VEEP, VEEP

As the long, arduous primary race has finally concluded on the left it is time to turn our attention to the candidates' first official act as leaders of their respective parties. Oftentimes the selection of a running mate serves as balancing of skills. Young paired with experienced (old just doesn't inspire as much confidence as experienced), domestic with international expertise, geographic considerations also come into play. It's all about making as many people as possible feel confident that a voice similar to their own will have the ear of the person sitting in the oval office.


Traditional campaign tactics would have John McCain select a running mate with a consistent conservative background in order to quell the fears of the base and ensure that he would win the votes of the religious right. I've heard on a number of news programs and read articles promoting this line of thinking. I think this is a horrible idea. This election can not be won using the Karl Rove playbook of 2000. Apathy will not reign supreme and invigorating your base will not be sufficient to win the Presidency. Gas is fast approaching $5, unemployment took an enormous leap, confidence in the banking industry is low and the war continues. Needless to say, people are looking for something different. Barack Obama modeled his entire campaign around one word: change. Whether or not he truly represents it is neither here nor there. He has been succesful by beating the drum of change for months. I would encourage John McCain to challenge Obama by actually representing change. I think he should select Sen. Joseph Lieberman from CT as his running mate. Lieberman is suffiently hawkish to fit in with the fundamental ideals of the McCain camp. This old running mate of Al Gore's from the 2000 election would signal an important change in the Republican party and would speak to the voters. The siren call of bipartisanship would speak to the undecideds and independents that may swing this election.

As for Barack Obama, I think that he should pull a page out of the land of Lincoln playbook and select his rival, Hillary Clinton, as his running mate. Most people don't fully appreciate the greatness of Lincoln. Sure he helped end slavery and was a tremendous orator, but what people don't realize is that he held the country and his administration together by including individuals who ran against him. Why? Because they were the best people for the job. His Sec. of Treasury, Salmon Chase, even ran against Lincoln in his election for a second term. This kind of behavior would immediately be met with a pink slip in today's world. Lincoln calmly held his position and refused to accept Chase's resignation as Secretary of the Treasury. That kind of equanimity is the change that this country craves. The fact that Obama and Clinton don't get along is not a concern to the American public. What is a concern is that Barack Obama is ambitious in his goals of alleviating the ills of the nation and surely could use the help. Whilst he is dealing with the poor economy and our poor foreign relations, how exactly does he intend on instituting a national health care plan that doesn't bankrupt the nation and actually works? Perhaps he should look to the person who spent the majority of her professional career working towards that very goal. Someone who already has a working relationship with the Senate (which is where the VP's office is located) and would be fully equipped to push the legislation. By pushing aside their differences they would represent change. I think Americans are looking for a change. They are looking for the end of cronyism. They are looking for qualified people to fill important positions in government. This certainly would count as change on that front.

If anything, this would make for terrific political theater. Just imagine Clinton and Obama standing shoulder to shoulder on stage smiling for the camera. Just imagine after the last eight years and think about a Republican and a Democrat sharing the spot light and the work load, fighting for a common goal. It would certainly make the TV studios happy. And after all, in this day and age, isn't that most important thing?