This article caught my attention because what really matters in a vice presidential pick. There are several criteria that they mentioned but to name a few:
-- Qualified to be president.
-- Shares the agenda of the boss. "Whoever's in the White House doesn't want to have to look over his or her shoulder at the vice president to make sure they're not marching off in some different direction," Galen said.
-- Shores up the candidate's weak spots. For Obama, this would be experience and national security. For McCain, age and the economy.
-- Sends a message: A female or minority pick would signal inclusiveness and boldness for either candidate. Picking Clinton would be a direct appeal to her supporters from Obama. Picking former rival and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee would send a message from McCain that he embraces Christian evangelicals.
-- Helps the Electoral College math. This is a last consideration, only after others are met and a candidate is really struggling in a must-have state such as Pennsylvania or Florida. Such calculations often fail. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry lost North Carolina in 2004 despite having that state's Sen. John Edwards on the ticket.
This is what Senators John McCain and Barack Obama must consider in choosing a Vice Presidential nominee. The position of VP is a position that is dreaded but the reality is that recently it brings a lot of perks and the position carries a lot of weight within an administration. Bush Sr. brought weight to Reagen's ticket and Al Gore literally redefined the position of Vice President while Dick Cheney has strengthened the position with his policy decisions the last 8 years. Nonetheless, a Vice President can help you win an election like in did for JFK when he choose LBJ as his Vice President. Nonetheless, such cases of a Vice President helping a ticket are slim because clearly in 2004 John Edwards didn't help John Kerry as much as people would have taught.
However the choosing of a Vice President is just one part of the equation. The second part of the equation is how do you use your Vice Presidential candidate. In 2004, I believe the Kerry camp didn't strategically use Edwards right in the campaign. Edwards is a natural statesman but the Kerry camp didn't use his strengths in the right direction so that he could win some of the southern states. If Kerry really wanted to win in 2004 than he would have allowed Edwards to campaign more vigorously in southern states like his home states of North Carolina and South Carolina as well as Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky in hopes of trying to redraw the electoral map back in 2004. Nonetheless, that was not the case.
Therefore my best advice to Senators Obama and McCain is to use your Vice Presidential pick strengths to your advantage. Allow your VP choice to be what made you choose them in the first place. If you don't use the strengths of your VP choice than why have him or her on the ticket in the first place. Now don't get me wrong, some VP choices are just safe picks like Dan Quayle, Joe Liberman or Dick Cheney but others like Edwards, LBJ, Al Gore and Bush Sr., have mass appeal that can be used just like they were President. So use your VP choices wisely once you figure out who your Vice President will be.
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1 comment:
A commenter on another post says it much better than I can:
"They say McCain reads the blogs, so here goes --
Senator McCain- Don't let the campaign kibbitzers muddle things up.
First and foremost, Sarah Palin shares your values. She killed the bridge to nowhere. Need we say more?
As for the politics, Sarah Palin transcends geography. Her constituency, like yours, goes beyond state lines.
She will get your ticket access to voters all over the country based on who she is and what she stands for. Because she's young, a woman, a mother with young kids, she will grab media attention more than any other potential candidate.
Gov. Palin also has a son in the active duty military. You have very wisely taken your son's service in Iraq off the table as a campaign talking point. That is and should be respected. But others can talk about it and reflect on what it means.
A McCain-Palin administration would be the first in memory which has family members in uniform during wartime from both the President and Vice President. That would be a powerful statement as to the importance of national service, especially in uniform.
Most importantly, any Vice President should be ready to step up and serve in the event she is needed. Frankly, who is really ever ready? Gov. Palin is as ready as anybody, she is a quick learner, and in her public career has exhibited the courage and decisiveness needed for a great leader.
Godspeed to you in your campaign and in making this important decision."
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