Obama's veep

To be clear: I'm not convinced Obama has the nomination wrapped up; I think the odds are about 50-50. And if he does get the nomination, I think he will offer the vice-presidential nomination to Hillary and that she'll accept. I've written before that a convention final night with the two of them onstage together will be irresistable.

But my wife, the U.S. government teacher, says it won't happen. So, my conditional prediction is then that Obama will pick a woman.

My wife again disagrees and asks, "Who is there?"

Here, for my wife and for the record, are two strong possibilities: first, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio--she's virtually ideal for Obama (2007 ADA rating, 95%)--and second, Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania.

As my late father would have said: "Remember where you heard it first."

(Here's a list of potential nominees by a columnist for McClatchy Newspapers. He has Hillary, and Sebelius might make sense, but Biden, Clark, and Webb are non-starters.)

Comments

[kyle N]

If he picked Hilary as Veep, and won, he wouldn't last a month.
They would find him wrapped in a carpet in the park like Vince Foster.

[kyle N]

If he picked Hilary as Veep, and won, he wouldn't last a month.
They would find him wrapped in a carpet in the park like Vince Foster.

[kyle N]

If he picked Hilary as Veep, and won, he wouldn't last a month.
They would find him wrapped in a carpet in the park like Vince Foster.

[jorod]

The convention will deadlock. They will pick Al Gore.

[JorgXMcKie]

No way Hillary either is (truly) offered the VP slot (as I remember it, JFK thought his offer to LBJ was pro forma and he'd be turned down, so I'm guessing maybe Obama's people are too smart to make the offer) or, if offered, will she take it. Her only hope for the presidency now it to at least go thru the motions of supporting Obama while hoping he gets pounded in the election. Even so, I think she might have a tough time getting the nomination in 2012. 2016 is too late for her, I think.

And let's assume, for argument's sake, that Obama does turn out to be too Left for the public and gets a McGovern-like outcome. Who springs to mind as the front-runner next time? (I know a lot of Senators look in the mirror and say, "Mr. President" to themselves, but ...) Not Al Gore, I think? John Edwards -- Obama-lite. One of the Govs? Who?

Hillary could start building a campaign that might actually work for next time.

Anyway, I don't see the Obama/Clinton elections teams being able to merge at all. The nasty leaks and infighting would be horrendous.

[Pran Kurup]

It is possible that Obama might pick Hillary (assuming for a moment that he does get the nomination) under the guise of smart politics. However, if he does it will be a huge step down because she stands for everything he has campaigned against. It will be a big let down for people who believed in his change mantra.

My guess is that Obama will pick Mark Warner of Virginia or someone with a similar profile (non-Washington type, someone in his 50s, a former Governor, someone who can help pick up one of the battle ground states so to speak).

[John Chilton]

I look forward to you being right, Craig. I guess the logic is that Hillary's supporters will be alienated unless she's given the VP. I look forward, because this is the dream ticket for the Republicans.

[atlas]

I've heard Obama met with Christine Todd Whitman, the former Republican Governor of New Jersey. And the domain, obamawhitman2008.com, was purchased last week.

[Ted Craig]

What about your gov?

[Bbill]

Kaptor is a loon.

Schwartz might be a good choice if she is Jewish (is she?). Given that Obamassiah (1) has been endorsed by Hamas, (2) has strongly supported the Palestinians (before he launched his presidential bid), and (3) has a foreign-policy team that is anti-Israel...well, he might just have a problem with jewish voters.

[Michael Ejercito]

Too bad the Dems did not nominate someone like Evan Bayh or Bill Richardson.

Too bad the Reps did not nominate someone like Ron Paul.