Would you find Dick Gephardt acceptable as a V.P. nominee?

[Douglas Carpenter]

I was surprised to learn that there is a buzz going around about Dick Gephardt. Until this morning I had never heard that before. But suddenly he is scoring on the futures prediction markets in the double-digits.

In that every other candidate who has been mentioned so far have all drawn some real negative responses, I'm wondering if Dick Gephardt might very well be the closest thing to an ideal candidate, assuming Al Gore would not accept the V.P. nomination.

I have no personal strong position regarding former House Democratic Leader Gephardt, but he does have some plus and relatively few minuses:

1. Having served in the U.S. Congress between 1977 and 2003 and the leader of the Democratic Party in the House from 1989 to 2003 certainly brings experience, gravitas and political skills to the ticket.

2. He has favorable geography. Missouri is a swing state. He could conceivably help swing Missouri and other border and midwestern swing states and be reasonably appealing in small towns, rural areas and mid size cities.

3. He is truly, truly beloved by labor

4. His record in support of domestic social programs would make him almost a genuine old school New Dealer. Yet, his personal manner makes him approachable to a lot of socially conservative people.

5. In that he is retired from elected office, there will be no problem with any possible forfeiture of any seat or Governor's mansion.

6. He has a Baptist/Evangelical background, yet his position on choice and on gay rights is similar to the position of Sen. Obama

The one glaring negative is that he did back Bush on the Iraq War. However, that would be a problem for most of the other candidates under serious consideration.

[Ian David]

1. Two things I look at are the ACLU rating and the Human Rights Campaign rating. n/t

[On the Road]

2. To Me, Gephardt Seems Like a Defensive Choice

and suggests fear of a misstep rather than a desire to lead. The negative ads and other attacks are beginning to take their toll. While there is nothing wrong per se with Gephardt as a person, he harks back to a period in which Democrats steadily lost ground and didn't effectively fight for their agenda.

I would rather see Obama play on the offense and make a pick on his terms. That could mean a variety of things: a female running like Sebelius, a relaxed and outspoken DC veteran like Biden, or a military candidate with emanates strength like Webb would have been.

[TwilightGardener]

3. WTF with the retreads?

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. kick for more results

[polichick]

5. Seems too "old Washington" to me - it's a tough call for Barack...

If he gets someone too new, the other side can say we have TWO inexperienced candidates ~ if he gets someone who's been around too long, it doesn't fit the message.

[JerseygirlCT]

6. Eh. Never been a big Gephart fan.

Whatever.

[vinylsolution]

7. Limp Dick Gephardt? Are you kiddin' me?

Remember how he ran away and cried straight after the 2004 Iowa primary? What a wimp.

I think this whole 'Gephardt for VP' thread is being spread by the RNC, as I don't know of a single grassroots Dem who supports The Gepper.

Draft Wes Clark for VP - NOW!

[Ino]

8. Meh (shrug)

[Growler]

9. I fell asleep reading the question..... n/t

[last1standing]

10. He led Democratic support for bush*...

He funded the smear campaign against Howard Dean in 2004...

He was even less effective than Pelosi as House Speaker...

He wouldn't bring in MO...

He wouldn't do a damned thing to help anywhere else...

His politics are definitely on the conservative side...

A better question is who in their right mind would push a bush* loving, Democrat smearing, ineffectual, non-vote getting, conservative for the VP spot?

[supernova]

11. Good guy, but not Mr Excitement

:boring:

Could work. McCain probably again would be left with nothing bad to say about him.