Running Mate Rumors Fly | LA Times

[Ediacara]

Running Mate Rumors Fly
Political observers are busy speculating about Kerry's timing, as well as the likely Democratic nominee's choice for a potential vice president.

By Mark Z. Barabak, Times Staff Writer

Last week, the word swept through Washington: During a fire drill, Sen. Evan Bayh was seen leaving his office building alongside Jim Johnson, the man charged with helping Sen. John F. Kerry pick his running mate.

Their appearance — the two smoked out, as it were — was immediately taken as a sign that Bayh, an Indiana Democrat, had landed on Kerry's short list of vice presidential prospects.

Never mind that neither Bayh nor Johnson would talk to reporters about their discussion. Or that Johnson has been meeting on Capitol Hill with many Senate Democrats, and some in the House as well. In the absence of hard information, rumor and gossip are filling the void left by Kerry's silence over one of the most important decisions the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee will make.

More at the Los Angeles Times

[Ediacara]

1. Handicapping the ticket

related document

[Molson]

2. Running Mate

Hillary is the only choice !!!

[hang a left]

4. Curious why you would say such a thing.

Could you expound.

[ronnykmarshall]

39. One post, just joined DU

Think that explains it.

[hang a left]

43. Was trying to figure out if we had a troll on this thread.

Didn't want to jump to conclusions without more data.

[Lorien]

5. Um, no

best if the running mate is a Southerner. Clark or Edwards would be ideal, but I doubt if we'll come close to "ideal" this time around.

BTW- Welcome to DU! :hi:

[TroglodyteScholar]

11. Or...

...I'd really like to see Cleland. There is a man who never should have lost his job in the Senate in the first place.

[loudsue]

8. Hillary is NOT a choice, unless Kerry wants to lose the election hands

down. Hillary is the WORST choice, except for maybe LIEberman, of the possible Democratic choices.

You want more war? You want more globalization? You want more jobs outsourced? You want the Dems to move closer to the republicans? AND, do you want to give the right wing "haters" more ammunition than they've ever HOPED to have? Then Hillary is your "guy".

If you don't want those things....she shouldn't even be considered.

:kick:

[Misunderestimator]

12. Sigh... another way to demonize Hillary

It just pains me to see anyone here describe the possibility of Hillary being the VP so hatefully. I can understand someone whose angle for finding her an unacceptable running mate (at this time) because of the severe right-wing hatred of her. That's enough. To go on to denegrate this admirable woman with the term "guy" is unacceptable. Why do we always hate our own.

[loudsue]

15. Sorry.....

I meant to use the term "your guy" in its colloquial style. I know Hillary is a woman -- calling her "guy" did not mean to imply her gender, but your "choice of candidate".

Everything else I said stands. Hillary is increasingly becoming part of the DLC problem -- she's hanging out with the wrong folks (corporatists & corporatist mafia), and her views are reflecting that.

:kick:

[Misunderestimator]

16. Thanks for the reply

...and I understand. I too do not like to see her lean so far right at times.

[JoFerret]

37. No way

and you are being silly with this distraction.

[Khephra]

3. Gods no.

Bayh is on my short list of Democrats that I hate.

[THUNDER HANDS]

6. I've heard he's dull

But I did recently see a photo of him. He's not a bad looking guy - not cute like Edwards, but definately a handsome man.

If that means anything important. :shrug:

[blackcat77]

26. He's handsome, well-spoken...

...has an attractive wife and young twins, is very popular in his home state and.......

IS NOTHING BUT A REPUBLICAN IN DISGUISE!

Arrgh! Not Bayh, please! It won't carry Indiana for Kerry and he's just as conservative as Lieberman and even more deferential to Bush.

[11bravo1986]

47. LOL

Belly laughed at that one :)

[GemMom]

10. Please elaborate.

I'll admit I don't know that much about Bayh.

[Khephra]

17. He's one of the big DLCers

and a favorite son of Faux. If they can't get Lieberman on, Bayh is their next choice.

He has an ok voting record, but he's been sucking up to Bush for the last 3 years.

[Mr.Green93]

7. Ben Chandler for V. P.

[sadiesworld]

19. Interesting. I don't know that he is high profile enough (nor does he

have any foreign policy experience) but he seems like a reasonably honest, uncorrupted politician. Oxymoron?

Kerry could do worse.

[Mr.Green93]

21. Ben Chandler

Is very well read and has been on fact finding trips to several countries. The most recent to China and Pakistan.

[sadiesworld]

24. Well, it's more than could be said for the chimp!

edit for typo

[goobergunch]

40. Do we really want to throw back open a House seat that we just got? (n/t)

[Mr.Green93]

46. we could hold the seat

[loudsue]

9. In this global environment, I wish he'd pick Wes Clark.

They wouldn't DARE assassinate Kerry with Wes Clark in the #2 position! Plus, I think Clark could help straighten out some of the corruption in the military and could help with the international mess bush has gotten us into.

:kick:

[davidinalameda]

14. Clark is going to be Sec. of Defense or State

He's not going to be VP, although that would be great

[Commendatori]

13. I'll bet he picks Mark Warner

Warner just got a tax reform bill pushed through the Repug wall in Virginia. We need fiscal sanity in this country, and Warner could help.

[loudsue]

18. No matter who he chooses for VP, I hope he chooses Eliot Spitzer

for Attorney General. Spitzer is currently Atty. General of New York (or is it New Jersey?) He's the one who almost single handedly has made the NY Stock Exchange prosecute the Enrons, the Tycos, the after-hours-trading scandals, etc. He's an incredibly powerful, intelligent, relentless opponent of the mafia that is running the country. Maybe we'd get some of the corruption cleaned up in this country if Kerry chose him for Atty. General.

Hell! Maybe we'd even get to prosecute the BFEE!!!! I'd love to see that whole bunch in jail!

:kick:

[gulfcoastliberal]

20. WTF Is Kerry Waiting For?

October? Just pick someone already! Make the damn decision and kick this campaign into high gear! We gotta beat these Bush bastards, now would be a good time to deflect the media echo of RNC blastfaxes.

[goobergunch]

41. Traditionally

the VP is not named until right before the convention.

If anything, Kerry is acting earlier than historical precedent dictates.

[JI7]

22. what this means is, they don't know anything

this means they know nothing just like previous times. kerry and graham were talked up in 2000 and weren't picked. al gore was a surprise choice because clinton picked not only someone from the same region(south) but someone from a state next to his. and of course most didn't know dick cheney would pick himself to be vp.

[sadiesworld]

23. My first choice is Wes Clark but I'm beginning to think it will be

Bill Richardson. Richardson's experience is very broad-based and he seems to have a kind of down-to-earth, low key appeal (similar to Bob Graham but younger and less quirky).

Ever since I saw Ted Kennedy say (several times) that the veep shouldn't be someone who might outshine Kerry, I've had my doubts that it will be Clark.

But I can still hope...

[Iceburg]

27. Nobody could outshine Kerry -- he's a class act!

There are but a handful of men and women on this planet that would have the combined intellect, internal strength and compassion necessary to pull the Americans off this potentially catastrophic course. John Kerry is a man the world trusts. Now Americans must trust him too.

[sadiesworld]

29. I think Kerry will make a fine POTUS and I support him.

But I stand by my post.

[Iceburg]

34. And I think WES would make a very fine VPOTUS

[zydeco]

25. We don't need yet another Senate seat loss.

Govenor Richardson has much appeal, experience and may be helpful with the border issue.

[Nashyra]

28. I'm still hoping it is Clark

I think we need to keep Richardson in New Mexico and I think Edwards would be a great Attorney General. And please remeber that Clark can not be sec of Def because he has not been oput of the military long enough. Sec of State of National Security Advisor. Oh my can you imagine pitting Cl;ark against Rice, whoo hoo that would make great campaign fodder.

[pscot]

32. Clark as national security adviser

Great idea. Richardson at Veep would make it an all catholic ticket. I've read that that would be tantamount to writing off the senate races in te south.

[goobergunch]

42. What you said about the Senate.

Nelson (FL), Bayh, or any other Senator either running for re-election in a Republican-leaning state or subject to a Republican governor should not be considered IMHO.

[sundancekid]

30. let's just pick out the whole Kerry administration cuz we deserve the best

While we're handicapping ...

... PLEASE feel free to fill in for the DREAM administration; add, subtract, substitute or puke at any of my choices ... I also thought about a few more Senators, but I'd hate to give up the Senate votes..

VP (must have NATIONAL appeal AND take on Cheney): Wes Clark
1. Sec Def: Sam Nunn
2. Sec State: Richard Holbrooke
3. Justice Dept. Atty General: Elliot Spitzer (of NYSE et al fame)
4. Sec Education: Fmr. Gov. Ann Richards
5. Sec Health/Human Services: Ted Kennedy
6. Sec of Labor: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
7. Sec of Transportation: Linda Daschle (FAA Administrator)
8. Sec of Agriculture: Sen. Tom Harkin
9. Sec of Treasury: Robert Rubin
10. Sec of Commerce: Henry Cisneros
11. Sec of Veterans Affairs: Max Cleland
12. Sec of Energy: Jamie Rubin (fmr. Asst. Sec State)
13. Sec of Interior: Fmr. Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
14. Sec of Homeland Security: Richard Clarke
15. Sec of Housing & Urban Development: Vernon Jordan

just being a little :tinfoilhat:

[6000eliot]

35. None of Nunn

Respectfully, I wouldn't want Nunn for anything. He was a willing participant in the whole gays in the military fiasco, and he can be partly blamed for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Therefore, he is my enemy, and the enemy of many other gay people.

[Null Pointer]

36. RE:

Two too many senators on that list. We need to win the Senate in November too.

[DavidFL]

44. Please, no Holbrooke for Sec. of State

He, along with Sandy Berger and Rand Beers (what is Kerry doing having him on as a foreign policy advisor anyway?) were the ones who came up with the strategy of having Kerry condemn Chavez based upon a very, perhaps deliberately, misinformed view of the Venezuelan recall process. And he is a part of that whole Washington neo-liberal capitalist cabal.

[pennylane100]

31. I heard somewhere that Evan Bayh is anti-choice.

Don't know if thats true or not, but if it is, choosing him would be a slap in the face to women everywhere. I know Kerry would not choose an anti-choice running mate, he is too smart.

[maggrwaggr]

38. Bayh is a republican in dem's clothing. I despise him

If Kerry picks him, there's absolutely no way I can support either one of them.

[dolstein]

51. That statement is 100% inaccurate

Bayh is a solid Democrat. He voted for the "partial birth" abortion bill, as did many Democrats in Congress, but overall has a pro-choice voting record. DU'ers are inclined to believe that unless you vote the way NARAL wants you to vote 100% of the time, you must be a right-wing fundamentalist Nazi.

Personally, I find it ironic that someone who, without even the slightest bit of hesitation, accuses a lifelong Democrat of being Republican appears ready to vote against Kerry at the drop of a hat. Apparently, for some people around here, the true test of being a Democrat is your willingness not to vote for the Democratic nominee. Go figure.

[xxqqqzme]

33. Bayh would do as much

4 kerry as lieberman did for Gore. I just remember, upon hearing Gore gave lieberman the nod, thinking - What?...How'd that happen?...WTF R they thinking? I would B deeply, deeply disappointed if '04 was a repeat of '00 in the VP selection.

[Zynx]

45. I think Breaux, Landrieu, Mark Warner, or John Edwards are all good picks.

[thethinker]

48. this is an important decision

I don't think the folks that voted for George Bush last time knew they were going to get the PNAC crowd with him. Or that he, on their advice, would be trying to remake the middle east with wars and more wars. All of these creeps have been picked and installed by the vice president, not Bush.

These fanatics tried to pressure Clinton, also. They are not Republicans or Democrats - they are opportunists. They will stop at nothing.

I can't help but wonder if Gore had been elected how long he would have lasted with out being assassinated. Then we would have had Holy Joe as president. Just think how that might have played out.

I have a strong feeling that Kerry is getting a lot of bad advice right now from a very questionable source. If I were him I would choose a Democratic version of Dan Quayle. The first Bush was smart when it came to choosing a vice president.

[Crowdance]

49. Kerry must choose a pro-choice VP--Bayh is not

Here's the judgement on Bayh from 2000, when he was vetted by the Gore team:

"We shared information we have on all the candidates and shared with him our feelings that Evan's record is problematic for us," NARAL's Alice Germond told the Baltimore Sun. "We want to keep the Democratic Party the party of choice. That's a more clearly made statement when the vice presidential nominee reflects the party's position and the nominee's position."

"It causes me no small amount of heartburn that I have been hearing about the possibility of Bayh," said Kim Gandy, the executive vice president of the National Organization for Women. "I didn't take it seriously because I did not think Gore would ever select someone who is so weak on women's rights." NOW boss Patricia Ireland told National Review, "Among our activists, there would be a decided lack of interest in campaigning for him and getting out the vote."

[dolstein]

53. Yes he is -- he's just not as strongly pro-choice as Patricia Ireland

Sorry, but saying that Bayh isn't pro-choice is like saying anyone to the right of Dennis Kucinish isn't a Democrat.

[goclark]

50. 1srtClark 2nd Edwards

Hillary would be a knock out but I like her in Mew York. She is a strong spokesperson for the party and so is My Bill.

Clark is a five star in my book. He has already proven himself as a skilled campaigner and they just blend as a team to me.

Edwards is a skilled campaigner too. Like him a lot!

This election is too important to get someone that has not had their feet in the political fire yet.
Clark and Edwards are my bets.

[BabsSong]

52. Bayh is dumb on two counts as a choice

First, it's the fired up left wing of this party that got Kerry the nomination in the first place and to basically tell us that there isn't anyone suited from that spectrum is an insult and will turn his base away (this election, remember, this year is all about getting out the base). Secondly, indeed he is Bush Lite and, thus, I don't trust him in the campaign. This is the kind of guy who could suddenly "say something" that put him at odds with Kerry and have the media make a big thing about it. Bayh would be like overtly advertising "hey, base, I'm gonna do a Georgie if elected---make a hard right". Actually, it bothers me if he is even considering this man.