But first, a Timely Digression/Regression.
On February 17, in post #7 I talked about the Democratic governors who might be considered as VP candidates to run with Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton. Associated Press writer Liz Sidoti discusses six Democratic governors (published on Saturday, Feb. 23).
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[quoting from Sidoti's article:]
1. Janet Napolitano, Arizona. Age 50, she has proven that she can attract independents and crossover Republicans. In any other year, she could help Democrats capitalize on a changing Southwest. This year that would be tough; McCain is an Arizona senator. But she backed Obama and he might find it advantageous to choose a woman if he wins the nomination.
2. Kathleen Sebelius, Kansas. She knows how to win — twice — in a state that's solidly Republican in presidential elections, which could help the Democratic nominee expand the playing field. Age 59, she has a moderate image and is politically savvy. She's another woman who backed Obama and campaigned for him.
3. Bill Richardson, New Mexico. He ran for president this year but dropped out after poor showings in a celebrity-packed field. A Hispanic who is 60, he appeals to an up-for-grabs constituency in a politically shifting region. He has foreign policy experience.
4. Ted Strickland, Ohio. A big-time Clinton backer, he probably would only be considered for the slot if she wins the nomination. Strickland, 66, had a generally moderate voting record in Congress, and could help deliver the pivotal state for her.
5. Tim Kaine, Virginia. He's another Democrat who ran as a moderate and proved he can win in a state that leans Republican in presidential elections. Virginia, too, is a potential swing state that he could help turn Democratic. Kaine, 49, backed Obama early.
6. Joe Manchin, West Virginia. This first term governor, 60, is popular in the state, and could help put a state that Bush won twice into the Democratic column. He is known nationally for his legislative efforts following several deadly mine accidents.
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Sidoti maintains that a governor would make a good running mate because the governor has “management experience” that the senators running as the presidential candidates don’t have. That’s a good point. But not good enough. Members of the cabinet can be managers; presidential advisors can be managers; hell, managers can be managers. Besides, no Vice President is going to “manage” a president. Oh. Wait….
Before I move on to the Senators, Part 2, let me comment why I think that four of Sidoti’s ‘nominees’ probably wouldn’t work out for the Democrats.
Napolitano and Sebelius because they’re women, and the Democrats will have either a minority or a woman at the head of the ticket. Somewhere in there they need a white male. Too bluntly stated on my part? Sure. But let’s be honest about what we're probably asking the American voting public to accept: either an African American or a female to be president, when we’ve never had either nominated at the head of a major party ticket? Add a female in the VP slot (or, if HRC gets the presidential nomination, two females on the ticket)? I don't think so. I’m hoping, Hoping, HOPING that our country is ready for an African American or a female to be our president; I’m not willing to push the envelope all the way to the edge. If we do, John McCain will be the next president. He may be, anyway, but let’s at least have a fighting chance.
Richardson and Strickland were on my post #7 lists. Richardson is eminently qualified but would bring only five electoral votes with him. Strickland might help carry Ohio, as might the state’s Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown (see below in the main body of this current post); neither would provide much geographical diversity but, if either can carry Ohio for the Democrats, who cares?
Neither Tim Kaine (Va) nor Joe Manchin (WVa) made the cut onto my VP list, not through any failings of their own, but because I had other, in my view stronger, possibilities. If we’re going to make a play for Virginia’s thirteen electoral votes, I think Sen. James Webb (see below) would make a stronger candidate; and West Virginia (like New Mexico) has only five electoral votes.
Any one of my five choices below is more likely to bring more electoral votes to the Democratic column in November, than are Kaine and Manchin.
And that’s my goal in this blog: to examine how the Democratic ticket can get 270 electoral votes. It ain’t sexy, but it's practical, and the more I learn about John McCain’s proposed policies, the more I realize a Democratic victory in November is very necessary.
End of digression/regression.
At least four of the following senators (and possibly all five) could provide a major boost to the Democratic ticket in November. Their records in elected office portray them as moderates, centrists, whatever it is in the middle of the political spectrum; and they have shown surprising strength in their political races, even though one of them actually won very narrowly (against an incumbent who put his foot in his mouth, in a state that dubya had won two years earlier, 54% to 46%).
(1) Evan Bayh may be from Indiana, but he’s no(e) Dan(e) Quayle(e). dubya won Indiana very easily--60% to 39%--in 2004. Evan Bayh is former governor of the state, and is the son of Indiana’s former senator, Birch Bayh, a progressive Democrat in the 1960s and ‘70s. Evan Bayh is in his second term as senator, but it’s hard to tell what he has actually accomplished. His website is surprisingly unsubstantial: ‘Senator Bayh has helped with this, and participated in that’ sort of listings. So I might add, “And he’s no Birch Bayh either.” Nonetheless, he’s from a state that would go a long way toward putting a Democrat in the White House if it could go blue in November. And Bayh looks the part of a VP. Too superficial? Of course. And he might not work as VP candidate if Obama becomes the presidential nominee—too geographically close; besides, Bayh has already endorsed Hillary. Nonetheless, I’m having trouble getting past the thought of Indiana’s eleven electoral votes possibly in the Democratic column. Bayh does present a potential logistical problem for the Democrats if he runs for VP and is elected: Mitch Daniels, the Republican governor of Indiana, would appoint a Republican as the replacement senator. So, unless the Democrats pick up additional Senate seats, they could actually lose the slim Senate majority they now enjoy.
Give me a minute; maybe I’ll get past my consideration of Evan Bayh…. Nope, I didn’t. Bayh is a dark horse VP candidate, especially should HRC get the nomination.
(2) As I mentioned in discussing the governors, the Democratic national convention is in Colorado this year, and the governor is a Democrat. So is one of the senators, Ken Salazar, elected in 2004. His political positions are all over the map—strong national defense and homeland security, economic opportunity, agriculture, health care affordability, protecting the environment. In other words, he seems to average out as a centrist. And he might be able to bring some of the Rocky Mountain states into the blue column.
(3) Lordy lordy, but I hate to bring up Florida, given its 2000 debacle. “If you like the way we vote, you should see us drive!” was one of the many jokes that came out of that election. dubya was another, but much less funny. Still, I have to bring Florida to the blog, and with good reason. Senator Bill Nelson describes himself as “a principled family man, a staunch advocate for all Floridians and a moderate voice in the increasingly partisan world of national politics.” His position as a political moderate is reinforced by his being a member of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council
Even before being elected to the Senate in 2000 (and certainly since then), he has worked to prevent oil drilling off Florida’s coast; he has worked to insure that veterans and their spouses get the benefits and health care they deserve; he has worked to provide Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors at a government-negotiated lower cost from the drug companies. His support of veterans and senior citizens are virtuous positions, and he has at least one additional advantage: in January 1986, Bill Nelson spent six days orbiting Earth as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Columbia. So he really can claim to have a global view of what's going on. Literally. He may not be John Glenn, but he’s got a lot of strengths that can help the Democratic ticket. And he would provide a big boost in an important state that could, once again, swing the election.
One potential problem: the governor of Florida is a Republican who, should Nelson become VP, would appoint a Republican senator, possibly eliminating the Democratic majority in the Senate.
(4) This would not be a problem if Jim Webb of Virginia were the VP nominee. Tim Kaine, the governor of Virginia, is a Democrat (is that POSSIBLE??), and would appoint a Democrat. dubya won the state in 2004 by more than a quarter million votes, and I remember the ultimately joyous near-all-nighter I pulled to watch Webb defeat the self-besieged George Allen in 2006.
Webb has many strong attributes that he could bring to the Democratic ticket in November if he were to be nominated as VP. To some degree, he could counter John McCain. Webb is a Naval Academy graduate; he was first in his class of 243 at the Marine Corps Officers' Basic School in Quantico, Virginia; and he served with the Fifth Marine Regiment in Vietnam. Webb received his J.D. at Georgetown University Law Center in 1975, and has extensive experience with Veterans Affairs.
But there’s another side to Jim Webb that I find particularly appealing: he’s literate. He has written eight books, “including six best-selling novels, and has worked extensively as a screenwriter and producer in Hollywood. He taught literature at the Naval Academy…, has traveled worldwide as a journalist, and earned an Emmy Award…for his PBS coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut.” He was an embedded journalist in Afghanistan in 2004; he is an original co-sponsor of bills pertaining to “stronger ethics rules, prescription drug pricing negotiations, the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, stem cell research, energy/global warming, college affordability and rebuilding the military” (quoted from his website).
In other words, he’s a Renaissance Man. I think he would be a tremendous asset to the Democratic ticket.
On the down side, he presented the Democratic response to one of dubya’s speeches last year, and wasn’t energizing. But he was thrust into that artificial situation early in his senatorial career. Senator Webb can be worked with in his speechifying, as President Eisenhower was many years ago when it was obvious that Ike had trouble expressing what were actually pretty intelligent thoughts.
(5) Sherrod Brown was elected to the Senate from Ohio in November 2006, defeating the Republican incumbent 56% to 44%. That is a very impressive win in a state whose citizens, two years earlier, had trouble touching the voter-screen, much less voting intelligently. Seriously, at 55 years old Brown has a long and popular history in Ohio, and could be a great asset to the Democratic ticket. If one looks at his accomplishments in his several elected offices, one would think he’s an Eagle scout. And, actually, he is. If BO heads the ticket, having two candidates from the Midwest would not provide geographical diversity, but Brown looks like a centrist to me, and clearly appeals to “middle America.” If Brown were to become VP, Democratic governor Ted Strickland would appoint a Democrat to replace him, thus protecting the party’s very slim majority in the Senate (even if they don’t gain seats in November).
These last three blog-posts (#7,8,9) contain discussions of possible VP candidates on the Democratic ticket from among current Democratic governors and senators. I invite your ideas and comments. The next post will discuss a potential problem that can arise from the currently scheduled national conventions of both major parties.
triton
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