Vice Presidential Possibilities

As the Democrats struggle between the smooth-talking wonder-boy and the sharp-shooting former first lady, their big-name supporters sit nervously contemplating their political fortunes – and holding their tongues. Who are these people? We have compiled an extensive list and ranking (1 being weak, 10 being strong) of Vice-Presidential prospects for both parties including serious contenders as well as long-shots.

For The Democrats:

• Evan Bayh – Moderate US senator and former Governor of Indiana. He has plenty of foreign policy experience and a history of working across the aisle. His centrist image and wholesome Midwestern charm could help Obama, but unfortunately he endorsed Clinton already. (7)
• Joe Biden – One of Obama’s safest (but not soundest) bets: grounded, experienced and politically adept without stealing any thunder. Joe Biden has a hard time stealing his own thunder. (4)
  
• Michael Bloomberg – Who knows what Bloomberg wants to do these days? If he ran for president as a third-party candidate, he would be skewered by Republicans – and split the ticket. He would probably take Veep from anyone who offered it, left or right, since he has an inflated view of his popularity. Not a good pick overall. (2)
• Phil Bredesen – He’s a centrist and a popular governor of a southern state, and would make a great back-up prez. But he’s not a good long-term prospect for the Democrats (he’s 64 now), and probably wouldn’t take the offer anyway. (6)
• Wesley Clark – Either candidate will have to go up against McCain’s military experience. Having a 4-star general as your running mate could really help. Not only that, but he also has name recognition from his 2004 run and a solid political action committee. He has been campaigning here and there for Clinton. (7)
• Chris Dodd – Smart move for any candidate wanting to add a Warren G. Harding lookalike to the ticket. Dodd is competent but would add little to any general election. But a safe choice nonetheless. (3)
• Mike Easley - Catholic Governor from North Carolina. His mixed fiscal record and pro-life stance may work in the south, but might not go over as well with Obama’s base of “latte liberals.” (5)
• John Edwards – The charismatic former VP candidate seems to have little interest being VP in 2008, but has yet to rule it out completely. For now, he has remained on the sidelines for fear that he will pick the wrong candidate and lose his chance to be Attorney General, which would probably suit him better anyway. In any case, two senators on the same ticket would not be a smart choice for either candidate. (5)
• Russ Feingold – The senator from Wisconsin has flirted with a presidential run in the past, and would likely take the job. His progressive credentials are unrivaled throughout his career: he was the only senator to vote against the USA Patriot Act, he fought actively to end the Iraq war, he favors universal health care and has remained adamant in his opposition to most of President Bush’s right-wing policy initiatives. Sadly, he lacks charisma though. (4)
  
• Al Gore – Gore seems to relish being on the sidelines of politics, but he now prefers to be the owner than the backup quarterback again. More likely to be appointed Ambassador to the World. And he would upstage Obama with his recent string of saint-like awards and accolades. (1 for Clinton, 2 for Obama)
• Tim Kaine – The governor of Virginia would be a very strong choice for either Clinton or Obama. He’s popular, young, and presides over a southern state that is now ripe to be recaptured by Democrats in the general election. And he would probably take the job. Ties Kathleen Sebelius (below) for best pick overall. (10)
  
• Bill Nelson – Florida Senator and former astronaut. A conservative democrat who has threatened to bring a law suit against the DNC if they refuse to seat the Florida delegates. Probably not at the top of Obama’s list, but could be handily rewarded if he gives Florida to Clinton. (3)
  
• Ed Rendell – Former 2nd lieutenant in the Army Reserve, DA and mayor of Philly, and current Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell brings a lot to the table, but doesn’t aspire to be Number Two. He endorsed Clinton, which will help her in Pennsylvania, but his usefulness in this race probably ends there. (4)
• Kathleen Sebelius – The Kansas Governor’s endorsement of Obama puts her near the top of his VP list. She is a popular governor of a red state which has symbolic value as the “heartland” and would serve him well in swing states such as Colorado, Ohio, Wisconsin and Missouri. Having a woman on the ticket would also increase the perception of making history and help him shore up the white woman vote. (10)
• Ted Strickland – The Ohio governor, who supports Clinton, told Fox’s Chris Wallace he is not interested in being VP. Not a strong candidate either way. (2)
• Tom Vilsack – The popular governor of Iowa dropped out of the 2008 presidential race early and became national co-chair for Clinton’s presidential campaign. He would be an option if Clinton was to pick up the nomination. (6)
• Mark Warner – Until he announced he was running for US Senate in 2008, there was a lot of talk about Warner taking at shot at the presidency. He is a conservative democrat who could help swing red Virginia blue in the general election and would be a huge draw for either Clinton or Obama.
  

On the Right:

• Haley Barbour – Governor of Mississippi and successful former RNC chair – Barbour is qualified to be VP and has reached his term limit as Governor. His former lobbying days would be a huge liability for McCain at this point.
  
• Michael Bloomberg - Billionaire Bloomberg would help McCain in the business community, but his positions on abortion, illegal immigration, and gay marriage would further alienate the constituencies he is trying to unite. (3)
• Jeb Bush – We believe W’s kid brother is going to wait four years to run: just when America is ready for another President Bush. For now, the country is sour on his surname, so he remains a lousy choice for McCain. (1)
• Chris Cox – Chairman of the SEC and US Representative from California. MBA and JD from Harvard, where he also taught a class on federal income tax. Beyond knowing the economy, he also chaired the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Select Committee on US National Security. (8)
• Charlie Crist - Governor of Florida and former state attorney general during the Terri Schiavo mess. More useful for his geographic location than his experience.
  
• Jim DeMint – Free-Market loving Senator from South Carolina. Believes gays and single mothers should not teach in public schools, and WMDs will still be found in Iraq. (5)
• Steve Forbes – Former presidential primary candidate and billionaire. Forbes has the fiscal knowhow, as well as the social conservatism. He is a proponant of the Flat Income Tax that Huckabee has been getting applause for throughout his campaign, and would help McCain among checkbook conservatives. (4)
• Rudy Giuliani - “The National Security Ticket” would be an oversell in a general election occurring in an economic downturn. The former New York mayor has proven that his campaigning and fundraising talents are thin at best. (2)
• Phil Gramm – Former Texas Senator who would make the fiscal conservative and small government crowd happy. (3)
• Frank Keating – Former FBI agent, Oklahoma Representative, Oklahoma Senator, United States Attorney, United States Associate Attorney General, and the only two-term Republican Governor of Oklahoma. He was considered for VP and AG under President Bush. (6)
• Joe Lieberman – Getting a Democratic senator on board would signal to John McCain’s opponent that he is competing for the center. Lieberman does not appeal to any constituency McCain needs though. McCain is happy to have the support of a Democratic traitor, and did little to dispel rumors that he is considering the match-up. But it would undoubtedly be dubbed the “Old White Men” ticket if Obama becomes the Democrats’ choice, and Joe Lieberman holds no loyalties outside his home state. (3)
• Mike Huckabee - He’s doing McCain a huge favor right now by keeping him in the headlines, even if he’s taking away votes. His campaign took a less serious turn when he delivered a paid speech in the Cayman Islands, and it now appears he is just holding out because he’s got nothing better to do. In any case, he is a great orator with a quick wit that appeals to both conservatives and centrists and would be a powerful weapon to draw Christians in purple states to the voting booths. (8)
• Kay Bailey Hutchinson- Experienced conservative female Texas Senator with name recognition. Big oil and gas would love to have her in office once Bush and Cheney are gone. (7)
• Tim Pawlenty – Young blue collar Washington outsider who has been at McCain’s side from the beginning. He could balance out the old stuffy image McCain epitomizes. (6)
• Mike Pence – Popular mid-west congressman known for his support of tax cuts, and anti-”socialized medicine” stand.
• Robert Portman – Former Director of the Office of Management and Budget, United States Trade Representative, and U.S. Representative from Ohio. Portman is young, has solid fiscal conservative credentials and endorsed McCain in Ohio. Portman currently holds no public office and would jump at the opportunity to be VP. (9)
• M. Jodi Rell – Popular female Connecticut Governor that upset some of her party by signing a law allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil unions.
• Mark Sanford - Relatively unknown outside of South Carolina, Mark is a darling of the Christian right. He is a bookish young conservative who can talk about the environment and has endorsed McCain in the past.

*This post will continue to be updated at our fancy new site* www.civilmass.com

 

We want to hate polls. They’re inaccurate and they serve the fleeting purposes of network news channels, as well as CNN, which ran an add for tonight’s Democratic debate depicting the civil interaction as a football match.

But we love them all the same, especially when they bear good news. Obama is down just 4 points right now, and we’ve still got 4 days to go before Super Tuesday!

Reasons why Massachusetts should choose Barack Obama to be our next president: he’s got integrity; he’s super smart; he opposes the insurance mandate, which obviously lines the pockets of insurance companies instead of helping anyone ever. Also, he got Kennedy, Kerry, Deval and a host of congressmen on his side. He’s also presidential: he’s got charisma and a vision for changing Washington.

And here’s something we Democrats often forget: it matters that he’s a faithful family man. People elect presidents to be inspired, and so that their children can aspire to something great. More to come when I’m not being attacked by rabid PBS monsters.

Obama’s Challenge

Bill Clinton has taken the past week to simmer over his negative effect on his wife’s campaign to make him president again. Given his incredible ability to anger touchy liberals with a sense of right and wrong, what is his proper role in his wife’s campaign? We’re looking at it: don’t be the candidate. Give talks that bore people, like you were doing before you decided to go all rabid wolf on members of the press who DARED ask questions.

But Obama’s challenge is fraught with difficulty. That endorsement he picked from Kennedy’s grave was very important, and now he needs three people to endorse him before February 5: John Edwards, some important black general we all like to feel good about, and of course: A-1 Gore. He’s probably working on them all right now, but some armchair strategizing never hurt anyone.

Let’s start with Colin Powell. Even though he angered aforementioned touchy liberals when he displayed claymation powerpoint slides to demonstrate Iraq’s 100% definite nuclear ambitions, he is still respected by both parties, and would be a great asset. If he continues gushing about Obama, he’ll have a similar effect. He’s not going to endorse Barack though, because politics is “not in my blood.” What a man.

A-1 Gore definitely wants to be vice-president. We all know it. DAMN, Obamanation: that would be a fine endorsement. And it’s not the same as his endorsement of Dean: he actually means something to people now (that he has a shiny Oscar).

And finally: John Edwards, you slick bastard. You stay in long enough to control 56 delegates or whatever and you become this huge power broker. You REALLY want to be president. Here’s my bet: Edwards picks Obama on Saturday, gives the big O a chance to pick up just under half the delegates on Feb 5, and the race continues. What fun!

The Audacity of Bill

For anyone who had any lingering fantasy that Bill and Hillary Clinton would reject, on principle, a dirty “win-at-all-costs” approach to this primary, the past month has killed the dream. The Clinton machine’s underhanded attacks on Barack Obama have shown once and for all that the royal couple care more about their collective re-ascension than the fate of our nation. They have treated Obama with contempt and indignation not for his shortcomings but for their own sense of entitlement. And they have driven a wedge into a party that even three weeks ago seemed willing to accept an extension to the Clinton Era. If Barack Obama can shake off their odious assaults and walk away with the nomination, it will be a victory for the politics of unity, change, and yes, hope.

Indeed, we Democrats have been holding onto a false hope of our own: that Bill Clinton had transcended the tarnish and shame he once brought to our party and country. That his philanthropic efforts were sincere, and that he had permanently sheathed his infamous wagging finger. What fools we have been. It seems that even when we are ready to suspend our criticism for the sake of unity, Bill Clinton has some new brand of deceit in store for us. Not only does his spate of recent prevarications hurt the party, they also undermine the chance for our country to put the disgrace of George W. Bush behind us once and for all. Whoever gets the nod on the Democratic side, rest assured the Republicans have enough video footage of Bill Clinton’s angry tirades to bludgeon their opponent in November.

The Clinton strategy now is to minimize their dramatic defeat in South Carolina, play up the issue of race to scare whites into a backlash, and keep Obama on the ropes about his supposed lack of experience. It is also to pray that their vast web of support, from local captains to state officials to loyal opinion leaders, proves more durable than their opponent’s Kennedy-esque message of unity. But the cracks are starting to show. John F. Kennedy’s own brother Edward and his daughter Caroline have both endorsed the upstart over the Inevitable One. Al Gore seems intent on keeping mum, which is itself a rebuke to both Clintons. And Obama’s landslide in South Carolina, a state notorious for its dirty politics, showed that the citizens of that state truly desire a new direction.

Democrats are rightly tiring of the thrust of the Clinton argument. They are coming to realize that Hillary’s claim to experience is far outweighed by her overweening siege mentality, and that her claim to represent change – thirty-five years of it – is itself a fairy tale. They are seeing that this is a race pitting authenticity and vision against institutional clout. And they are finally accepting that the Clinton running for president has no intention of breaking from the divisive tactics, including outright lying if necessary, espoused by her husband throughout his adult life.

If winning matters more to the Clintons than running a dignified primary against a fellow Democrat, the party faithful across the country are right to ask why their message even matters. Who knew when this began that Bill Clinton, the fabled but forgiven sinner, would re-enter the political fray as his wife’s Karl Rove? Who knew he would abandon his exalted status as statesman-in-chief in favor of rolling around in the mud, and slinging the stuff at a man with a visible disdain for dirty politics? If this couple hold themselves up as “experienced” agents of “change,” we should reconsider what those flash words really mean.

Some Democrats are not yet satisfied with Obama’s message, asking as they did of Gary Hart in 1984, “Where’s the beef?” That’s fair. But the Clintons have proven in the past three weeks that their cut of beef is old, dry and overly seasoned. They have proven they are committed to reliving old glory, which was no glory at all. And they have proven that theirs is a small vision, rife with acrimony, pugilistic toward shadowy foes, and bad for both party and country.

(c) CivilMass

Mitt McRonPaulabee Debate under shadow of Reagan

9:15 pm — McCain is a crazy maverick psycho. Romney’s slick but he’s right about executive experience. Takes fair shot at senators being in committees but governors leading organizations.

9:11 pm — Why the hell isn’t Huckabee winning? McCain looks strange from the side. Reagan’s library is fun. Romney says Putin is troubling.

9:05 pm — Romney accuses McCain of “Washington style old politics.”

9:01 pm — McCain steals Christmas, Romney saves it.

9:00 pm — Romney getting some good hits in. McCain’s got a shit-eatin’ grin on his face and getting boos for his attacks. See picture below.

Debate:

McCain’s got a spring in his step.

Huckabee’s wearing a good tie.

Ron Paul is still in this thing, prompting everyone to utter a collective, “Why?”

Mitt’s still slick. Mitt is soooo slick. Anyone who can have that many good-looking sons has done something right. How the hell is he losing to McCrazy?

Obituaries: John Edwards & Ruby Something

Top five things Edwards brought to this campaign:

1. Talk about poverty. I know it’s gauche to think about poor people in most circles, but John Edwards took a route that was almost guaranteed to turn about 80% of people off. The remainder? College students, people from Cambridge and Berkeley, and of course actual poor people.

2. Obvious passion. The problem was that his “two Americas” bit resonated with more people than his “eliminate poverty” platform.

3. Wrench in the gears.

I’ve run out of two more. He is a very wealthy man talking about the concerns of very poor people. That’s strange, even if it’s sincere. I’m not saying you can’t care if you’re rich. To the contrary: plenty of rich people have done plenty of very good things in this world. But John Edwards takes a special self-righteousness… I don’t know, maybe he’s alright. He sticks his tongue out like he’s a snake though. He’s obviously skimped on PR.

In reality, you can’t run for president forever. We don’t like that because we want to believe the destiny track, we want to believe there were greater forces at work than self-advancement. Say what you will about his authenticity, he couldn’t get his plane off the ground because his ambition was premature. He lost his senate seat because he ran for President, then he lost his presidential bid because nobody really knows what he’s been doing besides running for president these last four years.

The base of the Democratic party wants a hero, but they’re like Republicans: they also want a winner. John Kerry was neither, and Edwards wanted to be both before reality permitted.

State of McCain

(FABULOUS!!!)

John McCain, for all his weirdly charming ways and self-immortalizing (and probably well-deserved) legacy, represents a return to some undefined, atemporal past. He’s seventy-one years old, meaning he graduated high school in 1954. That’s more than a half-century ago.

But that’s not really it. His mother, at 95, is as sharp as ever, and her boy could do just as well to retain his mental faculties. The problem with John McCain is that nobody who knows his story can really think about him clearly.

Let me put it this way: I’m a Democrat. The last Republican I would have voted for was Teddy Roosevelt, the turn-of-the-century’s Al Gore. But I deeply admire John McCain. If we are to believe the legend (and there’s no reason not to), the man voluntarily remained in a communist prison instead of being released because of his connections. This is something few of us self-obsessed post-hippies in Gen Y can understand. When was the last time you were at a cocktail party and someone says, “So I had just broken half the bones in my body after being shot down above Hanoi…”

The point is this: nobody can think clearly about John McCain. It’s always going to be prefaced by some great praise. And he knows this. He knows his service is a thick layer of armor, and that, at the end of the day, is why he’s going to be the Republican nominee for president.

So in anticipation of the general election, a few observations about John McCain’s weaknesses.

1. Since his legend is never going away, his credibility on national security is probably never going away either. But while we all want someone strong, do we really want a “maverick” in charge of our nuclear arsenal? Reagan’s “the bombing starts tomorrow” doesn’t compare to the genuine craziness of McCain. “Bomb bomb bomb…” Note: Republicans still love a cowboy. Tough call. Question is: how do you get at McCain on foreign policy when he’s so wrapped up in myth?

2. He’ll make the crazy 30% of the electorate controlled by Ann Coulter campaign for Hillary.

3. He hates, and is hated by, the very people that put Bush in office twice.

4. There is no 4.

5. There is no 5. He’s a pretty damned strong candidate. But he’ll be SEVENTY TWO! And he needs a nap.

WWJED

Edwards’s decision to drop his 2nd (and most likely last) presidential bid will test his sincerity. After months of campaigning against “corporate greed” and the lobbyists whose “money controls Washington”… could he in good conscience endorse Hillary over Obama? If he does, will his supporters listen? Lets hope not.

Obombs

Obama was asked super irrelevant questions about whether he told Hillary to talk to the hand. The media play such an important role in our political process… without them, public debates would be such dry, boring affairs about ISSUES and PROBLEMS that affect all Americans.

Obama Endorsed

Today, Obama picked up the San Francisco Chronicle, three Kennedys, and Rep. Xavier Becerra. Bill Clinton laid low for a while.