The Atlantic - Latest Comments in Kathy vs. Webb

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

johnbpt — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:45:42 -0000

Kathy's absolutely right, Webb has too much gender baggage, which would be a big no-no even if it we didn't face the challenge of wooing angry Hillary supporters back into the fold. I don't subscribe to stonetools's "has to be a white male veep pick" view, though I do think the best two choices would be Gore (not that he would take it) and Edwards.

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

johnbpt — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:44:07 -0000

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

Sam Hutcheson — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:51:23 -0000

Stonetools says: "This won't win me points here, but Obama has gotta put a white male on the ticket. A black man/anything else ticket is just too much change for this American electorate-you can take that to the bank. I want to win, so its gotta be a white male veep."

I can't argue with that, but I will say the first and primary criteria for Obama's VP should be, you know, qualifications for the job. The VP will of course be "one breath away from the White House", which is sort of a big deal, but s/he will also be the second most famouse spokesperson for the administration (and party) for at least 4 - hopefully 8 - years. Then barring supreme oddness s/he will be the assumed candidate in 2016 (assuming of course, success in 08 and 12.) You don't pick that person based on states they might bring with them or if they mollify the base of this year's runner up. You pick that person based on their competence to be President, now and in the future. Doesn't have to be a white male necessarily, but if the best candidate is a white male you certainly don't pass him up just to say you doubled down on the minority representation on the ticket. (And really, does anyone truly think that nominating one of the female governors will pacify the Clintonista base? They'll throw their so-called feminist principles under the bus faster than you can say "Paula Jones.")

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

stonetools — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:40:29 -0000

This won't win me points here, but Obama has gotta put a white male on the ticket. A black man/anything else ticket is just too much change for this American electorate-you can take that to the bank. I want to win, so its gotta be a white male veep.

Kathy is the kind of leftist type person who is more concerned with a candidate's purity over her issues than actually, you know, WINNING.The hell with ideological purity.

I'm not a Webb loyalist, but if he can help deliver Virginia and help out elsewhere in Appalachia, then lets put him on there.

She didn't name her choice-probably because her choice has at least as many problems as Webb. The three guys who I think will be there at the end

Kaine

Vilsack

Webb

Note that both Kaine and Vilsack are problematical , too. There is no perfect VP candidate.

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

Incertus — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:15:01 -0000

Kathy is right about Webb--even though Webb has gotten a lot better on gender issues in the last few years, the heat of a presidential race is not the place to be asked to prove your bonafides, not when there's a deep bench to pull from. I like Sebelius too, and I also like Napolitano, if only to screw with McCain's home state.

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

Sam Hutcheson — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:03:46 -0000

Obama-Sebelius puts KS and Ohio (where her dad was a former Governor and where she was born and raised) and Sebelius is also pretty popular in Missouri too. I'm just saying.

Yes, but this fails to address the "I want GA to be in play once in my lifetime" dynamic I'm shooting for here.

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

BillW — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:59:29 -0000

Obama-Sebelius puts KS and Ohio (where her dad was a former Governor and where she was born and raised) and Sebelius is also pretty popular in Missouri too. I'm just saying.

lol

It's a big guessing game at this point, but I still think Hillary's delegates are well poised to spoil any choice Obama makes.

Obama, especially with his huge fundraising advantage is going to put lots of states in play that aren't traditional swing states. Even the head of Hillary Clinton's own polling company she hired to replace Penn (1) says that "Obama goes much further reaching into the independent and Republican vote, and has a greater chance of creating a new electoral map for the Democrats" (2).

Obama already has way more money and way more donors to tap for more. McBush and the GOP will probably have the money to run according to the old paradigm in the few key swing states that Clinton would have to, but they'll never be able to match Obama's advantage which is all over an ever changing map. Just like in the primaries where Obama has kicked Hillary's ass where she couldn't afford to compete, his general election campaign will run a national effort putting more states in play that McCain & the GOP will never be able to afford to.

1. http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1728594,00.html

2. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/us/politics/24clinton.html

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

Sam Hutcheson — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:42:41 -0000

Obama/Nunn puts GA, NC and VA into play. I'm just saying.

Re: Kathy vs. Webb

BillW — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:29:07 -0000

I have an inkling suspicion Obama may not be picking a VP anyway. Even if Hillary suspends her campaign in a week or so, campaigns alongside Obama until the convention like she has said she will, I think one of her delegates (Feinstein, Harman, etc have been agitating for a unity ticket) will nominate her for Veep instead of Obama’s pick on the convention floor, no choice of Obama’s would be able to get more votes than her. If Hillary's delegates want to, they can pretty easily force her way onto the ticket. Right now only Pat Buchanan has been saying she's going to do this, but it’s true, that’s how it works.

The last time the delegates tried to challenge a Dem Pres candidate's choice as veep was in 72 when the convention delegates almost defeated McGovern’s pick of Eagleton (1). Eagleton survived that chellenge, but just barely. It was temporary win though as party insiders leaked he was a drinker and has undergone shock treatments so he bowed out a week or so later.

Before that the last time the convention actually picked a Vice Presidential candidate was in 1956 when they chose Estes Kefauver as a veep for Adlai Stevenson (2).

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Democratic_National_Convention

2. http://hnn.us/articles/49971.html