foreign sphere. Conrad has a background in agriculture, energy, taxation, and economic issues. He also opposed the Iraq war in '02. While ND has been strongly red, Obama made an appearance there in the middle of the Pennsylvania campaign, even though its caucuses had been held six weeks earlier; I suspect his team believes it could be within reach this time.
General Wesley Clark. Nuff said!
obama/richardson 08
I like the idea of Hagel...sends a strong messge about post-partisnship and he's got a strong record on national security issues.
What about Nader? That would be sth! Why did Al lost in 2000? Another is Bloomberg...but MY favorites are FIRST John Edwards, then Richardson, LEAST! Hillary!
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