Senator Sunshine vs Tricky Dicky

[Finch]

Now that would be a debate I would pay to see… a man who was formally one of this nations most gifted courtroom performers vs. a man who’s one of the GOP most able debaters, despite being in many people’s minds synonymous with the shady, corrupt side of this administration.

First why not Clark?

Clark is bad on TV, he's got better, but with Kerry on the ticket you need charisma.

Clark claims to have moderate positions, but he has never been "put on the spot" and told to vote in congress, so we have no concrete way of knowing if he is a moderate or not. Added to this the only concrete position he has taken is he opposes the war, which is a positions (wrongly imho) associated with the left...

Clark could so easily be caricatured as a flip-flopper, even more so, having supported Bush and the GOP, then his quasi-conspiracy theories after 9/11.

Sorry, but Wes is many things and would be good in a cabinet... but as a debater he was uninspiring (if improving) there where three great debators in the priamreis Edwards, Sharpton and Lieberman with Kerry and Gephardt in the second tier... and beyond that he never appealed to independents and moderates in the same way as Edwards nor did he ever instil such enthusiasm amongst the broader elecotarte for any extended period of time as did Edwards.

So how do we find a VP for Kerry?

To find a VP you just need to identify Kerry's weaknesses...
1.) Charisma (he's dull)
2.) Liberal (His voting record is Liberal)

So this leads me to think to compensate for these deficiencies, we need a charismatic, moderate or populist... Edwards is the obvious choice, however Edward's very charisma could be a problem for Kerry, that's why I think that Mark Warner would be the obvious second choice.


So Why Edwards for VP?

As i have said Kerry’s two big weaknesses are his liberal voting record and his rather dull speaking style… yes at times he can become animated and engaging…but lets be honest that is very much the exception rather than the rule. Edwards more than any other candidates for the VP spot addresses these weakness in an amazingly direct way, he is charismatic and likable and can frame arguments in a very clear manner (far better at it than Kerry) added to this Edwards has a moderate to populist record and he is popularly perceived as a moderate populist by most people who are aware of him. Clark on the other hand is perceived purely as anti-war and by association leftwing (unfair yes but true). Edwards on the ticket would provide a potentially very significant boost for Congressional and Senatorial candidates in the south and other competive regions of the country, Clark offers no such boost. So to but it simply Kerry is seen as a dull, dourer, liberal, Edwards is perceived as a happy, charismatic, moderate populist what better fit for Kerry? Kerry can be rambling and boring, Edwards is usually charismatic and inspiring… what does Clark bring apart from an A4 sheet of medals, a faltering speaking style, weak debating style and no proven ability to win votes or to campaign effectively (in fact the opposite)… Sorry but it has to be Edwards.

Don’t get me wrong put Clark in the cabinet have him as an advisor… get him and Richard Holbrooke to lead the campaigns foreign policy effort and send them both round the tv networks and talk shows… but do no put Clark on the ticket.