Who would Hillary Clinton likely choose as a running mate if she gets the Democratic nomination as expected?
It depends on what she feels she needs to augment her candidacy. Let's look back at a few past VP candidates. Each represents a different type of Veep that Hillary could be going for.1) Paul Ryan- Romney picked him as a governing partner, and he was also from a swing state. Possibilities along these lines include VA Senators (and both former VA Governors) Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, or former VA Senator Jim Webb. Non-Virginians could include Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet or CO Gov. John Hickenlooper. Not from a swing state, but former Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick would fit this category also.2) Joe Biden- Obama picked him to shore up an area where he was weak- Obama was a first-term Senator with little experience. Not a problem that Hillary is going to have.3) Sarah Palin- was largely picked as a youthful counterbalance and because she was a woman. For this type, let's look at young, non-white candidates to balance out the 69-yr old Hillary. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, HUD Secretary Julian Castro, and Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro are her main options here.4) John Edwards/George H.W. Bush- the also-rans to John Kerry and Ronald Reagan, respectively. Selected to "bring the party together" after they ran well in the primaries. Options here are Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley or Webb. 5) Jack Kemp- a conservative who helped balance out Bob Dole, a moderate. Hillary could selected a notable progressive, such as Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, or Minnesota Senator Al Franken.6) Al Gore- Bill Clinton selected another forty-something Southerner to "double-down" on his change message. In Hillary's case, she could achieve this by selecting a female vice president. Her best option here may be Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, with other options including New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan and Warren.I realize that was a lot of names. I think her top 5 options, in no particular order, are:VA Sen. Tim Kaine (swing state governing partner)HUD Secretary Julian Castro (Hispanic counterweight)Former MD Gov. Martin O'Malley (also-ran/progressive balance)MN Sen. Amy Klobuchar (double-down/progressive balance)Former MA Gov. Deval Patrick (governing partner)
Are John McCain and Sarah Palin really Saul Tigh and Laura Roslin from Battlestar Galactica?
McCain vs. Tigh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:John_McCain_official_portrait_with_alternative_background.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AGM-00789948085.jpg Pailn Vs. Roslin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Palin.JPG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mary_mcdonnell_cropped.jpg
Did John McCain help pave the way for Trump by picking Sarah Palin?
Original Question: Did John McCain help pave the way for Trump by picking Sarah Palin?To believe that, one would have to believe that Sarah Palin was a major contributor to McCain’s loss to Senator Barack Obama in 2008.Speaking only for myself, I find that contention rather implausible.What I do find plausible, however, is that Republicans will blame Senator McCain’s choice for his loss. These same Republicans genuinely find it difficult to believe that a majority of Americans preferred Senator Obama to be their President over Senator McCain, regardless of whom Senator McCain picked as his running mate.So did that “pave the way” for Trump?I do not see it.The people who constitute Trump’s base went apopleptic when the United States selected Senator Obama as their 44th President.It can almost be said that the Democrats did likewise when the country chose the Donald in 2016.Except that the country did not actually choose the Donald in the same way that the nation chose President Obama.President Obama earned solid majorities of the popular vote—but more importantly solid majorities of the Electoral College vote in both of his elections.The Donald earned less than 46% of the popular vote. He barely exceeded Senator McCain in that regard, and fell more than a full percentage point short of Governor Romney’s performance in 2012.In other words, President Obama, in his re-election bid, against a far better candidate than Trump, still secured a clear majority—51% of the popular vote and 61.7% of the Electoral Votes. That is, Obama exceeded Trump’s totals by more than 5% of both the popular and Electoral Vote totals.The People of the United States chose Barack Obama.They settled for Donald Trump.That fact infuriates many in the Republican Base.But it also shows the wisdom of never settling.
In the 2008 election, why did John McCain pick Sarah Palin to be his running mate?
Poor vetting.McCain had a lot of good options, but as has been pointed out, McCain was eager to shake things up and draw some demographic interest outside of “old white guy picks less old white guy”.Republican VP vetting used to be rather good. Find yourself an appropriate conservative anti- you who can be sold the the establishment GOP.William Miller in 1964Spiro Agnew, before his tax problems, in 1968.Bob Dole in 1976George HW Bush in 1980Jack Kemp in 1996The only blip in this period was Dan Quayle and the handlers managed to muddle him through the process.Then in 2000, the person in charge of vetting nominees, Dick Cheney, sold himself as the VP nominee to then Governor George W Bush and it was obvious vetting was over.You actually need to have someone sit with a briefing book and discuss policy differences between the potential VP and the candidate for POTUS. And that's gotta happen pre- announcement and pre-leaked announcement. You need to know ahead of time what problems and blowback you are going to have. Not possible blowback, likely and probable blowback.Palin's nomination was a fiasco on roll out and she was used to a very different pace in Alaska than in the lower 48.Ryan was less problematic but still problems persisted. Romney was used to being wealthy and free of the need for government intrusion into his financial life story; Ryan was the opposite - government assistance was the story of his success. Noblesse oblige meets smarmy know it all which was the rip on Romney as well.Pence was a great pick until you realized what a religious right politico he was and is. And the metrics were very bad, post announcement Trump wanted to know if he could dump Pence.
Democrats, what is your opinion of John McCain?
I am asking this question because I have seen a great deal of animosity directed at Conservatives lately related to their vocal criticism of McCain for his more liberal positions. Are you hoping that McCain will be the Republican nominee? Do you think that McCain would be the better choice out of the Republican candidates? If so, please explain your reasons why you feel this way. Be polite this is not intended as an attack.
For what reason is the vice presidency so lightly regarded now?
The Vice President's entire role is: 1) become President if the President dies, 2) preside over the Senate, 3) cast a tie-braking vote in the Senate. 4) help out with whatever the President lets him do. Presidents don't die in office very often, so role #1 is not very important. In practice, the Senate is actually run by the Majority Leader instead of the Vice President, so role #2 is a mere formality and not at all important. Most important Senate work is crafting legislation and voting in committees instead of voting on the Senate floor, and even then, the Vice President cannot vote to end a filibuster, which is realistically the only way to get something through the Senate anyway. Most of the Vice President's power comes from role #4. In other words, the Vice President's power is almost entirely dependent on the whim of the President.
Female president?? What the f**k?
Yes you are wrong. Unless you are referring to the current GOP
If John McCain had nominated Joseph Lieberman as his VP, would anyone of the left have had anything nice to say about that?
It would have been a bold but wasteful move on McCain’s part. Lieberman on the ticket would have pulled maybe Conn, and RI out of the Northeast, that a big electoral draw. It would have allowed McCain to lay claim to centerist, conservative Democrats, but on the other hand it would have incensed the evangelicals and right of center republicans. Which I think would have been a losing exchange for McCain. What McCain and his campaign needed was a moderate, centerist from a state with a lot of electoral votes.Personally I feel that if McCain had chosen Lieberman it would have been a big FU to the Republican Establishment. I think it would have shaken the Democrats to the core and forced them to recapture their centerist moderate voters. Perhaps even causing a different outcome of the election, however even if McCain had won, he would have been at war with the Republican Party. In essence a president without the backing of either political party.
If a candidate who holds an elected position, wins the primary for the Presidential race - do they lose their previous position? If they lose the Presidential race do they lose their previous position?
There are some states that say that a candidate cannot appear on the ballot for more than one position in the same year.(Even though, thanks to the weirdness of the electoral college, presidential and VP candidates aren’t, technically speaking, “on the ballot” at all. But that’s a quibble. :) )In those states, you could still run for president in the middle of a senatorial or gubernatorial term, but if your term ends in the same year as the presidential election, then you’d have to choose between running for president or running to maintain your current office.But in general, no, you don’t have to resign your current office just to run for president. Once elected president, you would then have to resign your current office. This is different from Parliamentary systems, in which the Prime Minister is always a member of Parliament, holding the two offices (executive and legislative) simultaneously.But the American system does not work that way. A President cannot simultaneously serve as Chief Executive and be a member of Congress (House or Senate) because it would violate separation of powers.Note that there is a fairly long tradition of senators and governor running for president or VP in the middle of their term. It is not limited to one party, but embraced by both major parties. For example, JFK, LBJ, Obama, John McCain, John Kerry, John Edwards were all senators who ran for one of the top jobs while still senator. And sitting governors include Jimmy Carter, Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Mitt Romney.