Redstate

Posted at 12:59am on Jul. 11, 2008 Obama/... DODD?

Clearly, I am in some sort of benevolent version of the Truman Show.

By Moe Lane

It's like this entire election season was created to make me laugh like a loon on a regular basis.

Obama seeks info on Dodd in vice president search
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 57 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's presidential campaign has requested information from Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd as part of its search for a possible vice presidential candidate.

The former White House hopeful and Connecticut lawmaker indicated Wednesday that he has been approached by the campaign. "There's been some inquiries, yeah," Dodd said. "They ask for a lot of stuff. I'll leave it there."

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton and Dodd's Senate office declined comment Thursday.

Probably wise of both. Free hint to the Obama campaign: when the AP, on looking over a potential VP candidate's recent history, decides to go with the "may be implicated in mortgage kickback scandal" bit over the "sorta-kinda fought to derail the FISA bill" bit... yeah, maybe this was a bit of a time-waster for you. But don't let me stop you from picking the man. All I ask is that you wait for my air-popper to finish the latest bowl of popcorn.

Because you can't put BACON SALT* on microwave popcorn, of course.

Moe Lane

*It's even kosher! No, really.

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Chris Dodd | Obamafiles | Veepstakes — Comments (12)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:43am on Jul. 8, 2008 Scratch Webb from the VP list.

Pity. I was pretty sure that we could have gotten him to flip out without too much trouble.

By Moe Lane

No, I'm not going to tell you my plan, because it's a), kind of lame; and b), if it actually would work, well, the man presumably will be running for re-election in four years. Anyway, via Hot Air I see that Webb has preemptively removed his name from consideration:

In a press release issued Monday, Webb said that he expressed to Senator Obama and Obama's presidential campaign his intent to stay in the U.S. Senate.

Webb has represented Virginia in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat for one-and-a-half years.

Webb said, "Last week I communicated to Senator Obama and his presidential campaign my firm intention to remain in the United States Senate, where I believe I am best equipped to serve the people of Virginia and this country. Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for Vice President."

Read on.

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | James Webb | Veepstakes — Comments (15)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 10:49pm on Jun. 10, 2008 Courting Cantor for VP?

By Bluey

Following an interview with Politico's Mike Allen, Hugh Hewitt reports four people supposedly on John McCain's short list for VP: Mitt Romney, Rob Portman, Eric Cantor and Tom Ridge.

I'm most excited to see Cantor's name on the list, but I can't say I'm thrilled by the prospect of him leaving Congress. After all, I expect him the lead the GOP back to the majority.

Ultimately, I come back to Megan McArdle's logic: "No one should run for office this year as a Republican who doesn't have to." If Cantor is truly being considered, he should politely decline and focus on fixing the House GOP.

Posted at 7:43pm on Jun. 10, 2008 No Obama-Strickland Ticket

Unswung State

By Dan McLaughlin

Well, cross off Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland from Obama's potential VP list, as he has ruled out running in the most unambiguous terms. For a variety of reasons, I always thought he was an unlikely pick. Strickland on Obama's chances in Ohio:

When asked to rank the degree of difficulty of Obama carrying Ohio, Strickland says: "I would say somewhere around 5 in a scale of 1 to 10. I think it's, I just think it's a challenge because of the nature of our state."

Ohio as a true tossup sounds about right at this stage. As in Virginia, the Ohio GOP has made a terrible mess of its own house, and that combined with the perenially weak Ohio economy has given Democrats an opportunity in the state. But McCain's relatively popular in Ohio, and Obama got crushed there in the primaries. Much will turn on turnout, as the polls consistently show a McCain lead among likely voters, but a strong Obama position in polls of all registered voters. (One wild card: Bush won an unusually high proportion of African-American voters in Ohio in 2004 - 16% compared to 9% in 2000 - due perhaps to the same-sex marriage ballot initiative and the support of Ken Blackwell; that won't happen against Obama).

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Ted Strickland | Veepstakes — Comments (0)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 9:50am on May 29, 2008 Putting the Webb VP speculation in perspective.

Short version: Please pick this man. Oh, *please*, pick this man.

By Moe Lane

I've been officially undecided whether Obama (assuming that he gets the nomination) picking Webb for the VP slot is a good idea, or a bad one: but this roundup of reactions by James Joyner to the idea (see also Ross Douthat, Yglesias guest-blogger Cathy G*, The American Conservative for a take from a demographic that Obama might theoretically want to go after, and last but definitely not least, BeldarBlog, who would have as much fun with this as I would) (H/T: Glenn) has convinced me: if Obama gets the nod, he should go with James Webb.

It'll be a gas. We have years and years of the man's comments and observations, and while his convenient apostasy may have been acceptable for a Virginia Senate campaign, Webb will not be able to run as a stealth Republican in the general election. He'll be the running mate of a man who has Code Pink leader Jodie Evans bundling for him (via Melanie Morgan); it is not only acceptable, but actually necessary to pin the man down on whether he was lying then, or lying now, about what he believes in. And the really funny part is: you know that temper thing that Democrats keep trying to pin on McCain? Yeah, well, let's just say that Jim Webb may not be exactly the most phlegmatic guy in the world, and leave it at that.

So by all means, Senator Obama: please go with this guy.

Please.

Moe Lane

Posted in 2008 | James Webb | The Best Democratic Primary EVER | Veepstakes — Comments (5)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:59pm on May 26, 2008 John McCain's Sedona picnic

67 species of birds or a veepstakes?

By Mark Kilmer

John McCain invited several people to his ranch in Sedona, New Mexico Arizona, this weekend. There were old primary opponents like Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, and Mitt Romney. There were some prominent Republican governors, like Bobby Jindal and Charlie Crist. FedEx CEO Fred Smith was there. Lindsay Graham, of course, made it, as was Joe Lieberman. Former eBay boss Meg Whitman was there. And McCain advisor Charlie Black.

And there were others.

The nation's political press decided that this was a tryout for McCain's veep spot, while Lindsay Graham, appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, told host Bob Schieffer that his best Senate buddy was just showing off his ranch and its 67 species of birds. (NOTE: I here use "press" as a generic term for the media.)

There have been other recent get-togethers at the McCain ranch, including a recent one with Minnesota Tim Pawlenty, Mel Martinez, Trent Lott, and Utah Governor Jon Hunstman. (That was in early March, with little press coverage.) Martinez cannot be veep, as he was born in Cuba.

My two bits this Memorial Day, after my solemn embrace of the memory of those who gave everything to preserve our ongoing republican (small r) experiment, is that this McCain event strikes me as a cute sort of trick. We're not going to have any better idea of who is and who is not on the any list based on any guest list to a sleepover in late May. (I like Fred Smith, but he has a day job.)

I think Utah's Huntsman, a Mormon McCain supporter, would make a fine veep, but is he out of consideration because he was invited to the wrong meeting? (After all, he agrees with McCain, and most of the rest of the media-saturated nation, on AGW.)

I'd like to think, again, that this was a trick.

Read On…

Posted in 2008 | McCain | ranch | Veepstakes — Comments (38)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 2:12pm on May 23, 2008 REDSTATE ROUNDTABLE #10: The Democratic Veepstakes

Who Will Sit At Obama's Right Hand?

By Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin: Let's open the floor: assuming Obama hangs on to claim the Democratic nomination, who will he pick as his running mate? Who should he pick?

Obama's problem is that for all his strengths as a candidate, he's got a bunch of conflicting vulnerabilities - he lacks national security credibility and executive experience; he has no military record; he's been weak with white working-class voters; he's a relatively inexperienced politician; some women will want a woman on the ticket to soothe the sense that Hillary got passed over; he also wants to appeal to Latino voters, but a female or Latino running mate might be too much to swallow for a lot of white male voters. Not only is that a long list, but the identity-politics pitfalls mean it's a contradictory one.

Read On for the rest of the roundtable...

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Bill Richardson | Jim Webb | Redstate Roundtable | Veepstakes — Comments (42)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 8:20pm on May 21, 2008 The McCain Veep Meeting

By Ben Domenech

By now everyone's heard about how the McCains will be spending the Memorial Day weekend - sharing a good time with Mitt Romney, Charlie Crist, Joe Lieberman, Lindsey Graham and Bobby Jindal at Sedona.

But I wouldn't exaggerate this visit too much - everyone seems to think there's more to come. The likelihood is that this is the "thanks, but no thanks" crew - the folks McCain wants to give a tip of the hat to before making his choice.

Posted at 10:23pm on May 8, 2008 REDSTATE ROUNDTABLE #9: The McCain Veepstakes

By Jeff Emanuel

Once again, RedState presents a peek inside the minds of those who make up the site's Editorial staff. This week, the RS Contributors debate Sen. McCain's potential Vice Presidential selection.

The big question: who should McCain pick? And, to revisit a question we took on back in February, should McCain try to make his choice early, or should he wait until close to the September convention?

Dan McLaughlin: I have laid out my own rules for who I think McCain should rule out , and I'll just say here that if the choice was mine to make today, I think my preferences would be SC-GOV Mark Sanford, RI-GOV Don Carcieri, and MN-GOV Tim Pawlenty, in that order, although I'm actually leaning towards the idea that Carcieri might be electorally the best bet in helping McCain crack Pennsylvania and maybe even New Jersey.

Continued below the fold...

Posted in 2008 | Elections | John McCain | Redstate Roundtable | Republican Vice Presidential Nomination | Veepstakes — Comments (127)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:08am on May 1, 2008 The McCain Veepstakes Rules

Please Consult This List Before Touting Your Favorite Choice

By Dan McLaughlin

The hottest topic in Republican circles, ever since John McCain iced the nomination, is who he should pick as his running mate. There are many interesting names floated, and McCain will have good reason to make a show of talking to a bunch of candidates for the job, as a way of courting different groups and party leaders and feeling out people who might end up with other jobs in his Administration.

But realistically, there are a number of constraints on what kind of candidate McCain can or should pick. The Vice Presidency isn't like other appointments, since he or she is independently elected and can't be fired. And McCain's choice will be of particular significance for a few reasons. First, because of his age, voters will want more assurance than usual that his running mate is ready to step into the job at a moment's notice. Second, also because of McCain's age, he's seen as less likely to serve two terms; his running mate, win or lose in 2008, will have a leg up to be the heir apparent in 2012. And third, many conservatives are unhappy with McCain as the party leader, and want to see that the moderates have not taken permanent control of the party.

Let's start with the Don'ts, which will be especially important in this process. I'm not saying that McCain will necessarily follow these rules, but he should and I suspect he will. And I'm not saying that it's impossible that he will take someone who breaks them, but it will be a very heavy burden to overcome, and probably fatal for anyone who violates more than one of them. (This list is not necessarily presented in any particular order of importance).

More below the fold...

Posted in 2008 | Condoleezza Rice | John McCain | Mark Sanford | Mitt Romney | Tim Pawlenty | Veepstakes — Comments (297)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:42pm on Apr. 9, 2008 Condi for Veep Movement: A Whole Bunch of Nothing

By Ben Domenech

So that whole Condi's Campaigning for Veep boomlet was a big load of nothing. It turns out the whole reason for the story was the fact that Condi attended Grover Norquist's Wednesday meeting at ATR. This means she's actively campaigning for Veep??? In what universe does that make sense? Political officials attend that meeting for a variety of reasons, but if just being there means you're throwing your name in the Veepstakes list, we've got to make it a helluva lot longer.

As John Fund writes in the latest WSJ Political Diary:

The man who created a mini-political earthquake still can't get over how quickly news travels today. GOP strategist Dan Senor set political commentators all over the country buzzing on Sunday when he appeared on ABC's "This Week" to report that Secretary of State Condi Rice "has been actively campaigning" to be John McCain's vice presidential running-mate...Mr. Senor is an unabashed admirer of Ms. Rice but says he received no encouragement from her in making his comments.

He says the best evidence that Ms. Rice is interested in the job was her recent appearance before Grover Norquist's weekly Wednesday meeting of conservative leaders in Washington -- what Mr. Senor says is "the first time a secretary of state has visited the Wednesday meeting." He adds that many Republicans believe John McCain would be best served by picking someone "who people instantly say, the second they see that announcement, 'I get it. That person could be president tomorrow.'" From all reports, Ms. Rice made a very favorable impression at the meeting, drawing accolades from Mr. Norquist, who lauded her conservative positions on taxes and gun rights.

Posted at 9:34pm on Apr. 7, 2008 Dark Horse Veep Watch: Don Carcieri (Gov-RI)

By Leon H Wolf

Some of my fellow RedState contributors and I were discussing via email today why it is that a certain segment of the population is determined to push Condi Rice for Veep, as though it would be a good idea for the entire executive branch to run like the State Department currently does. During the course of this conversation, which inevitably turned to potentially *good* choices for Vice President, an unexpected name came up: Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri.

More below...

Posted in 2008 | Fun with baseless speculation | Republicans we should be talking more about | Veepstakes — Comments (48)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:00am on Mar. 10, 2008 Rich Lowry's Question on Obama as Veep

By Ben Domenech

Rich Lowry poses a question that I've heard from many others recently: If this thing goes to the convention, would Obama accept a Veep spot?

Such a deal would make a lot of sense: Obama would be getting a vice-presidential nomination that he presumably would have been delighted with a year ago, that suits his experience level, and that would probably keep him from having to go back to the U.S. Senate, which he doesn't appear to relish. And he could convince himself that this is the right thing for his party and the country (Hillary wouldn't be so moved by such considerations). It would be the only way to end the race cleanly before the convention.

I completely disagree with this logic: under absolutely no conditions should Barack Obama join himself to Clinton on a ticket. Obama is young, bright as the morning star, can raise metric tons of money in a second, and has elevated himself to the messianic level by eloquently championing "change politics" (and not much else). His future is enormously bright even if the superdelegates throw the nomination to Hillary. By joining himself to the Clinton machine and its incredibly divisive grande dame, Obama ruins his ability to ever again function as a "change candidate" with broad social appeal. It destroys his chief pop-cultural attribute for the sake of an 08 run where he'd be second-fiddle to a vindictive POTUS who is only cooperating with him out of political necessity. It would be unquestionably wiser for Obama to wait, to be "the guy we should've picked" should Clinton fail as nominee or President, raise the GDP of a small nation, go back to IL and be governor, and be the unquestioned heart and soul of the party for four years until he can go at it again, this time with a deeper resume.

Posted at 2:28pm on Feb. 26, 2008 Meet Mark Sanford

Mr. Right?

By Dan McLaughlin

Along with Tim Pawlenty, the first subject of this sporadic series of video clips (mostly from YouTube) of potential national GOP candidates (whether for the Vice Presidency in 2008 or the big job later), the other candidate on everyone's short list is South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Sanford is regarded as a rock-solid conservative (a somewhat tongue-in-cheek self-described "right wing nut," even), like McCain he has made a name as an anti-pork crusader, and he has a great resume - six years in Congress, six as a Governor - giving him far more experience at the same age than the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

So how does Sanford play on the small screen?

Read On...

Posted in 2008 | 2012 Presidential Campaign | 2016 | Mark Sanford | Veepstakes — Comments (15)/ Email this page » / Read More »