Folks, I'm sorry, but we can't run a Senator for president in 2008. No one, on either side of the aisle, has gone from the Senate to the White House since JFK beat Nixon in 1960. And if it wasn't for our good friend Max Factor, who made Kennedy look youthful and rested while Nixon looked tired and haggard*, we'd have to go back a long ways before him.
Senators have two problems: they have diverse records and they never work independently. By "diverse records," I mean that there is an office at Republican National Committee headquarters--the Democrats have one too--who is combing through every bill that went through Congress since any of the people who announced for president were first elected, looking for things to use against them in campaigns. Assume we've got a senator who's been in Congress 30 years. In his first term, he voted against a bill that contains a tax increase. In his third term, he voted for a bill that contains one. You know the attack ad already: "Joe Smith flip-flops on taxes." And the other charge is easy to understand too: you can't get a bill through Congress by yourself.
Here's what we know from examining the presidents since then, and in this case I'm going to exclude Ford. We've had seven presidents since Kennedy died: LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton and Bush 43.
LBJ, Nixon and Bush 41 were vice presidents before they were elected president.
The rest were all governors.
This means that if we expect to put a Democrat in the White House, it's gotta be a governor--both of our presidents after LBJ were governors.
Hence, go to
http://www.democraticgovernors.org/governors and run down the list. The only one we CAN'T put up there is Jennifer Granholm, who was born in Canada. Let's throw out five names I like and see what you think, noting that in four cases I put down some alternate positions in an upcoming Democratic administration.
1.Deval Patrick. Governor of Massachusetts.
The Clinton-haters might like Governor Patrick because one of the things he did while working for the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund was to sue Governor Bill Clinton. The Clinton-haters would have a field day with him because, after Clinton was elected president, Deval Patrick eventually went to work for him. He'd be a good Attorney General.
2. Edward Rendell. Governor of Pennsylvania.
Governor Rendell is a bit troubling, actually. You know how Reagan's disciples fell in line with this "supply side economics" crap that says you can cut taxes and increase spending while not putting the government into hock? Well, Edward Rendell actually did it. This opens Pandora's Box just a touch--if Rendell could pull off supply-side in Pennsylvania, why can't he do it nationally? Well, probably because Rendell doesn't spend money like a shipload of drunken sailors, the way Reagan, Bush and The Bush We're Stuck With Now did. Unfortunately, his nickname might haunt us: when Edward Rendell was mayor of Philadelphia, they called him Fast Eddy Rendell. I like him as White House Chief of Staff. Maybe Secretary of the Treasury, if Brad Henry won't take it.
3. Brad Henry. Governor of Oklahoma.
The major thing this guy brings to the table is the proven ability to draw votes from Republican voters. He's also good at slashing deficits without fucking up vital services, and after Bush this is going to be a critical skill. Perhaps he'd be better as Secretary of the Treasury. He also has a public health record that's pretty good; perhaps Secretary of Health and Human Services would be a good fit, although I'd rather have someone with a Masters of Public Health degree in that slot.
4. Christine Gregoire. Governor of Washington.
Governor Gregoire, elected in 2004, demonstrates a proven willingness to fight like hell to get all the votes counted correctly. Otherwise we'd be looking at Governor Rossi out there. She is also a teacher, which is important here because one of the first things we've got to unfuck once Bush has been renditioned off to The Hague is America's education policy. I feel confident that if Christine Gregoire were running for president in 2000 and the Brooks Brothers Mafia would have tried to shut down the Florida recount, she'd have gone to the Dade County Courthouse with a shotgun. I'd use her as Secretary of Education.
5. Brian Schweitzer. Governor of Montana.
I'm gonna tell you right now: this is the guy. If we intend to put a Democrat in the White House in 2008, we need to quit fucking around with senators and go straight for the man who won election in a state that's full of Republicans. You know how politicians who want to be president always claim to know the Common Man? Brian Schweitzer is about as common as they get--we have never, ever had a president with a boiler operator's license. Schweitzer has one. He also holds a commercial pilot's certificate, a crop dusting license, and a master's degree in soil science. The man is a professional irrigation contractor and a professional farmer. He has steered national farm policy. He has installed irrigation systems on five continents. He knows what regular citizens need because he really is one.
* The 1960 presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy was broadcast both on television and radio. Kennedy did makeup before the debate, while Nixon refused. Kennedy looked better to the camera's eye, which helped steer undecided voters toward the Massachusetts Democrat. However, most of the people who monitored the debate on radio gave the nod to Nixon, who was more in command of the issues.