Vice-Presidential picks: Who and Why

[roni]

Now that the nominations are all but sewed up formally......

Who do you think McCain should pick as his running mate? Why do you think that person would be a good choice?

Same questions for Obama - who and why?

I'm thinking maybe we have this thread, and then we have another for the general election. I think the earlier 2008 one has gotten a little long in the tooth and participation has declined mostly to a handful of Obama supporters.

I hope this one thread will gain broader participation.

[roni]

I have a question I will pose. Maybe some of the McCain supporters here have some insight into it.

Does McCain need to pick someone who would increase enthusiasm among the conservative base of the party - or should he pick someone who is more moderate to go after the center of the US electorate?

[Mexivoof]

Mc Cain needs someone young, healthy, and more right wing than him.
I hope Obama is NOT the one making the choice. Would Edwards want to be Hillary's #2. Probably not, he's played that role before. Maybe she should pick Gwen Moore so we could get a different representative here in Milwaukee.

[roni]

Originally Posted by Mexivoof

Mc Cain needs someone young, healthy, and more right wing than him.

Newt Gingrich?

[Mexivoof]

Originally Posted by roni

Newt Gingrich?

Mc Cain IS old, but I don't think he's suicidal

[MikeW]

Originally Posted by roni

Newt Gingrich?

No. I don't think they have the same views on anything, including the war. You would expect the running mates to agree on something. Well there was Reagan / Bush in '82, Bush is the one that coined the term "voodoo economics", they didn't agree on much of anything; Bush caved in and agreed to anything Ron said after chosen as a running mate. Before Reagan chose Bush, didn't he talk for awhile with Ford as his running mate, but they couldn't agree on who had what power. Reagan / Bush were kind of like our current VP Bush, caving in and agreeing to anything President Cheney says.

[Mexivoof]

I wonder if Mc Cain could talk Condi into it!? I would love to see it.
We wouldn't need Obama or Clinton. At his age we'd be almost guarenteed the first black AND female president!

[melliedee]

Originally Posted by Mexivoof

I wonder if Mc Cain could talk Condi into it!? I would love to see it.
We wouldn't need Obama or Clinton. At his age we'd be almost guarenteed the first black AND female president!

I don't remember where I read it, but I've heard she is not interested and will go back to teaching at Stanford?

Romney could be a possible choice for McCain, but I wonder if convervatives consider him a "real" conservative rather than a reformed liberal flip flopper? I agree, he needs someone young and able to balance on his weaknesses in domestic and economy issues.

[roni]

Originally Posted by Mexivoof

I wonder if Mc Cain could talk Condi into it!? I would love to see it.
We wouldn't need Obama or Clinton. At his age we'd be almost guarenteed the first black AND female president!

Condi would be a disaster. I think she is probably just an investigation away from an indictment.

[Mexivoof]

Originally Posted by roni

Condi would be a disaster. I think she is probably just an investigation away from an indictment.

Hasn't stopped Cheney. Or Ms. Clinton for that matter. Where did those files magically appear from

[carroll]

I agree. Condi would be the last person McCain should consider. That would just about ruin all chances he has of winning. No one wants another Bush White House. McCain needs to choose someone as unlike Bush as he can.

[Susie Q Roo]

Here in Ohio (where I still am... sigh...), talk is that John Kasich is potential VP material. I met him once on a beach in Grand Cayman. I believe he wished I hadn't.

[carroll]

I wonder what the dynamics would be if he chose Colin Powell.....

[roni]

Originally Posted by Susie Q Roo

Here in Ohio (where I still am... sigh...), talk is that John Kasich is potential VP material. I met him once on a beach in Grand Cayman. I believe he wished I hadn't.

Is there a story you can tell?

[roni]

I think Bill Richardson makes some sense for the Democrats. African-American and Latino's combined make up 1/4 of the US population. Going for high turnouts and high vote-getting totals from these demographic groups could offset losses among demographic groups that Obama has not done well with during the primary season.

Alternately, he could pick someone who got the votes of those groups with which he didn't fare so well during the primary season.

Those would be my top two choices - but I am sure there are others not popping to mind right now.