In addition to the fledgling attempts to merge the fundraising operations of Obama and Clinton, there is growing talk that the best -- and perhaps only -- way to truly mend the rift is for Obama to pick a top Clinton surrogate as his vice presidential nominee.
"There's gale-force pressure for Obama to choose a Clinton loyalist as a running mate to heal the party but avoid putting her and her formidable baggage on the ticket," said one Obama ally in Washington. "You hear the names [Ohio Gov. Ted] Strickland, [Indiana Sen. Evan] Bayh, and [retired general] Wes Clark almost constantly, and it's no secret that Jim Johnson and Tom Daschle are purveyors of that wisdom."
i understand the logic here, but don't see much benefit in obama choosing another midwesterner like bayh. obama is from illinois; he doesn't need a running mate from an adjacent state.
on another note, if bayh were to be elected VP, who would get to choose his successor? the governor—in other words, mitch daniels. (even if jill long-thompson wins the governorship, i believe daniels would still get to make the appointment, though i'm happy to be corrected on that.)
fun fact: we had a special election in the 7th this year. the last time we had a special election in indiana was 20 years ago. indiana senator dan quayle had just been elected VP, and governor orr appointed then-4th-CD representative dan coats to fill quayle's spot in the senate. a special election was held to fill coats's vacancy in the house. who won that special election? a woman named jill long, who later married some dude named thompson.
so, if bayh were to become the VP candidate, there would be some very interesting parallels between the elections of 1988 and 2008. then again, i really don't want mitch daniels picking our next senator. ¶
4 comments:
To quote the former vp Danfour Quayle ..."We are ready for any unforseen events that may or may not happen." Inspiring words to ponder in weeks to come, huh.
Thanks Dan
I think your point about the Senate seat is the main reason that Bayh won't be seriously considered. Also, not all Clinton supporters have been slinging mud for Clinton. Wes Clark hasn't, Evan Bayh has. As far as I know, there's nothing embarrassing that Clark has said about Obama, but Bayh definitely was milking the "small town" comments in a way that might make it difficult for him to avoid as Obama's running mate.
If JLT won, I believe she would take office in early January. If Bayh were to win as vp, he would not take office until Jan 20 and could wait until the last minute to resign. Having said that, he has been a very negative, mudslinging force in the Clinton camp and I think would be a horrible choice. I dont think he could deliver Indiana. He is an empty suit.
Let me try this out...Evan Bayh for veep...
Nope. Still not feeling it.
Unlike anon who said that he was an empty suit, I believe he's a lifelike manneguin (with lifelike hair), who would do no real harm, but little real good.
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