Dark Horse Candidates for Vice President

liberalpragmatist

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Mar-06-07 05:36 PM
Original message

Dark Horse Candidates for Vice President

The most oft-mentioned potential Democratic running mates are familiar. Mark Warner of Virginia, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Tom Vilsack of Iowa; Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, or Wesley Clark should their presidential bids (or expected bids) fall short. Chris Dodd and Richard Durbin would make good running mates for John Edwards. Also, many have mentioned Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

There are several good names previously listed. But keep in mind that the Vice Presidential pick is often, historically, someone not many people would have expected. Often, the vice presidential spot is filled by someone well-liked in Washington but who may not be all that well-known outside the capital. And from the Democratic side they nearly always come from the Senate. Every Democratic ticket since 1944 has featured a sitting senator as the running mate, 1984 being the only exception (Rep. Geraldine Ferraro). Also, Sen. Tom Eagleton (R.I.P.) was named to the '72 ticket then dropped and replaced with non-senator R. Sargent Shriver.

So who are some people, especially from the Senate, who are generally unheralded and often relatively unknown?

I could actually see Harry Reid on the ticket, although I would bet against it. Reid is generally popular with Democrats, is a feisty and combative campaigner (good for being the "attack dog"), and comes from a swing state (albeit a small one). The downside - some of his pro-corporate and anti-choice stands will make him a potential liability. His governor is a Republican and at 70 he almost certainly wouldn't get the opportunity to run for president himself in 8 years time; he'd probably be in a much more powerful position remaining as Senate Majority Leader.

Among the other names I could throw out there are Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. He's a strong environmentalist, has been in the Senate for a couple decades, voted against the Iraq War and is a strong conservationist. His voting record is generally liberal and he is popular in New Mexico. He's also well-liked by his colleagues, known for his good sense of humor while simultaneously low-key. He'll be 65 in 2008, so, like Reid, he may be less likely to run for president in 2016 (when he would be 73). But he remains a possibility and many up-and-coming Democrats (Eliot Spitzer, Illinois State Treasurer Lisa Madigan, Maryland's Martin O'Malley and Chris Van Hollen, etc.) might like a non-heir-apparent vice president so to keep open the nomination for them down the road.

Also worthy of mention are North Dakota's senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad. They wouldn't flip a state, but they could give the ticket some gravitas. They're both folksy populists, popular with labor yet acceptable to moderate voters and Conrad I know voted against the Iraq War (I'm less sure about Dorgan). However, unfortunately, like Reid, their governor is a Republican.

Any thoughts on these names? And any names you guys might propose?