Back in May, I wrote about my thoughts for the Obama veepstakes. The most likely candidate in my view was Wes Clark, who has probably knocked himself down the ladder a bit over the past few days making sensible but politically incorrect statements about John McCain's military service vis-à-vis qualifications for the presidency. Though some argue it may help him.
In my view, it hurts him a bit, but Clark is still a compelling vice-presidential choice for Obama. I would move him down from the number 1 slot to 3rd or 4th (behind Nunn or Webb).
This is however a name I didn't consider before that I should throw in there.
Howard Dean
This sounds very irrational at first glance, but Howard Dean is a lot different than the caricature that has been drawn by the media.
Dean governed Vermont as a moderate and the Progressive Party grew stronger under his tenure due to his weakness on the left. Did you know that was endorsed eight times by the national rifle association? He also said he wanted to be the candidate for "guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks". This could be helpful in the Mountain West where gun control is the one thing holding Obama back and in the winnable states in the South (Virginia primarily but also North Carolina, Arkansas, Florida).
He was also a fiscal conservative who insisted on balanced budgets. Anti-pork much in the same vein as McCain.
He is an outsider and reformer which fits Obama's message and has already been vetted by the national media. He and Obama share a 50-state competitiveness goal for the Democratic Party.
Dean could be a real outlier in the veepstakes. Watch for it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
For some reason, both Dean and Clark scream Washington politics as usual to me.
Anyway, I'm sticking with Jim Webb as my Veep pick because he came in on a late wave (anti-Iraq war), much like Obama who, after 4 yrs in Washington, can still claim to be somewhat of an political anomaly.
In other words, their mugs haven't been plastered all over the DC talk show circuit (up until now) or appeared at alot of "in the know" Democratic fundraisers.
That bodes well if you want to ride the "Change" wave all the way to the whitehouse.
Chuck Hagel FTW
Post a Comment