The blue team convenes in Denver in 12 days. Predict Obama's veep in 1 guess.

[saltpoint]

Here are a few dozen names, roughly alphabetical. Summary material below.

We need to speculate the hell out of this subject because the chance won't come again for 4 years, maybe 8 years.

Make one guess.

1 Evan Bayh
2 Joe Biden
3 Michael Bloomberg
4 Barbara Boxer
5 Bill Bradley
6 Phil Bredesen
7 Jerry Brown
8 Sherrod Brown
9 Bob Casey
10 Betty Castor
11 Lincoln Chafee
12 Richard Clarke
13 Wes Clark
14 Max Cleland
15 Hillary Clinton
16 Mario Cuomo
17 Tom Daschle
18 Howard Dean
19 Chris Dodd
20 John Edwards
21 Chet Edwards
22 Russ Feingold
23 Dick Gephardt
24 Al Gore
25 Bob Graham
26 Mike Gravel
27 Chuck Hagel
28 Lee Hamilton
29 Tom Harkin
30 Gary Hart
31 Alexis Herman
32 Elizabeth Holtzman
33 Tim Kaine
34 Marcy Kaptor
35 Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
36 John Kerry
37 Dennis Kucinich
38 Blanche Lincoln
39 Claire McCaskill
40 Patty Murray
41 Janet Napolitano
42 Sam Nunn
43 Nancy Pelosi
44 Colin Powell
45 Jack Reed
46 Ed Rendell
47 Bill Richardson
48 Bill Ritter
49 Tim Roemer
50 Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg
51 Brian Schweitzer
52 Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
53 Debbie Stabenow
54 Chris Van Hollen
55 Antonio Villaraigosa
56 Tom Vilsack
57 Mark Warner
58 Henry Waxman
59 Jim Webb
60 Robert Wexler
61 Anthony Zinni

- - - -
This is a kitchen-sink list. Don't worry that some have said they're not interested, don't worry that others are running for something else, or that this one's too old or that one's too conservative or too liberal or otherwise remote or whatever. Just make your prediction for Obama's veep. One name.

Obama may already have made his choice. It's possible he has not, though. Either way, it looks as if the Obama team is keeping the name under lock and key, with plenty of impressive and showy public appearances with various possible contenders. Yet strangely ignoring other possible contenders.

The usual considerations obtain: Obama likely wants to like his vice president so they can work as a collaborative team. Maybe the pick ideally should suggest either military experience and insight or international affairs expertise. Maybe energy is going to be the defining economic trend. Maybe the economy is going to get worse and someone with a strong domestic/economic tilt is the stronger contender. Maybe Obama wants to choose a sage elder. Maybe a constitutional law expert. Maybe a young fireball. Maybe a female. Maybe a Governor. Maybe an ex-office holder with some clout. Maybe a loyal person also gifted in fund-raising. Maybe an attack dog to lay waste to McCain's & FOX News' lies. Maybe someone West of the Mississippi River. Maybe somebody back east. Maybe a Southerner. Someone bilingual. Someone inventive. Someone with a proven track record of supporting Democartic Party platform & core issues. Maybe someone who could put a red state in play. Maybe someone who appeals to independents, or to evangelicals, or to new voters to the process. Someone who's web savyy. Someone who can help with older voters.

Denver is August 25-28. I'm counting from tomorrow, the 13th to Sunday the 24th. 12 days.

At some point the Obama camp will announce the choice, possibly as late as the day or two before the convention, or possibly in ten minutes.

Give us one name. Predict the next Vice President of the United States.

[nicktom]

1. John Kerry n/t

[Laura PourMeADrink]

29. I would love that.

[YvonneCa]

38. Me, too. n/t

[musicblind]

50. Oh that would be a GREAT pick! n/t

[Marrah_G]

96. He is running for his senate seat and cannot run as VP at the same time.

[YvonneCa]

109. I know...

... :(

[Mother Of Four]

2. Clark n/t

[cliffordu]

14. Seconded

[toadzilla]

69. thirded

[dbonds]

3. 13

[Dinger]

4. Lucky 13: Wes Clark (nt)

[DJ13]

5. #2

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

6. Richardson

Though I'd be OK with Clark.

[DevonRex]

7. Clark. nt

[JeffR]

8. Sebelius.

Not my personal favorite or necessarily the optimum choice he could make, but that's my gut feeling.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

27. OMG. She is so boring. And it would be a total slap in H's face. No way

he is that dumb.

[JeffR]

54. I agree she's a severely dull speaker.

As I noted, she's not my personal choice, but picking a very effective and popular D governor of a red state who also happens to be a woman has much to recommend it.

As to it being a "Slap in H's face", it seems to me that what the Clinton candidacy at its best was all about was showing that the traditional American ad-hoc prohibition against women in higher office is absurd on its face. There are any number of talented, intelligent women more than capable of handling the duties of Veep, including Senator Clinton. Are you saying that there's only one woman in the party capable of the position?

[saltpoint]

57. I think she's on the short list, definitely.

She's come way up on people's radar in the Party for a while now.

The Renderer (post #53) says she's on the short list, and The Renderer would know.


:hi:

[JeffR]

65. My regards to The Renderer when you see him next, OC.

I'm not an unalloyed fan of Sebelius, but obviously she's been extraordinarily successful in a milieu most Democrats would write off as terra incognita.

It's very curious to me that a contingent exists out there that rightly decries the longstanding male/female imbalance in senior Executive Branch positions and wants such roles to be decided on a gender-blind basis, yet still insists than any woman chosen over HRC is somehow an insult to her and her followers. The argument from that cadre seems to be less about women's rights and more about some sort of reverse noblesse oblige.

[saltpoint]

68. Have to agree on all points. Actually, it's a

privilege to agree on all points.

Their argument does seem to wobble on a Hillary-or-Nothin' hinge, and that's the sort of argument that would drive anyone away from following politics, since ain't none of us gits our way all the time.

I thought for certain Al Gore would choose Kerry in 2000 when he up and picked Lieberman, and while I wasn't exactly hogwild about Lieberman, dear Christ of the Ozarks we had to throw in behind the ticket over the monsters on the other ticket.

Sebelius is intelligent, successful, and demur. She could walk into a roomful of older voters in Fort Lauderdale and calm a few fears and keep a few folks out of McCain's column.

Tonight I'm leaning toward Biden and Kaine as practical choices for Obama's themes, but if he phones me up personally, I think I'd go with Schweitzer. I may write to Schweitzer either way and ask if he'll give me his dog.

As always, it is a pleasure to see you on the boards, JeffR. A hug & a howdy.

[JeffR]

74. Back atcha, sir.

Biden and Schweitzer would definitely be good choices too. Kaine, I'm less sure about, though he has quite a track record.

BTW, Lauderdale's my hometown, though quickly abandoned and not much missed, and if Sebelius or any other VP nom could calm down some of the older folks there, then Florida's more than halfway to being won.

[saltpoint]

75. Lauderdale! By any chance at all do you remember a tv or radio

evangelist there called Brother David Eppeley?

He was of the deep-fried hellfire variety who sold "prayer cloths" to the faithful. This would have been in 1982 or 83 -- something like that. I lived for a spell in Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach. When the 9/11 attacks came I was less than a mile from the Panther Motel, where Mohammed Atta and a few of his pals spent their last week on earth before joining the 82 virgins up Yonder.

[JeffR]

77. Eppeley is after my time, but he sounds like a poster boy for "the new Florida".

From what I've read, Atta spent some time pre-acquainting himself with paradise, presumably at adult video stores and fast-food joints. Inshallah, I suppose...

[saltpoint]

81. LOL. Yes. A whopper and fries & some x-vids likely eased a little tension.

Truth be told, I partake of the same distractions prior to flying commercial jets into skyscrapers.

[FrenchieCat]

9. Not a damn clue!

:shrug:

[AtomicKitten]

10. I'm thinking Clark today.

tomorrow ... ?

[AtomicKitten]

113. Today I'm thinking Biden.

[tabatha]

11. Joe Sestak ?

[Happyhippychick]

12. I want Biden. He would be all over McWhine like a dog on a bone.

I fell in love when he said (of 9ui11ani):

"every sentence out of that man's mouth has a noun, a verb, and 9/11".

[Colobo]

13. I truly don't know.

[NYC_SKP]

15. Clark...

...among other reasons, he's the best cure for the "Obama's not American enough" theme that will be getting louder and louder and louder.

IMHO.

[Lisa0825]

16. Clark

I have been pulling for him ever since Obama wrapped up the nom. Great creds, and the fact that he was a staunch Hillary supporter, yet not disrespectful to Obama is also a plus.

[napi21]

17. I still think it's going to be Biden. I listen to all the BS that's bantered

on TV, and every once in a while someone says something that actually makes sense. If you narrow the list down to the current names being bantered, Kane, Bayh, Nunn, Reed, & Biden, there's ONE who can match McNuts on foreign policy, and is also one hell of a fighter. Joe has the ability to cut an opponent's jugular and they don't realize until later that it even happened! He has the aura of an elder statesman and would eliminate the "Inexperienced ticket" ads from the McNuts campaign.

I don't know any more than any of you do, but that's what I expect. We'll see.

[MercutioATC]

18. #51 - Brian Schweitzer

If we're really looking for change and we want to win in November, Schweitzer is our best choice.

[maui9002]

79. Still surprised he isn't mentioned more often

As soon as voters could see and hear this guy, they'd flock to him. More than any other candidate, he's authentic. Funny, straightforward, lived in and understands the Middle East (fluent in Arabic), understands farming policy, increasingly becoming an expert on energy policy, and enormously popular as Western state governor. May not be liberal enough for some, but he'll have great appeal to those we need to target most-independents, moderate Republicans, moderate Democrats, and working class Democrats in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. I also like Clark, but he can serve as Secretary of State or Defense. Schweitzer would be an out of the box pick, but I think he's the best qualified to help Obama win the election.

[jaysunb]

19. Why was my name omitted ?

:)

[saltpoint]

20. Because the OP is an effin' moran.

:hi:

[jaysunb]

78. heh heh...

:rofl:

:hi:

[mirrera]

21. Richardson. My guess since the beginning. n/t

[Laura PourMeADrink]

26. I love you

[Motown_Johnny]

114. Same here.. Obama/ichardson has been my dream ticket since Dec of 06

[flamingdem]

22. Biden nt

[kster]

33. Obama/Gore or Obama/Kucinich, Obama only has two choices

if Obama picks anyone of these two for his running mate Obama will automatically have the largest grass roots organization the likes that this nation has ever seen.

But don't take my word for it...



http://www.democrats.com/kucinich-wins-DFA-poll

:)

K&R

[flamingdem]

34. I like Kucinich, uh, it's just that his name is so hard to pronounce nt

[The Hope Mobile]

76. I don't know if it will be but I definitely believe it should be . . .

Clark

[proud patriot]

23. So many wonderful options

got to go with Schweitzer

But OMG would love it if it were to be Boxer.

[Zhade]

24. The only one I'd bet on? NOT clinton.

And thank goodness for that.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

25. O said, "YOU WON'T BE SURPRISED." What the hell

does that mean?

[saltpoint]

30. Beats me. But it sounds to me as if we will be surprised.

[flamingdem]

36. Maybe Bayh since that was leaked kind of n/t

[writes3000]

55. When, where and to whom did he say that?

[DianeG5385]

28. Clark

I hope Obama is that smart

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

31. Biden

[rockymountaindem]

32. Me

I'm likable, attractive, smart, dynamic, young, independent-minded and a sure-fire way to carry Colorado.

Too bad I'm not old enough :)

[DFLforever]

35. I'm predicting Tim Kaine

because Obama plans to double-down on Message and needs someone solid and reliable, who shares his thinking and goals and who will stay on topic.

He doesn't need someone to bail him out on foreign policy or national security. He understands those areas to be the President's and not the VP's responsibility.

My second prediction: whomever Obama has picked has already been informed.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

47. See, I know he know's what he is doing and he doesn't need

someone to sure up the military/foreign policy stuff -it is not me
he has to convince - it is that vast goup -- the average American.

Duh.

It's like he's thinking too far aheard of himself.

It's all about "Getting in the WH.", Stupid.

[DFW]

37. Alexander Throttlebottom

Oh, wait, he's not on the list.

OK, then Wes Clark.

[saltpoint]

40. A.T. WOULD have made the list, but the newly-publicized 3-way affair he's

having with Neil Diamond, Nancy Grace, and Kay Bailey Hutchison, in the opinion of this observer, dramatically lessened his chances.

[DFW]

42. In the old days, he would never have been caught so easily..........

[saltpoint]

44. LOL!

[rwheeler31]

39. Lincoln Chafee

[saltpoint]

72. i reflexively prefer a Democrat but . . . but . . .would greenlight

Chafee over Hagel, ovr Bloomberg, etc.

Chafee denounced the Republican Party, likely not caring for the suffocation rituals it puts its more independent thinkers through.

I'm thinking Obama will go with a Democrat, and in my blood and bones I want him to choose a Democrat.

[berni_mccoy]

41. Clark

[highplainsdem]

43. Clinton. If Obama is serious about uniting the party and winning in November.

[Zhade]

56. Once again: A MAJORITY OF REGISTERED VOTERS DO NOT WANT HER ON HIS TICKET.

He doesn't need her. The vast majority of her former supporters already support Obama.

[JoFerret]

87. Once again

shush child.

[Zhade]

116. I know, you'd rather ignore salient facts.

Can't indulge your willful ignorance, sorry.

People don't want her on his ticket. That's a fact.

[JoFerret]

120. Ah!The salient

91st anniversary.
Cheers.

[saltpoint]

58. Your response would work just as well if any number of other

Democrats' names were in the place of the lone Democrat you chose.

The tale tells us only one foot fits the glass slipper.

IMO it isn't Hillary Clinton's.

[SoCalDem]

45. anyone but Lieberman

:rofl:

[dontforgetpoland]

46. Sebelius.

It's not my favorite pick, but it seemed to be his pick all along.

[saltpoint]

64. They look impressive together, too.

I think she's a contender.

[Avalux]

48. Wes Clark n/t

[musicblind]

49. Hillary

There is always Mike Easley if your list is that long ;) lol


BUT, good list.

[Bullet1987]

51. He said he wants someone he can get along with

So I say Sebelius.

[mikehiggins]

52. Clark---I even still have my Clark Bar teeshirt

He trumps any "soft on Russia" charges. After all, according to the right wing press he almost started WWIII opposing them in Boznia. He's also one of the few US generals since WWII who actually "won" a war without getting one US soldier killed by enemy action.

Clark's virtues have been chewed over on DU for years. There should be nothing more to learn about him that we don't already know.

CLARK FOR V.P.--when you care enough to nominate the very best

[saltpoint]

92. I've read the blogsites' misgivings on Clark but still see zero reasons why

he wouldn't be on the shortlist.

Sure, he roughed up McCain. But McCain dishes it out as well, and the media never, ever hold McCain accountable for his incorrect statments. Clark is accurate nearly always and was accurate in that one example especially, while McCain is frequently and significantly wrong.

[saltpoint]

53. Met a guy in a dark parking garage after hours. Called himself the

Renderer.

He's not in the phone books, so don't look it up.

He appears like Hal Holbrook's Deep Throat figure, emerging from the shadows of a near-empty parking garage. Late. Well after hours.

And he feeds you information.

I listened as he spoke:

- - -

Your list is unwieldy. Narrow it to single digits. Then work from there.

Clark -- military muscle, good mind.
Kaine -- activates Virginia, service emphasis.
Biden -- global reach, Catholic subset in key districts.
Bayh -- corn-fed, scrubbed-clean, father of twins, personable.
Graham -- Intel Committee, lights up Florida, good with elder voters.
Richardson -- offers Obama an Energy New Deal, attracts Hispanic voters.
Sebelius -- blue gov in a red state, daughter of Catholic Democratic Ohio governor
Schweitzer -- longer-shot but pure as a mountain stream. Great dog.

- - -

I wanted to press The Renderer about other options, but when I looked up from my notes, he'd vanished into the shadows.

[bklyncowgirl]

93. Graham strikes me as a dark horse.

Obama needs help with older voters--Graham does that.

Obama was right on the war in Iraq. Graham would be a key person to help explain how we got into this mess in the first place and why McCain's judgment on this issue was flawed from the getgo.

I also like Richardson, Schweitzer and Sebelius.

[saltpoint]

94. I'm on board with all your picks, bklyncowgirl, and I've read enough

of your posts on DU to know you know whereof you speak.

Graham is a dark horse, agree, and I agee also that he might be just the right pick for Obama.

[bklyncowgirl]

99. Why thank you, wasn't there some sort of a deal in 04 that Graham was promised the VP spot by Dean.

Of course that burned out along with Dean's candidacy but I remember reading some theories about that.

Also, I can't see Obama choosing someone who was in favor of invading Iraq. He casts so much of his foreign policy street sense on his early opposition to the war that I can't see him choosing someone who had the same flawed judgment as McCain.

Of your list that knocks out Biden and Bayh who both voted for the war. Richardson was safely out of DC with a state to run and so, I think, was Sebellius. Kaine likewise does not have much of a paper trail on the issue. Schweitzer, if I remember correctly, was opposed. Clark and Graham were strongly outspoken and well informed opposition voices

Richardson, sadly, from his appearance on This Week last Sunday, has still not learned to project strongly on TV--too bad--he has the best foreign policy and energy credentials around. Schweitzer, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be taken seriously by the media and may come off as a bit eccentric in certain parts of the country. Since those parts of the country are ones where city boy Obama does well, I'd still give him a shot but it's a long one. Sebellius doesn't add any foreign policy heft and would a ticket of an African-American and a woman be too much change for middle America. Clark is regarded by the media as a walking gaffe machine for his knock on McCain's war experience--this particular political shot boomeranged on him. Graham hasn't been mentioned by the media. I suppose the only drawback against him is his age--It might look as though Obama needs to take his daddy along with him for his job interview, but he'd sure help in Florida.

I'm really wondering here, could it be Graham?

[saltpoint]

112. Graham holds some key cards in the poker game.

The strongest of these might be his service on the Intel Committee, but he remains quite popular in Florida and he would be a reassuring presence for older voters nationwide that "this new guy" is ok to support and believe in.

And for as long as I've followed him, he just doesn't shovel a lot of crap from anybody.

A Dean-Graham ticket in 04 would have been very interesting. It would have been yet another ticket so good that the Republicans would have to cheat it to beat it.

[nsd]

59. Bayh

[trackfan]

60. Gephardt

[cbc5g]

61. Bayh

[zulchzulu]

62. Chris Rock

It would actually be pretty cool.

K&R OC!

[saltpoint]

63. hi, zulchzulu.

Thanks for the kick.

Chris Rock. Well, hell, who knows?

I thought, had he lived, Flip Wilson -- as "Geraldine," would have been a good press secretary.

[gabby garcia]

66. 50

yeah - i know i'm dreaming.

gg

[saltpoint]

70. gabby garcia, you get no argument from me on that pick

at all, not ever, no matter what.

I think she's the best visible citizen we have.

[windbreeze]

67. Clark n/t

[LibDemAlways]

71. Clark. He has military credentials, foreign affairs

experience, and he doesn't currently hold elective office. Plus, he's not a professional politician. I think he'd be a great choice.

[tammywammy]

73. Bayh

[rufus dog]

80. Biden!

He has been very quite over the past 60 days. Obama said he will show us the Chicago Way! I think the heavy artillery is coming out!

[saltpoint]

82. It's very possible. I get a very favorable impression of the

Obama team and how they're running the show.

[jefferson_dem]

83. Kaine.

or Bayh.

[saltpoint]

I can see Obama making the choice of either -- Kaine because

I have a notion that service to others is going to be at the forefront of Obama's presidency. I think McCain is failing to get the big picture issues here and that service-to-others is one of the issues he's failing to get.

While McCain humps the international thing while getting entire countries' border wrong, Obama could make a strong case that service to others -- and both he and Kaine have gleaming records doing just that -- is the spine of citizenship.

Plus, Kaine is Catholic. There are a good number of Catholics on Obama's possible veep radar.

[MilesColtrane]

84. Wes Clark

The most balanced, logical choice...

[AlinPA]

85. 51. Brian Schweitzer.

[saltpoint]

86. Very few negatives to a Schweitzer pick, IMO, and loads of positives.

He is a refreshing damn soul if you ask me.

[AlinPA]

88. He's a "down to earth" fellow as we say in W. PA. He would appeal to a lot of people around here.

[saltpoint]

89. Agree. Schweitzer can walk into any venue and win people over.

A nursing home. A VFW hall. A 3rd grade schoolroom.

There's just a hell of a lot to like about the guy.

[Bucky]

90. Biden is the smartest move

But I'll take what I'm handed.

[saltpoint]

91. - - - -

:thumbsup: :hi:

[BklynChick]

95. Clark

[madwivoter]

97. Number 13: Wes Clark

But I did have a dream last night that I got a text from the Obama campaign saying "Kathleen Sebelius".

[yardwork]

98. Bob Graham. Wins Florida.

[gateley]

100. Biden. --

I think the events in Russia/Georgia have made the "maybes" you list less of a factor. They need to get someone on the ticket with FP chops who will help us win. I say Biden instead of Clark, because I think they don't want to open themselves up to the "Clark dissing McCain's service" crap that the Reps went to town with. I know it's BS. We all know it's BS. But the Reps would whip it into a frenzy again.

[SoxFan]

101. 62. Vermin Supreme

(This pic was taken less than a mile from my house...whoo hoo!)

[Alter Ego]

102. Richard Nixon's Corpse.

He's more liberal than McCain or the Republicans.

[MichDem10]

103. Biden - I hope

[harun]

104. 51 (n/t)

[TwilightGardener]

105. Bayh. The political calculus simply favors him.

[publicatlarge]

106. Wes Clark n/t

[DarthDem]

107. Al Gore

It just hit me the other night how much SENSE this makes.

So why not? I'll go with him for today. :-)

[Tektonik]

108. Wes Clark

[Erin Elizabeth]

110. That Bayh guy.

I don't know why, just a gut feeling, but I very much could be wrong. I'll tell you who I'm very sure it won't be: #15 on that list. I'll eat every purse I own if that happens. Piece by piece.

[apocalypsehow]

111. ABH. n/t.

[TexasObserver]

115. Joe Biden

[Pirate Smile]

117. Biden

[Alexander]

118. Lucky number 13: Wesley Clark.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

119. #1 Wes Clark, #2 Hillary

[hedgehog]

121. Someone in an executive position in public life who is not a politician.

Someone people could see as president, even though he or she hasn't been directly involved in politics. It won't be Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg or Marian Wright Edelman, but it will be someone of that caliber.

Change we can believe in!