A Vice Presidental candidate thread.

I thought this was interesting, from First Read:



http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/

Jones is totally new to me and therefore I don't have a real opinion yet. The board thing seems possibly problematic.

Of the rest, Strickland, Biden, Dodd, Bayh, and Daschle are most interesting to me, I think. (In roughly descending order. I like Strickland for the Hillary aspect -- Hillary link but not actually Hillary -- the Ohio aspect [turn Ohio blue!], the fact that I like him as a Governor [I voted for him], and the executive experience aspect. I like Biden for his experience, his ability to be an attack dog [his quip about Giuliani and 9-11 didn't single-handedly torpedo Rudy's presidential bid but really didn't help], and his intelligence.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/10/30/biden-rudys-sentences-c_n_70509.html

I've been uneasy about Webb. This article makes me even more uneasy:

"Anyone But Webb" by Timothy Noah
http://www.slate.com/id/2193217/

Yeah... I have always been uneasy about him too (although I relished his trouncing of George "Macaca" Allen who not too long ago was a favorite for Republican presidential nominee).

After reading your article Soz... a Clinton/Webb ticket might have been interesting. I hope Obama stays away.

Agreed, ebrown.



I am not Ezra Klein, I swear (hey Ezra, have you been reading A2K)?

"Veepstakes: The case for Biden" by Ezra Klein

And now Sibelius interests me (besides just liking the name, Sibelius):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/10/kathleen-sebelius-complet_n_106219.html


Kathleen Sebelius, Completing The Obama Puzzle
Sam Stein
June 10, 2008 10:20 AM


When weighing Kathleen Sebelius' potential as a possible vice presidential pick for Barack Obama, it's useful to consider two separate instances when the Kansas Governor confronted President George W. Bush.

In May 2007, after a devastating tornado had wiped out the town of Greensburg, Sebelius was quick to highlight one of the unspoken truths of the recovery episode: Kansas lacked the resources and manpower it needed because much of the state's National Guard resources had been sent to Iraq. Going public, she repeatedly took jabs at Bush, scolding his Iraq policies for creating a readiness gap at home. Her rebukes earned her accolades in Kansas and with the press. It also prompted the scorn of several Bush lackeys -- a not-too-unfortunate wrist slapping for an emerging Democratic official.


Less than a year later, Sebelius' national stature landed her in another prime-time position, again opposite the president. This time, however, her task was far more thankless. Asked to give the response to Bush's final State of the Union address, Sebelius stumbled, offering up what observers deemed a fairly safe, some said milquetoast, address.


Taken together, these two Bush-related episodes could be considered the polar ends of the Kathleen Sebelius experience. To be fair, the median of the Kansas governor's attributes lie definitively closer to the person who eagerly challenged George Bush's war policies. Indeed, with Obama beginning the arduous process of choosing his number two, Sebelius -- who, sources say, enjoys a warm relationship with Obama and would take the job -- presents a heap of electoral promise but with small but significant question marks.


The daughter of the former governor of Ohio, Sebelius rose steadily in the political ranks, winning six straight elections before taking over the governor's chair in 2002 and being reelected four years later. A progressive Democrat in a predominantly Republican state, she achieved remarkable favorability ratings while holding positions traditionally anathema in Kansas -- mainly by keeping focus on bread-and-butter issues.


"By and large, she's a moderate Democrat, truly pro-business, and able to convey a legitimate sense of being a competent administrator (which she is)," Burdett Loomis, a former Sebelius aide and professor of politics at the University of Kansas, said in an email. "She does exceedingly well in forums like Chambers of Commerce talks, where she exudes common sense and competence, while still maintaining core Democratic values -- education, health care, and sympathy for unions."


More often than not, Sebelius has harnessed legislative consensus for her agenda. In a special session in 2005, she was handed a budgetary bombshell when the state's Supreme Court ordered the government to provide $500 million for school funding (Kansas' budget is roughly $12 billion). Discussions went on for days in the legislature, with talk of impeachment of the justices surfacing. Sebelius stood behind the court, and recruited a slim majority of lawmakers to her side. Funds were passed for the schools and three years later the program is regarded as a success.


"She brings people together and gets things done," said Raj Goyle, a first term state representative. "Governor Sebelius has a unique record of reaching across traditional party lines in Kansas to build consensus."


But when she felt it necessary, Sebelius fought -- and often won. She vetoed a bill that would have required voters to show photo identification before voting, citing disenfranchisement concerns. She issued an executive order making it illegal to discriminate against state employees on the basis of sexual orientation. Three times in four years, she opposed legislation that would have restricted abortion access even though one of those bills passed the Kansas legislature by a two to one margin. Most recently, Sebelius offered a third veto to a bill that would have paved the way for the construction of two new coal-fired units in western Kansas, and she did it primarily on environmental grounds, a stance that a decade ago would have amounted to political suicide.


"Elected leaders are supposed to look at the big picture, at issues that may not affect citizens immediately but are extremely beneficial to the long-term condition of our society. Moving toward renewable energy provides opportunities for better-paying jobs, while helping to address concerns caused by global warming," she said of her decision.

Her position was held up by one vote in the statehouse.


"The coal industry thought that if there was one state it could buy off, it would be Kansas," said one legislator close to Sebelius. "She obviously made an incredibly risky decision to deny the permits. And never before in history had coal plant been rejected on environmental grounds."


And yet, despite the dug-in heels and the close-fought battles, Sebelius' standing has risen. In 2005, she was named by Time magazine one of the five best governors in America, lauded for eliminating a $1.1 billion debt without raising taxes. Her approval ratings, meanwhile, hover over 60 percent. Officials at the Democratic Governors Association -- which Sebelius chaired in 2007 -- repeatedly raved about her work ethic.


The Bush confrontation was emblematic of how Sebelius has curried broad support. After tornadoes hit six southwest Kansas counties, killing thirteen, Sebelius publicly declared that National Guard shortages "will just make it [recovery] that much slower." The White House responded by first putting the blame at her feet, saying it was "not aware of any prior complaints" about a lack of personnel or equipment, and then suggesting that the governor had been in New Orleans, listening to jazz, when the storm hit. Neither were true. Sebelius had made at least five separate requests for equipment, beginning in Dec. 2005, and, on the day of the storm, she had been visiting family before immediately returning to the state.


According to a source close to Sebelius, the governor didn't take lightly to the smears. During a visit to the tornado site with the president, she reportedly continued to hammer away with her guard complaints. Kansans of all political stripes loved it.


"People were supportive of her and those comments," said Tim Owens, a Republican legislator. "I'm a retired army colonel and I will tell you, I think she is right... I'm not very happy about the way the federal government went about dealing with the National Guard in regards to the war in Iraq."


Being a successful Democrat in a Republican state, showing an ability to reach blue-collar voters, and demonstrating a tenacity to challenge the Bush administration, has vaulted Sebelius into any honest discussion of Obama's veepstakes. Sharing a good relationship with the Illinois Democrat and endorsing him fairly early in the primary cycle didn't hurt either. But Sebelius also has blind spots on her political resume that even her most ardent supporters acknowledge.

The most superficial is her State of the Union response, a speech that detractors say is evidence that she can't handle the national stage, but, her office claims, was merely a product of divergent expectations.


"Governor Sebelius believes there is a time and place for everything, but she saw that time as an opportunity not to focus necessarily on the Democratic message or the Republican message, but the American message," said her press secretary Nicole Corcoran. "Governor Sebelius has tangled with the White House before and will again if needed, but the response to the State of the Union message was not the time for it."


A far more substantive concern with Sebelius could be that she doesn't provide what Obama truly needs. As governor, she has had limited direct national security experience. And a recent Survey USA poll showed that, even with her as vice president, Obama still wouldn't carry Kansas (and its six electoral college votes) in the general election.


"She can't deliver her own state," said Christian Morgan, executive director for the Kansas Republican Party. "Moreover, she has never dealt with the national issues that a vice president has to talk about. She has no idea how military budgets work, or what it is like to be a commander in chief."


Because of these concerns, Loomis, who worked in a communications capacity for Sebelius, put the governor's vice presidential prospects at "no better than one in ten," calling her a conservative choice. But he added, should she be tapped, Sebelius would be a tireless campaigner and could very well translate her appeal in Kansas onto the national stage.


"As someone who has watched lots of politicians closely for almost four decades," he said, "I find there are two types -- the ones that look worse when you see them close up, and the ones that look better. Kathleen Sebelius is definitely the latter."

end quote



Well, I'm mixed on unions myself. Sometimes have been for, sometimes not, as in an on-going fracas in Oregon re beef raising. Anyway, I'm glad to know more about her and will keep reading.

Thanks, Osso, that was interesting. I like her, not sure about the two firsts aspect (first black president, first female vice president) (Ferraro was on the ticket but didn't win/ hold the office), and not sure if she has enough experience.

Meanwhile, Strickland is evidently NOT interested in being veep. No, really.



http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/06/oh-guv-shermane.html

Yeh, I don't know about that either.

I hadn't gotten to reading about Strickland and he's gone.. oh, well, I'll read anyway, just to know more.

Here's Why Bloomberg should be Obama's VP!

1. Economic Genius - Bloomberg worked his way up from having next to no money to being one of the richest men in the world. After graduation, he took a $9,000-a-year job as a Salomon Brothers clerk, made sure to arrive earlier and leave later than anyone else and worked his way up to partner. Then he started Bloomberg LP with 10 million dollars and grew it into a 20 billion dollar juggernut. He earned 20 billion dollars through smart investments and a brilliant understanding of the economy. He predicted the oil shortage, housing and mortgage crisis years before others did, unfortunately no one was listening. This is a great selling point considering our recession. Just having Bloomberg on the ticket would add a lot of financial chops and feasibility to Obama's plans.

He used this tremendous wealth to create the world's second largest charity. He also raised $50 million in private money, including some of his own millions, to fund a pilot workfare program.

Yet he gave up control of his billion dollar company in order to take over as New York's Mayor after 9/11 and Guliani left New York with a defecit, a debt, a looming recession and high unemployment. His policies turned the city around from the economic hit it took on 9/11.

Major crime has dropped 30% in New York in the Bloomberg era, without the racial antagonisms of the Giuliani era. Test scores and graduation rates are up, unemployment is at a record low, welfare rolls are at a 40-year low, construction is booming, the deficit has become a surplus, and the city's bond rating just hit an all-time high of double-A. As Mayor, he has driven crime down, rebuilt neighborhoods, kept the streets clean, overhauled the schools and more. New Yorkers are even living longer than they used to.


2. He has a long history of implementing Innovative Brilliant Ideas That People Though Couldn't Work but Wound Up Working...

a.) Years ago, he said that gas prices were going to explode, and introduced a controversial plan to switch all of New York's cabs with hybrid that get excellent milage. And he pulled it off! Now New York City's cabs are all hybrids!

b.) He saw obesity and heart disease as major problems and introduced what many people at the time claimed was an unfeasible plan that gradually banned ALL transfats in all foods sold in New York. New York is such a huge corporate market, that by implementing this, Bloomberg forced McDonalds, Burger King, Fritos Lays potato chips and all other junk food companies to switch away from all transfats, if they want to be able to sell their product in New York. Whether you realize it or not, thanks to Bloomberg, regardless of where you live, you have been eating all junk food and fast food that are free of transfats. Have you noticed any difference in taste? Didn't think so. But you've been eating healthier without even realizing it.

c.) He passed a similar plan banning smoking in all public places in New York. Air pollution went down, and when other key cities saw from Bloomberg how large scale smoking bans can feasibly be implemented, they adopted his identical plan in London, Paris and other cities. They are also now following his same model to replace all public transportation with hybrids in their cities.

d.) Similarly, Bloomberg implented very targeted gun laws to reduce violent crimes that republicans initally oppposed through out New York. And now violent crime in New York is lower than it has been in decades!

e.) He's recently started implementing brilliant new plans to provide housing and employment for the abject poor and the homeless, and implementing what was at the time a merit based plan to improve student's performances in school. Both plans are showing early signs of success.

f.) He broke with 200 years of tradition by rearranging city hall into a bullpen modeled on a trading floor, with his desk in the middle of 50 aides. (Perhaps transparency breeds loyalty, because his senior staff has barely changed in six years.) His office also seems to be the most productive mayor's office in New York City's history.

g.) He has been making many efforts to reduce emissions. "The naysayers who think global warming is too big a problem just don't have any vision," he repeatedly says. Washington rejected the Kyoto Protocol, but more than 500 U.S. mayors have pledged to meet its emissions-reduction standards, none more aggressively than Bloomberg who initially led this Mayors initiative. His PlaNYC calls for a 30% cut in greenhouse gases by 2030. It will quadruple the city's bike lanes, convert the city's taxis to hybrids and impose a controversial congestion fee for driving into Manhattan.

All of the above were controversial plans when introduced. Bloomberg inherited a tough situation. The city was hemorrhaging jobs after the Sept. 11 attacks, and Giuliani's second-term spending spree had left the city in a financial hole. Bloomberg raised property taxes 18% to attack the deficit, and he made some modest but politically difficult spending cuts, including the closing of several firehouses. He also engineered a hostile takeover of the city's troubled schools and banned smoking in the city's restaurants and bars. His approval ratings sagged into the 20s; his constituents booed him at parades. "They'll come around," he told aides.

And just as he said, he bounced back from poison-ivy approval ratings to easy re-elections in influential places when his controversial policies began to work exactly as he said they would. He now reportedly tells his advisors when introducing these plans, "What good is a 70% approval rating if we don't take risks?" So far, that rating hasn't budged. Bloomberg isn't just a technocrat, he's an extraordinarily good one, a quality that you see all to rarely.

He took on predatory lending in New York years before politicians realize how big a problem it was. As a philanthropist, he's funding research designed to eliminate malaria by building a better mosquito.

After he announced new restrictions on campaign donations ?- the tightest in the nation ?- Bloomberg was asked if he was being hypocritical, since he had spent more than $150 million of his own money to win two elections. "I would suggest that before anyone runs for office, they should go out and become a billionaire," he replied. "It makes it a lot easier."

As you can tell from above, he has a long history of fighting for and getting implemented results-oriented, merit-based arguments. Which is exactly what the next President will need in developing plans for, say, health care or Social Security reform.

He adds to the ticket instant economic credibility, a deep résumé and a claim to results.

There's a good view of Bloomberg's problem solving from the roof of the 123-unit building Ken Haron just developed in Harlem. That neighborhood was once a national symbol of urban decay ?- drugs, violence, all the classic inner-city problems ?- but now its main problem is that it's so desirable, its housing is unaffordable. And in recent decades, the feds have stopped building subsidized housing. So Bloomberg has leveraged private money for a $7.5 billion effort to create 165,000 affordable apartments, enough to house the population of Atlanta. It's already one-third complete. Haron charges some tenants market rents of about $3,000 a month, but he has to reserve 80% of his building for lower-income families that won lotteries to pay as little as $700 for apartments with the same granite countertops. On the roof, Haron points out similar mixed-income projects in every direction: "That one's in the program. So is that one. That one's condo; it's ours too." Its penthouse is for sale for $1.7 million, but moderate-income families will pay $250,000 to live in the same building. "There's stagnation at the federal level, so we had to get creative," says Bloomberg's housing commissioner, Shaun Donovan.

To Bloomberg, Washington means gridlock, extremism and pettiness. It's the place where homeland-security funds were "spread out like peanut butter" for political reasons, so that rural states got more per capita than New York. And it's the place that's blocking him from cracking down on illegal guns. In 2005, after a rash of shootings, Bloomberg's aides told him that 90% of the illegal guns used in local crimes came from out of state and that 1% of U.S. gun dealers supplied 60% of its crime guns. And the Bush Administration had stopped tracking the problem; in fact, the G.O.P. Congress had enacted N.R.A.-backed language restricting federal officials from sharing gun-trace information with local police. Bloomberg appealed to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales but got the brush-off. So the mayor hired investigators to run stings in gun shops nationwide and sued 27 of the shadiest dealers; a dozen are now under court supervision. He also started Mayors Against Illegal Guns to fight the information-sharing restrictions; the group has recruited more than 220 mayors in a year, but Congress has not reversed the policy. "Ultimately, you have to blame the public," Bloomberg says. "They're not holding Washington accountable."

If not Bloomberg, Jim Webb would make an excellent choice too imo.

I have a soft spot for Bloomberg but I need to read more. I remember Blatham has - or had - short shrift for him. He might be hawk-y for me, but that might be a positive for election.

Anyone looked at Jane Harmon? She's to my right, but most are.

Centroles is glossing up Bloomberg more than he deserves. For example, the crime rate in NYC has dropped every year since it hit it's peak in 1991. While he's giving Bloomberg credit for a 30% drop in crime the fact is that it dropped 75% between 1991 and 2004 - a point at which Bloomberg had only been in office for two years. The people that study crime trends credit the drop to increases in the number of police on the streets which started with Dinkins and was carried on by Guilluni before Bloomberg ever came into office.

Got that, Fishin, and understood that already, not to be snarky but that I mildly follow urban matters. I see he has some level of business competence, or seems to, to me, raised with no business clue. (I had a rich uncle, but that was probably sheer luck on his part, looking back from this far.)

Tangent - would that I could talk with my family in the teens, twenties, thirties, forties, now.

I have read about Bloomberg some, but not retained it all. I think he might have a tendency to operate from on high. We don't need more of that in the vice presidency.

Jim Webb on The Daily Show
June 09, 2008
link

Whew, Bobby Jindal from LA - maybe not such a great choice for VP for McCain.



http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/bobby_jindals_dance_with_the_d.php

Cycloptichorn

Already!



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25096620/

(NBC/WSJ poll.)

So there is a whopping 1% net benefit if Obama chooses Clinton as VP.

I'm starting to be reassured that it's not going to happen.

You commie, you! (scandalized!)

I read that Ms Sibellius, a 6 to 1 chance in the betting, is a Catholic and pro-choice.

Can anybody explain that for me?

Charlie Crist just got married!

Good grief.

This is like something out of Hollywood circa 1953.

NOW he can be McCain's VP -- maybe.


http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article659439.ece