Positive VP thread - name your top choice and give your top reason for that choice

[mvd]

Try to keep your positive reason from having a negative on another VP candidate.

I feel that Clark would help round out the ticket with foreign policy experience. You know the RW will try to keep the focus off of domestic issues, so Clark is a buffer.

[scheming daemons]

1. Schweitzer..... because he's EXACTLY what we need

An outsider who says the right things, can appeal to independents, can pick off a red state (albeit small), and would impress the hell out of the American people.

[AlinPA]

29. Schweitzer would help in ND,SD,CO,NM,AZ, IA,IN,OH,PA. He is a down-to-earth guy

who would kick republican ass.

[Skwmom]

32. Don't forget WV. He would deliver WV with the coal issue.

[AlinPA]

38. Yes. He knows that topic and how to sell it. Cleanup after mining.

[Sparkly]

2. It's hard without balancing out negatives.

I say Clark because he's heavy on positives and light on negatives. He's got the military and foreign policy creds to take on McCain, and he doesn't back down.

[mvd]

5. The purpose is to make the case FOR your favorite

You're right that things balance out, but those things have had/will have their chance to be discussed.

[Sparkly]

8. I get the feeling people are afraid to talk about negatives.

I don't know why. Whoever the pick is will have them, and it's good to put them in perspective ahead of time, rather than imagining later that nobody else had any negatives...

[elleng]

15. diplomatic, visionary,

wise, honest.

"Right now, we've lost a crucial underpinning of America's safety, security and ultimate well being. It's what, for a century, has enabled America's power to be perceived as benign. It's enabled America's purposes to be perceived as noble. It's enabled America's allies to rally to just causes. It's enabled America's adversaries to be shoved into the corner and condemned as erroneous and morally wrong. It's what enabled Americans to travel abroad and conduct business with personal safety and be received with respect. It's enabled America's Armed Forces to be welcomed in foreign lands. In America's conduct abroad, others saw a reflection of what we enshrined in our own Constitution and in our system of government as our values - fairness, tolerance, decency, justice, mutual respect, personal opportunity. It's brought hundreds of thousands of youngsters to our shores to study and millions to seek to live. And it's been the secret of America's power and influence.

It is our legitimacy as a nation."

General Wesley Clark
5/16/07
http://securingamerica.com/node/2425

[Barack_America]

3. My top choice is Tim Kaine...

Because I think that his and Obama's similar heartland roots and life experiences (thus far) highlight the fact that Obama is indeed "one of us".

But I recognize that the debate is turning more towards foreign policy and I recognize his weaknesses in this regard.

[dailykoff]

7. I'll go for Kaine too.

There are a lot of others I'd like including Biden and Richardson but they don't seem to be on the short short list..

[NYC_SKP]

4. Wes Clark....

He's honest.

Despite the shit he took from the media and the blogs, he spoke the truth to McCain's POW experience and it's irrelevance to being qualified.

Just as Obama spoke the truth to the gas tax pander, and is able to rise above pandering, so too does Clark and together we might have a chance to restore some integrity to politics.

Clark also won't have to give up a seat in congress or a position as governor, and he puts McCain only arguable plus, military experience, to shame (where it belongs).

:patriot:

[moriah]

34. Agreed.

[saltpoint]

6. A dark horse pick -- Bill Bradley.

As inclusive as he is brainy.

I think he embodies what the Founders envisioned.

[The empressof all]

11. OMG...Are you my long lost twin???

He'd be my pick too...My only concern is that he's getting up there in age....wonder if he'd run around that monument with me? He also seems very much like Obama in temperment and intellect which IMO is a good thing but doesn't add balance.

[saltpoint]

13. Bill Bradley is one of my favorite champions. I think of so many

instances where he distinguished himself as a patriot to the common good.

(I'm also very biased -- I was a Bradley delegate in 2000.)

If he is unable to make the cut for the veep job, I think he'd be outstanding at Health & Human Services.

Meanwhile, late-summer tourists on the Monuments Tour of DC are going to get quite an eyeful!

[The empressof all]

21. It breaks my heart that Cuomo never made it to the Supreme Court

Bradley and Cuomo are two of my political "heros".

[saltpoint]

28. Yes. Two of the Great Democrats.

[anonymous171]

9. Schweitzer because he's just so fucking awesome.

[urbuddha]

10. Gov Timothy Kaine

Gov Timothy Kaine is at the top of my list.

[DianeG5385]

12. Clark

Brilliant man. feared by the stupid element in the military. Feared by Blackwater. Loved by the rank and file.

[Muttocracy]

49. I like that list of who fears him! nt

[elocs]

14. I really, honestly have no top choice. I trust Obama to make the right pick for him. n/t

[chknltl]

16. Dennis Kucinich

OK realistically I am 100% behind Joe Biden-others here will likely give the same reasons as I. I doubt that I have any relevant new reasons to add... so back to the Kooch:

Reason #1: a strengthening of security around Presidential nominee Barack Obama would immediately take place once Dennis Kucinich was named for the VP pick. Why? Because many if not most of the nut jobs out there who are thinking of becoming the next Oswald would be forced into instant retirement once they think things through even briefly: 'How would having a "President Kucinich" further the cause?' Yep, the very LAST things these wacko's would want to see is THAT happening! Secondly, security around Presidential hopeful Obama would tighten up for exactly that same reason. Hell, I'd bet the neocons would add Blackwater into the mix to protect Senator Obama and his family-one can never be TOO careful all things considered!

Reason #2 World wide security comes to mind. The bush fiasco with our military adventure-ism has created many MANY hates directed at the western world. With the millions now homeless-jobless refugees most of whom have lost relatives-(again due to bush), the threat of new terrorism is far larger than it was pre-bush. Some, (myself included), would argue that this was deliberate. Regardless of the who and why, those folks are mad as hell at the west right now. Most of them have little to no future to look forward to. Terrorist leaders are just as a aware of this as anyone and they must be quite pleased with this ever increasing pool of individuals from which to draw their soldiers from. We are likely IGNORING this issue at our peril!

The world knows that Dennis Kucinich is out to punish the crooks who did this. Those crooks are the bush crime family. Picking Dennis Kucinich as a VP sends a clear message to the world-especially to those the bush crime family has victimized- AMERICA IS A NATION OF LAWS, AMERICA IS WILLING TO GO AFTER THE CROOKS! That could be the very message which prevents 'Ackmed' the ex-goatherd from joining Al-Quida and taking a walk through Osh Kosh with a nuke strapped to his back seeking revenge on America for the loss of his wife and kids.

My two reasons were presented here with a twist of snark but the fact remains that we fans do indeed fear an attack on Senator Obama. Even worse is that we don't seem to recognize that America may actually be in a terrible danger created by the bush crime family, a danger from those victims created by OUR foreign policy, yet we choose to worry on about such things as the Chinese influence on the womens gymnastics scores at the Olympics and how Bret Favre will do with the Jets.

[mvd]

18. Interesting post

Kucinich is my dream choice, but not for those reasons. But unique approach there.

[flvegan]

56. Happily seconded.

I like him being in the House as the voice of promise, but he gets shouted down by the DINOs too much. VP DK would be very nice.

Then...8 years of President Dennis Kucinich.

[YvonneCa]

17. Kerry. And Huffpo has the reasons...

...here:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/m.s.-bellows/unconventional-wisdom-its_b_119972.html

[flamingdem]

19. Kaine because he has less baggage than Biden and he is a Gov., otherwise Biden because he is

strong on foreign policy.

[leftstreet]

20. SCHWEITZER. How the West will be won. n/t

[understandinglife]

22. VP Al Gore.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6671541&mesg_id=6671541

Peace,
Bob

[YvonneCa]

23. I'd love that...

...too. :)

[understandinglife]

24. As would most of our fellow humans alive on the planet, today.

:thumbsup:

Peace,
Bob

[YvonneCa]

39. ...

... :7

[elleng]

25. More about WES:

"And if there's one thing I learned during my thirty-four years in the Army, it's that real leadership comes from acting and doing. Not talking and debating. It comes from setting real goals, and being held accountable for achieving them. It's about putting the nation's interests above any personal or political interests. And I simply couldn't stand by and watch the country I fought for unravel before my eyes, while the people in Washington did nothing to stop it. I had to stand up for the ideas and the values I believed in."

Wes Clark's Speech 1/28/04 -True Values Tour, Tulsa, Oklahoma

[chknltl]

26. NOT at all my choice, but ponder for a moment: Ron Paul

Hold the flames folks, I was as...um..."astonished" at this suggestion made to the Ed Shultz show as you likely are right now. Ed was quick to jump on the caller too-too quick actually because the caller came across with a couple of damned good reasons for his suggestion. Big Eddie ended up in agreement with those reasons when all was said and done, not that he is/was/will ever be for Ron Paul either.

First Reason: Those tenacious rabid Ron Paul fans. Their passion is unquestionable, their efforts nothing short of astonishing despite insurmountable odds, despite media attention and despite all of the derision from those who supported the more successful bids on either side of the political fence. Most importantly their numbers are TRULY LEGION! Obama could do far worse than to have such a large number of remarkable voters added to his roster. Those numbers should easily put him over the top.

Second Reason: The discombobulation within the republican party and to the mCcain camp would likely be utterly insurmountable at this stage of the campaign. How could the republicans recover? Ron Paul is scheduled to speak at the RNC-can you imagine his rant THERE of all places after just getting picked by Senator Obama??? The media attention would be nothing less than breathtaking! It would be OPERATION MEGA CHAOS without the limbaugh! Be honest, would you really want to miss THAT???
:popcorn:

I should add, I am not convinced that there are significant numbers of the democratic electorate who would abandon Senator Obama should he pick 'poorly' in the estimation of those same voters-most are well aware what is at stake. The few supporters Senator Obama would lose, (many right here in the DU who would be in a coma due to severe head trauma), would MORE than be made up from the legions of Ron Paul fans.

All important disclaimer: I added this post purely for entertainment value. I am most assuredly NOT a Ron Paul supporter. True-I'll embrace whomever Senator Obama picks as his VP but if he ...um..."surprises" the world by picking this nut-case, Senator Obama would have to do without me as I would also be one of those DUers in a hospital with blunt force head trauma... :banghead: (Did I mention that Ron Paul is against UNICEF too of all things??? Yep, nut-case!)

[quakerboy]

27. Brak

Just think... Barack/Brak 2008. Its just right.

[Marrah_G]

30. Biden- Wisdom and knowledge in a world on the brink of exploding into real chaos.

[Skwmom]

33. Wisdom - like voting for the biggest debacle in U.S. history? If that is what passes for wisdom, no

wonder this country is so screwed.

[Skwmom]

31. Schweitzer or Webb - Because that it is change I can believe in.

And b/c I don't think the media could kill the change message (like they can with a Washington Insider, which is why they are pushing one 24/7).

[gateley]

46. Oops - wrong place

[Dinger]

35. Wesley Clark

My top reason is his national security experience.

[Eurobabe]

36. Biden. Bona Fides and GRAVITAS

And a great pit bull to have on our side. I'm sure Barack can rein in some of Biden's less likable tendencies towards verbosity. Simply says, Joe, dude: K.I.S.S.--> never forget it.

Thank you. :hi:

[Sugarcoated]

53. I second that

he really would be a great fit. And my 15 year old son wanted Biden to win the primary. I asked what it was about Biden, and he said, "He's powerful. He says what he believes, he's just, like, a hard ass Democrat" heehee

[Eurobabe]

64. yeah that

[TexasObserver]

37. Biden. Passes MSM muster. Looks the part to middle voters. Good attack dog. Knowledgeable.

Imagine one of the governors trying to sound informed about foreign policy matters.

Biden can free flow on any topic. His range of knowledge covers the whole spectrum.

Obama needs to appeal to those voters older than Obama, and picking a guy like Biden could help do that. It's a safe move. Picking one of the governors could be a disaster, especially since the GOP will contrive to move the dialog away from domestic issues and toward foreign issues.

[Skwmom]

40. Yeah, that MSM sure wants to make sure Obama picks the best VP.

[tokenlib]

41. Schweitzer, because HIS running mate doesn't like the skunks in DC...

And he would pleasantly surprise the country with his "straight talk."

[ginnyinWI]

42. Biden would be the best attack dog.

Did you hear his speech in front of the firefighters recently? Whew! Who wouldn't say, after hearing that speech, "sign me up for whatever you're selling!"

[jmowreader]

43. Ten reasons Schweitzer's the only logical choice

1. He's a governor. Of what was an EXTREMELY red state, although that may change. Schweitzer would bring most of the four-electoral-vote states into play--states no one currently campaigns in because it's almost a given they're going red. I don't know if we'd get Idaho, but we would almost certainly get Montana and Wyoming.

2. He has an extensive energy plan: conservation, renewable energy, coal gasification in plants that recover all the waste products from the Fischer-Tropsch process. He does not support corn ethanol.

3. He speaks Arabic.

4. He's able to mix science and religion in a way that doesn't turn science into "the earth is 6000 years old and the Grand Canyon was gouged out by the keel of Noah's Ark."

5. He has been a successful businessman--irrigation-system design and farming. He currently runs at least one farm--but, unlike Bush, he doesn't see "clearing brush" as a source of entertainment.

6. Schweitzer took the Montana statehouse with a commercial depicting him on a horse holding a gun. It was his horse and his gun. This is very important: one of the GOP's favorite wedge issues is "the Democrats will take away your guns." (Please do not pay attention to the fact that the first attempted gun grab in the history of the United States was orchestrated by Shrub.) The pukes were able to paint Kerry, who is a hunter, as a gun grabber--but there's no way they can do the same thing with Brian Schweitzer. You KNOW this man has stuffed elk heads on the wall in his office. Further, you can believe Schweitzer wouldn't join the ticket if Obama was a gun grabber.

7. He is un-swiftboatable. The fucking Repukes ran a commercial featuring three Montanans who claimed Brian Schweitzer tried to swindle them. Which would have worked better if (1) they hadn't picked three Montanans who tried to swindle Brian Schweitzer and (2) Schweitzer hadn't maintained records detailing the amounts these people tried to get him for. Oops.

8. He is exceptionally likable, and highly intelligent. He got his bachelor's through work-study...cleaning women's student housing at the University.

9. He's on his first marriage, and his wife's a sweetheart. His children are productive members of society.

10. Remember the infamous 2004 photo op with Kerry attempting to prove he can sit down and have a beer with someone? And the look on his face made it clear that he absolutely can't stand beer? Brian Schweitzer has no "beer hatred" problem, as attested by that beer gut of his. There ain't a man in America who wouldn't like to have a beer with Brian Schweitzer.

And just as a bonus...this one's for Southern rednecks:


This is Brian Schweitzer, the man who should be one heartbeat from the presidency.


This is Richard Childress--one of the most successful team owners in NASCAR.

Note the resemblance.

[Motown_Johnny]

44. #3.. do we really need the guy accused of being a Muslim to pick a guy who speaks arabic?

[jmowreader]

58. Well...now that you put it that way...

Schweitzer's largely an unknown at this point. You and I know who he is, most Westerners know who he is, but people in the South don't know who he is.

Schweitzer's physical appearance will help ease your concern. Arabic is a very difficult language to learn--the Army's language school has five "language tiers" numbered from 1 to 5 in increasing order of difficulty to learn; Arabic is a level-5 language. You look at Brian Schweitzer and think, "THAT guy can speak Arabic? Damn!"

[maui9002]

68. Trust me; Brian Schweitzer will never be confused with a Muslim

Frankly, because I'm a progressive Democrat, having a real Muslim on the ticket would be fine with me (because I think it's wrong to associate being Muslim with being supportive of terrorism). I'm not suggesting that you feel otherwise, and I recognize the issue that many in the U.S. would not support someone who has any Muslim connections--but Brian Schweitzer is exactly THE GUY you'd want to connect with those types of voters. He's authentic. He's down home. Completely unpretentious. He'd not only be the guy you'd want to have a beer with, he'd probably be the guy serving the beer. That he speaks Arabic just wouldn't be a problem.

[maui9002]

65. I can see it now--"Want More Beer? Vote Obama/Schweitzer"

Great list; I know he's a long shot, but he's a remarkable individual.

[Motown_Johnny]

45. Richardson's Resume

[gateley]

47. Biden - just to give Skwmom an opportunity to dis him again. nt

[bevoette]

48. Biden...because he'll tell them to "fuck off". No...I mean he'll ACTUALLY say "fuck off!"

and that would be awesome B-)

[mvd]

54. He certainly would be good with those one liners

I'd be happy with him.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

50. Clinton...because Obama needs her supporters to win ...she did get over half of the Dem votes

:think:

[otohara]

52. That's What Polls Said About Edwards in 04

and he didn't have million+ vindictive, bitter supporters threatening to vote for Bush.

[JustAnotherGen]

51. Clark

I think Clark can take on the War Hero Message. In a debate with <insert rethug tool of choice here> - and they bring up . . . we're going to have a War Hero in the WH.

Clark can drop his pants, lift up his shirt and say:

War hero? I'm no hero. I just manage to lead my company after getting shot four times.

Case closed on "War Heros".

He's lead a NATO command and he holds decidedly progressive views and values.

[KakistocracyHater]

55. Juan Cole

expert in Mid-East, force him to be vp-I would, it's very urgent that crap they are trying to pull around the Caspian Sea...or maybe Gravel

[mzmolly]

57. Wes Clark. National Security, National Security and National Security. Also, it's a way to

reach out to Le Clintonistas. ;)

[nsd]

59. Bayh

Both an insider (10 years in Washington) and an outsider (10 years in Indiana state government)

Executive experience: 8 years as Indiana governor (produced budget surplus, cut taxes, instituted scholarship program), 2 years as Indiana secretary of state

Legislative experience: 10 years as senator (Armed Services & Intelligence committees)

Moderate: appealing to independents and moderate Democrats, demonstrates that Obama is no radical

Loyal: won't try to hog the spotlight, stuck by Clinton even after it was clear she was going down and without bashing Barack

Not prone to gaffes

All-American image: helps fight Republican attempts to smear Obama as somehow "foreign"

ETA:
Youth: Bayh is 52 and looks younger, gives ticket youthful vigor (a la Clinton-Gore), Bayh won't seem like a senior Cheney-type pick

Midwestern appeal: two young Midwesterners might play well in IN, OH, MI (again, as two young Southerners did in 1992)

[saltpoint]

60. Great thread, start to finish, really. Thanks, mvd.

You're all invited to my next birthday party.

[jonestonesusa]

61. Gov. Sebelius - five reasons.

1) More experience in an executive capacity than Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Joe Biden and Obama himself.

2) Puts one more crack in the glass ceiling.

3) Not compromised by pro-Iraq votes.

4) It would be a gutsy pick.

5) The Dem ticket would have two intelligent, thoughtful, and forward looking candidates.

[RazBerryBeret]

62. Clark...all the way.

he's not a politician, he if very experienced in foreign policy. and he is the only one who came close to taking on McCain's military record....not many people could get away with that.

[laugle]

63. If he votes for

someone who voted for the war, he's a hypocrite......his word means nothing!!

[Peregrine Took]

66. HRC - 18,000,000 voters can't be wrong.

[Mz Pip]

67. Wes Clark

effectively nullifies all the war hero propoganda put out by McCain.

[george_maniakes]

69. Kaine, because he doesnt look like an asshole. Unusual in a politician.

n/t