The desperation is getting quite comical. The VP Pick isn’t going to make or break this election unless she’s a Palin-level type disaster. If the GOP wants to threaten us with blabbing about Benghazi for the next three months (and the 10 investigations that turned up nothing), then be my guest. In the era of Covid and BLM protests, there is isn’t much oxygen left for partisan political spectacles like that. Let alone badly recycled and regurgitated ones. It’s going to take a bombshell or Palin-level type event for this to really blow up in Biden’s face. The potential for, and any skeletons, should all be uncovered in a thorough vetting process.
I dont know why this narrative is constantly being pushed. This election, like the last election, is the Democrats to lose. I thought Trump would lose last election and I think he will lose this election. The Palin pick was a terrible choice for the same reason Harris is a terrible choice. Palin brought absolutely nothing to the table that the Republicans didnt already have (Tea party vote). The same with Harris. Democrats already have a lock on the black vote. There is no need to risk it by putting a loser like Harris on the ticket. She was one of the first big names to drop out because she could not raise money to keep her campaign going ... very early in the process. She is a loser. I wouldn't have any problem with Biden as president, outside of the obvious concern with his cognitive ability. And just like Democrats completely underestimated the moderate vote in 2016, they are doing it again. The VP matters to moderates this election. With C19, this election is going to be very different. And Trump excels best in chaos. Right now, Democrats are running their train down the same path they have the last 3 decades. If Trump does win again, it will be the same dumbass excuses back in 2016.
Which narrative are you referring to? The one I’m alluding to that the VP pick, barring something disastrous, largely wont matter? I do believe that. This election is a referendum against Trump. I understand that this contest will be decided in the margins, as the 2016 contest was, but Trump is in a much worse position than he was in 2016. And I’ve yet to see any polling or data indicating Kamala or Rice damages the ticket. The last few polls I saw all had either one of those two or Warren as the VP choices that poll best in a GE contest (Biden/____ vs Trump). Also, the section I bolded, as you probably know, isn’t really accurate. The Palin pick was one-of-a-kind between the rushed vetting and the precarious situation McCain found himself in. He needed a Hail Mary, so he let himself get talked into taking a gamble with somebody completely untested. Kamala, despite whatever fundamental differences you may have with her, doesn’t present that same type of gamble. The vetting will be thorough. People were tuned off by Palin largely because of the perception that she was an idiot. So, the comparison isn’t very apt at all. I’m not even rooting for Kamala, but I simply don’t feel she’s as radioactive as a few of you do here in this thread. You can say she’s a turnoff to moderates, but show me the polling in PA/WI/MI that backs that up. As long as her approvals and favorability’s are good in swing states, I can live with the pick. And at the very least, won’t present anything close to the “risk” you’re alluding to.
This mostly makes sense, but I don't see Warren in here. They've developed a deep personal bond and, as far as we know, she's the contender he's speaking to the most about policy, particularly economic policy. And he's adopted a lot of her policies and knows that there are few, if any, politicians that have a greater grasp on systemic inequality. Since the pandemic took over in every way, Biden has been saying he wants his presidency to be like FDR's. That's Warren all over. And their ideological differences seemed to melt away as he began a series of regular, policy-related calls, and indeed adopted a surprising lot of her policies. And then BLM exploded in great ways and it became increasingly unlikely Biden would choose a white woman. If he takes the political risk of naming a white woman though, I think Warren is far more likely a choice than Whitmer.
Great post. I'd argue one more point against her and one point for her. Against: apart from that one line where she implied Biden was racist, her debate performances were cringeworthy. As her hopes fell precipitously, she became desperate and swung from one strategy to another, hoping anything would catch on. The worst, to me, were the canned jokes she'd tell and then laugh at, though nobody was laughing with her. I think she's very bad at politics and I don't trust her to beat Pence in a debate. For: Black voters are a reliable bloc for any Democrat, but Black turnout is not. Black turnout was way higher for Obama than for other Democrats. That will be true of any Black woman he puts on the ticket.
I've had Rice as my most likely pick ever since she said that she'd say yes. Nothing matters to Biden more than relationships. He wants nothing more than a governing partner that he trusts and enjoys working with in the way he did with Obama, being the "last person the room." In those areas, if not any others, Rice would be the clear favorite with Warren second. Biden and Warren have become genuine friends, at least since Warren lost her brother to Covid and they bonded over the loss of loved ones. And that's huge to Biden. Their bond has grown as they've discussed policy issues on a regular basis. Relationships won't be the only or deciding factor, but if they were, I'd have Harris just about last.
I kind of eliminated her because Biden has said he wants someone from a future generation and has indicated in the past that he wanted someone aligned with him on policy, but she's certainly a possibility. My thought process on Warren is that she's a policy wonk, and VP is not much of a policy place so you're not really maximizing her strengths. I think he should name her SecTreas, personally, and give her the freedom to reorganize the government and banking-sector relationship. I think it gives her more power and suits her strengths so much more. Whitmer as VP could play the Pence role of "Covid-19 response czar" given that she has loads of experience and understands exactly what states are going through and what they need from the federal side.
I think the way Biden solves that is pushing the Supreme Court angle - maybe even releasing a few names to get people excited there. He's already committed to a black woman as his Supreme Court nominee, and Clyburn yesterday said that was far more important than VP - I suspect, assuming Clyburn is in the know, that might have been to give Biden some more freedom to make a non-black VP pick. Whitmer as VP, interestingly, would also give us our only black governor by elevating the Michigan Lt. Gov.
This makes a lot of sense to me. As Batman said relationships matter to Biden and he's got a lot of roles to fill in his administration and potentially USSC rather than go all in on VP.
The bridge to a next generation thing is definitely a thing, and a reason not to choose Warren. But each candidate is missing something and none fulfills all the criteria that's been cited as being important. Rice comes closest but Biden has said it's important to him that his VP had held elected office too. So none of them are perfect. I heard a podcast on RCP that I found surprisingly interesting (I feel like I may have posted this already so apologies if so). In it, there was discussion about whether Biden wanted to anoint the next leader of the party or whether he'd prefer a "pause" option, as in 'pause and fix current crises before moving on to a next generation.' And the theorist said she thought he'd lean toward that option. If it weren't for such consequential VP's in recent admins, I'd be inclined to agree on the role of the VP. But beginning with Cheney, if not Gore, the VP role has become a much more active one. And we know that Biden romanticizes his time with Obama, during which he enjoyed a large portfolio of issues he was charged with overseeing. So, if he's looking for a legit governing partner, I think Warren would be a great choice. But, if it's not Warren, I agree she could do as much good, maybe more, as Treasury Sec. or in some invented position to head up Covid/economic recovery. The main reason I'm rooting for Warren, which I am whenever I can bring myself to believe it's okay for him to choose a white woman in today's climate, is that I firmly believe she'd be the best, next president. I don't think any other candidate comes anywhere close, especially for these times.
It does make some sense, but he's already said he was going to name a Black woman to the SC, and that hasn't done anything to quiet calls for a Black woman on the ticket. I agree Clyburn was giving him cover, even while he's still lobbying for a Black running mate. And that statement from him wasn't yesterday, it was about a week ago, which is a dog's age in these Veepstakes.
By all accounts, Biden doesn't hold a grudge against Harris for her attacks on him in the early debates but his staff does. That's understandable and I think it speaks to Biden's character: he's been in politics a long time and knows when an attack is political and when it's over the line. But, I still don't think Harris will be the VP pick. Although she's had her eyes set on higher office for a while, her presidential campaign was a mess and California isn't an electorally necessary state (although this isn't 1964 and when did a VP nominee last swing a critical tipping-point home state?) My money is on Tammy Duckworth. Not to make the obvious joke, but any attacks on her devotion to the country should roll off of her like water off of a duck's back. Illinois isn't in doubt, of course, but she's geographically close to Wisconsin and Michigan and Biden's roots in Pennsylvania shore up the effort to take back the "blue wall" that Trump flipped in 2016. I don't see how Susan Rice moves the needle and Biden needs an effective, experienced campaign surrogate who can balance out any "gaffes" that the media is desperate to equate with flat out lunacy from Trump's mouth. Rice has never been on the campaign trail and now doesn't feel like the moment to throw her into the deep end. I saw that Gretchen Whitmire met with Biden in Delaware. Meal Team Six protestors notwithstanding, her popularity in Michigan is important and she can effectively point to fighting COVID-19 in spite of inaction and personal attacks directed at her from the federal government.
Rice to me is the pick I would go with. Benghazi attacks would be a blessing in disguise. It offers the Biden campaign a chance to continue to remind American voters that Trump knew about Russian bounties on our military and did nothing but continue to praise Putin. Rice was investigated for YEARS by the Republicans and they came up with absolutely nothing but an interview on the Sunday morning shows where she might or might not have misstated details of the incident. I like that she'll likely come off as someone who is not a politician but a no-nonsense military type. She doesn't have 100's of over the top bill's she's co-signed on in the House that would never get passed. I think the "moderate" voter that SpaceGhost alluded to could really like her style in combination with a very practical Biden administration that thinks American Jobs first.
Another factor here is how confident Biden is in winning. If he's worried about the election, Harris and Warren have an edge in that they are proven national campaigners, and Warren, in particular, would excite a chunk of the Dem Party. Whitmer could also help with the midwest if he has any concerns there and/or just wants to try to do a Hillary+Midwest election map. Rice seems more like a governing pick - she doesn't bring any campaign experience or regional value, so she seems more likely if he's really confident in winning regardless.
You may be right about Rice not moving the needle... Which is a good thing... The others have a lot of people that don't like them.. ala (Harris and Warren)... As others have stated... Rice has been there and done that... She's proven herself... T_Man
