Which governors would make good VP choices for Obama?

[XemaSab]

Arizona
*Gov. Janet Napolitano-- I've heard her name floated before. It would be unlikely to have two people for Arizona running.

Arkansas
*Gov. Mike Beebe-- He only got in last year. He's an unlikely choice.

Colorado
*Gov. Bill Ritter-- He only got in last year. He's an unlikely choice.

Delaware
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner-- Her term in office is over this year. I think Delaware would be "safe" without her, but we also wouldn't be giving up a good spot by picking her. She's the longest-serving female governor in the US today.

Illinois
Gov. Rod Blagojevich-- We're not going to pick someone else from Illinois.

Iowa
*Gov. Chet Culver-- He only got in last year. He's an unlikely choice.

Kansas
*Gov. Kathleen Sebelius-- I've heard her mentioned before.

Kentucky
*Gov. Steven Beshear-- He only got in last year. He's an unlikely choice.

Maine
Gov. John Baldacci-- Maine should be "safe" without him.

Maryland
Gov. Martin O'Malley-- He only got in last year. He's an unlikely choice.

Massachusetts
Gov. Deval Patrick-- He only got in last year. NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

Michigan
Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm-- Not born in America.

Montana
*Gov. Brian Schweitzer-- He's got a degree in soils! Awesome!

New Hampshire
Gov. John Lynch-- Hasn't been in office very long. From a swing state.

New Jersey
Gov. Jon Corzine-- Hasn't been in office very long. Was a senator for a long time.

New Mexico
*Gov. Bill Richardson-- I've heard his name mentioned.

New York
Gov. David Paterson-- He's been in office what, two weeks? Not gonna happen.

North Carolina
*Gov. Michael Easley-- His term is up this year. He was attorney general of NC for a long time. Might make an interesting choice.

Ohio
*Gov. Ted Strickland-- He only got in last year. He's an unlikely choice.

Oklahoma
*Gov. Brad Henry-- Seems very conservative. One of the biggest issues in his campaign was cockfighting.

Oregon
Gov. Ted Kulongoski-- Oregon is probably secure without him.

Pennsylvania
*Gov. Edward Rendell-- Unlikely choice.

Tennessee
*Gov. Phil Bredesen-- Made a brazlian dollars running an HMO.

Virginia
*Gov. Tim Kaine-- He's pretty new, and we might not get another democrat in office there.

Washington
Gov. Chris Gregoire-- She'd make an interesting choice.

West Virginia
*Gov. Joe Manchin III-- Swing state governor.

Wisconsin
Gov. Jim Doyle-- Wisconsin should be pretty safe, but nevertheless maybe that's the way to go.

Wyoming
*Gov. Dave Freudenthal-- Degree in economics, former US Attorney, endorsed Obama.


Discuss. :popcorn:

[gateley]

1. Schweitzer has lived in the Middle East and speaks the language --

he UNDERSTANDS the culture. He gets my vote. Plus he's a no BS kind of guy.

[anonymous171]

77. Yep. Perfect for VP.

[gateley]

80. You're the one who informed me of his ME experience --

you're his best spokesperson. You sold me!

[Wetzelbill]

2. I like Richardson and/or Schweitzer

Lots of good candidates here. Sebelius is an obvious good choice too. Strickland makes some sense.

Obama and Schweitzer would be a sight to see on the campaign trail. Very eclectic, haha. Brian wears bolo tires and jeans, he's a different breed of cat.

[BlooInBloo]

15. Those are my #2 and #1.

[Wetzelbill]

36. yeah they are both great

I think they compliment Barack very well too. Outside of the governors, I think Wes Clark brings alot to the table too.

[BlooInBloo]

57. ha! He's my #3.

[Wetzelbill]

59. This is what it sounds like when doves cry

:rofl:

And I used to live in Seattle too. I wish I never effing moved. :)

[BlooInBloo]

Yesterday it was 50 degrees. Tomorrow it'll be 90. Freakish.

[Wetzelbill]

65. ha that's great

I'm from a town in MT where I remember we went to school once and it was almost a blizzard out it was so bad, then a warm Chinook wind hit and by recess it the snow was all melted and it was beautiful out, then by the time we went home it was practically a blizzard again, lol. Something about Seattle I loved though. I like the weather. Lots of people don't, but maybe it's because I'm from one of the coldest towns in the nation, but 50 degrees is perfect for me. I loved it there.

I went to the Art Institute of Seattle from Sept '99 to Sept. '01. I loved it there. Great culture. Great art. Interesting people. Good Liberal city. I still have friends there, I'll let you know if I ever go back to visit, I plan to one of these days.

[BlooInBloo]

67. Cool - I'll be here!

[NewHampshireDem]

3. Lynch? No way.

He's too, well, uninspiring. Don't get me wrong--I like him, I've met him personally and think he's a great guy, but he's not one to motivate the party outside of NH.

[XemaSab]

7. It's hard to get a sense for politicians you've never heard of

Boring might be a bad idea, but boring might also be just the ticket.

The LBJ to Obama's Kennedy, as it were. :P

[NewHampshireDem]

8. He is very, very popular in NH, don't get me wrong

In fact, he's always at the top of the list nationally for approval ratings of governors. However, he's not really much more than a politician from New Hampshire. I can't see him on the national stage ... even though I do like him!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lynch

[tokenlib]

4. Schweitzer would be the ultimate ticket balancer..

Geographical balance--outreach to the West, image wise- the rugged rancher, entrepreneurial example, innovative energy ideas...

With his bio--America would get to know him fast!

[Boz]

11. Top 3 in order of balance to Obama on personality, experience and positives, Richardson, Sebelius

Schweitzer.

I the 50 state plan the west, east of the rockies and west of the Mississippi is the raw material, because it is the least dogmatically "locked in".

If you mention east coast, west coast, southern or Midwest voters you know what your dealing with but the plains west is open.

Each one of them come from an area in that window and carry the needed balances.

[monmouth]

5. How about Casey from PA? I like him, they looked good together also..n/t

[tokenlib]

6. Truly a nice and decent man--but as the traditional attack dog?

Also no geographical balance benefits.

[Douglas Carpenter]

25. Sen. Casey is not pro choice. So that would be a problem.

[monmouth]

28. Ah, didn't know that, it would be a problem for me, even though those days

have passed for me I was a vicious femenist back in the day..LOL.

[terrya]

9. Blagojevich??? Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

You might consider taking him off that list. Hell, that asshole will probably be under indicment in a couple of years.

[XemaSab]

14. I just listed all the democratic governors

Most of them I've never heard of. :shrug:

[terrya]

19. I live in Illinois.

Trust me, there's some serious buyers regret here with our current governor.

[PM7nj]

10. If you want to lose NJ, put Corzine on the ticket!

He would be the worst VP choice ever.... worse than Ferraro and Eagleton.

[wishlist]

12. Richardson has foreign policy experience, is familiar to voters

Seems that he could be a good choice with more positives than negatives.

[Boz]

26. Richardson is my favorite. The big point is hes the known name brand also

McCain is name recoged, Obama took almost 3 years to get name recognition, people already know who Richardson is.

[BlooInBloo]

13. Um, the Sensible VP Question room is 2 doors down the hall to the left...

This forum is just for idiotic I'll-name-all-the-famous-people-I-know-for-VP questions.

Thanks!

[Ashy Larry]

16. Tim Kaine

He is limited to one term (his ends at the end of 2009). He was previously the Lieutenant Governor (under Mark Warner), as well as mayor of Richmond, VA and member of the Richmond city council before that. I doubt he would have a problem delivering VA for Obama. As for getting another Democrat as Governor, I don't think that will be a problem. We have a couple of good candidates (Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran) and the republicans have a really weak field right now (Tom Davis). VA is continuing to trend blue as a result of changing demographics and growing disgust with the republican brand generally.

Kaine is also pretty popular among Hispanics. He became fluent in Spanish while working as a Catholic missionary in Honduras.

I think he is pretty good on the stump as well.

[TBF]

42. I used to live in Northern VA & hear that Tim Kaine is really

popular. The hispanic edge would be nice - but Richardson could deliver that as well of course.

[MichiganVote]

17. I'll take Bredesen from Tennessee for a 1000 Alex....

[mmonk]

18. The two best are on what would be on my short list:

Sebelius and Richardson. I have a feeling they are at the top.
:popcorn:

[anigbrowl]

21. They';re both good, but neither have proved outstanding governors.

I'm not criticizing them, just saying that they haven't really made people sit up and go 'Wow!'.

[mmonk]

53. Sebelius has done quite well under the circumstances.

I think Richardson brings his rich diplomacy experience. They are good cerebral picks.

[anigbrowl]

20. Napolitano is my choice.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5987150 for a thread about why I think so. I see that having 2 candidates from AZ is no problem at all. Means we can say things like 'Az has a lot to offer than John McCain!'.

She has one of the best records of any Governor - 8 years of balanced budgets without raising taxes, 350,000 new jobs, strong on border security and counterterrorism but fair on illegal immigration, and outpolls McCain consistently. Was re-elected with a huge slandlside, beating her GOP opponent 2:1. Terms out in 2010.

In my view Obama already has the brains and team to deal with the big international issues. Where he needs better cred is on kitchen-table domestic stuff. Napolitano is a dream running mate here, and a great grounding influence - nobody, but nobody, can hang the elitist label on her. If Mittens is the Republican VP (most likely) she'll clean his clock with ease.

She is presidential material in her own right. 8 years in an important national office and she'll be a no-brainer. We should think for the long term.

[saracat]

22. So you would leave us with a Republican Governor? Do you know ANYTHING about Jan Brewer?

Our entire state could be destroyed.! Thanks a lot!

[anigbrowl]

23. You can elect another Democrat in 2010.

You can hold a special election to choose a Dem Lt. Gov, and you've done pretty will with Napolitano already. I think Arizonans could probably keep it together for 2 years. Maybe the other 49 states would get some benefit from having her do her thing in DC, and Arizona would too.

Being concerned about a republican SoS in waiting is understandable, but I reject your whining victimology. In my view Napolitano is best qualified for the job and will help us win the White House and down ticket races in November as Obama's running mate.

[saracat]

27. We do NOT have Lt. Governors in AZ. Our SOS becomes Governor and we do NOT

have special elections. If you knew anything at all about our state, which it is obvious you do NOT, you would understand what a disaster Jan Brewer would be. And we have a completely RW legislature and the only thing that has stood between us an absolute disaster is Janet's veto pen.
How dare you tell someone in another state that they should be willing to commit state suicide because you like our Governor as VP? You have NO idea what you are talking about!

[anigbrowl]

40. Lt gov was a typo which I corrected 2 minutes later.

Actually I know quite a bit about your state as I lived there for a year in the 90s. I think you can survive 2 years of Jan Brewer if you're organized about it.

[saracat]

55. We are officially in a recession and we have a GOP RW Legislature that thinks cutting taxes will

save us. We could NOT survive, at least not very well.Permanent ndamage would result.

[anigbrowl]

61. You're not wrong about that, but the same is true for the rest of the country

Which is why I genuinely think we need Napolitano. You know, New york and the western states (CA, NV, AZ) have suffered the worst so far in the housing market/subprime crisis. But most of the rest of the country has not seen a big drop in house prices...yet. There's been a lot of blood on the floor this year but next year is going to be 3x worse as far as I can see - the new president is going to inherit economic conditions redolent of the 1970s.

We both agree that Napolitano is a great smart politician with an outstanding track record - so much so that you don't want to let her go - which says a lot about how capable she is. And I know you're not so fond of Obama, so it must hurt having already 'lost' Edwards to Obama's steamroller effect.

BUT I think that having her fiscal and economic savvy working for the whole ntion in DC could make all the difference between a downward financial spiral for the country and proper economic and regulatory reform that would bring the recession to an end and halt the endless flow of budgetary red ink. Her giant economic skills would make a big difference to the ntion's economic confidence level, and that matters.

[saracat]

72. You still haven't justified how throwing Arizona under the bus

benefits the nation.But heck ain't gonna matter anyway!

[newmajority]

41. It sounds like you really hate this Brewer person.

Are you saying she would actually be WORSE than Evan Meacham or Fyfe Symington?? If so, that's pretty fucking bad.

And yes, I DO care about Arizona. I consider it my second home.

[saracat]

49. Worse doesn't begin to describe her. She makes Katherine Harris seem sane.

She has actually attempted to take over control of the government several times when Janet goes out of state. She tried to approve a budget item once over a "veto".

I do a Wicked Witch imitation that Janet likes . we call it the Jan Brewer voice! Seriously. She is scary. She approved Diebold as the new voting machines .Does that tell you anything?

[Wetzelbill]

37. it wouldn't be a good idea

We wouldn't hold a special election, we'd get our Secretary of State who is a RWer. And our legislature is almost cartoonishly crazy. I like Napolitano, but she's best served where she is at right now. Plus, she could beat McCain in 2010.

[anigbrowl]

47. How do you pick a new SoS then? I forget, as there was no election while I lived there

If Brewer was appointed by the governor, she can't be that awful. I'm more concerned about beating McCain in 2008, and I think having Napolitano on the ticket would help a lot. she has the track record to be a national figure.

[saracat]

51. We "elect" the SOS. Our GOP dominated state elected her.

[anigbrowl]

56. OK, so can't you elect Napolitano's likely replacement not to keep Brewer in check?

I take your point about the woman being 'Katherine Harris on steroids', but she hardly wants to go down as the governor that wrecked Janet Napolitano's fiscal/economic legacy, especially when she'd have to run again in 2010.

[saracat]

62. Sure she would.She would take it as a badge of honor.

And Janet is being blamed a lot for the recession right now.Of course a large part of the damage was the frigging "tax cuts' as well as the housing boom but the GOP has an argument. Oh yeah Brewer would do a 360 on everything. And Education and healthcare would suffer big time. They have already have Evironmental Quality on the chopping block severaL TIMES AND ARE REINTRODUCING THE SAME SEX MARRIAGE BAN AS AN INIATIVE.

[Wetzelbill]

52. Governors don't appoint an SOS

She was elected. I'm not sure how they'd pick another one, probably an election.

[saracat]

58. I think they bump up the treasurer. I think that is what they did when Rose Mofford became Gov but

I might be wrong.They might leave it vacant. I don't remember what happened with Symington.

[Wetzelbill]

60. yeah could be

That's before my time in AZ, but yeah, you probably are right. I can't see why they would have a bunch of elections in this case, so that makes sense.

[Wetzelbill]

35. yeah

I don't know about destroyed but it sure would suck here. I'll probably move back to MT by then, but I think Napolitano is too good right where she is at to make VP. I don't know if she brings anything to the table that some of the others would either, so I think she's fine as Gov. And hopefully she takes out McCain for his Senate seat eventually. Or he retires and she gets it. I'd like to see Jim Pederson be our next governor.

[saracat]

46. Nope.Terry Goddard is going to be our next Governor! Go Terry!

I love Jim but Terry WILL be Gov. No one has poll numbers like Terry! his numbers are better than janet's!

[Wetzelbill]

54. oh yeah

He slipped my mind! Yeah he'd be great. :)

[saracat]

63. Pssst. He is running.

[Wetzelbill]

64. damn I have to start paying attention

to the local stuff a little more. I pay more attention to my former home state's politics than I do Az's. That and national stuff. Oh I loves me some national politics. :)

[Douglas Carpenter]

24. since you just had to ask: I'm for Brian Schweitzer

(my apologies to those who have read my post on this to me)

The Democratic Party's weakest points in a general election is among white males and in small towns, rural areas and mid size cities. In the state by state counting that Obama would need in order to win a general election this would play out very differently than exclusive Democratic Party caucuses and primaries in places like Wyoming or North Carolina. For Sen. Obama to win I cannot see how he can do it without broadening his appeal in the West, the South and border-states and making a respectable showing in small towns, rural areas and mid size cities. So from my point of view, the V.P. candidate needs to be a populist Southerner or Westerner or border stater who appeals to white males and who would have appeal in small towns, rural areas and mid size cities.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm

My personal favorite would be Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana. He is a populist rancher from Montana who is generally populist and progressive on most issues - except gun control where he is strongly supported by the NRA. That speaks for his region. And frankly that would remove a huge electoral liability in the South, the West and in rural and small town America. However he is a strong environmentalist and was vehement vocal opponent of the Iraq War even calling for withdrawing the Montana National Guard from Iraq.

--- And get this he lived and worked in Riyahd for seven years and speaks perfect fluent Arabic. Just imagine what it would do for the world and for the interest of peace in the Middle East if the President of the United States had the name Barak Hussein Obama and the Vice President spoke perfect fluent Arabic!

And take a look at the image that he portrays that helped him sweep Republican Montana with 70% of the vote -- would this sell in small town American and among white working class males and in the West and the South and border states?





From the actblue website: "Brian Schweitzer is a different brand of politician who has earned our support based on his willingness to speak truth, and let the chips fall where they may.
A businessman first, he understands Main Street issues at his core, fighting for lower taxes, better health care and education, and the creation good-paying jobs.
A soil scientist by education, Brian lived in Saudi Arabia for seven years, speaks Arabic, and created the largest dairy farm in the Middle East.
As Governor, he has become the nation’s strongest voice for sensible energy policies in an effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil while protecting the environment from the dangers of global warming.
Brian understands that energy security will create new jobs and technology for export, expanding our tax-base, reducing our trade deficit, and saving our
environment.
An opponent of the Iraq invasion from the start, he further understands that you can’t win a war when you’re funding both sides of it."

[progdog]

29. I agree.

Schweitzer would be great. Someone said Montanans won't want to give him up.

[Wetzelbill]

48. I doubt they would

I'm moving back because of him. :) I think state Republicans would gladly see him leave though, he kicks some serious ass. :)

[anigbrowl]

50. He's my #2 pick after Napolitano

I think both of them work with the blue collar voter, both have a strong track record and both are comfy holding a gun. Napolitano bring in women's votes too, AZ is a biger state, and she can undermine McCain. But Schweitzer has a lot going for him.

[Sensitivity]

30. THE GOVERNOR WITH STRONG NATIONAL SECURITY CREDENTIALS

[lumberjack_jeff]

31. How does a governor get national security creds? n/t

[newmajority]

39. Richardson would qualify.

Can't think of any other governors off the top of my head though.

[mmonk]

44. Yes Richardson.

In fact, he is the one governor with the most proven international skills and is above all the rest across the board in anything remotely in that category.

[Wetzelbill]

45. by first being in Congress for over a decade, and UN Ambassador

and Energy Secretary. :)

But national security "experience" is overrated, because nobody really gets presidential type National Security experience. Maybe a general does, but other than that nobody gets that call in the middle of the night like HRC portrayed in her ad. I think basic foreign policy experience is important though. And governors often get a chance to travel abroad and meet and do business with foreign leaders. Or depending on the state, some governors deal with other countries who may have an interest in their state. For example, Brian Schweitzer has hosted delegations from several different countries who are interested in some of his energy ideas etc. It just depends, like I think senators bullshit their foreign policy credentials, I mean, honestly, if somebody travels over to Iraq, and stays in the green zone the whole time and hears people say what they want to hear, I don't really think that makes somebody that much of a national security expert. About the only senator (who ran for president)I have heard who sounds like they really take foreign policy seriously on all levels is Joe Biden.

But yeah, governors can get a type of foreign policy experience, they might not sit on some committee but they deal with things like the after effects of trade deals and so forth. Also, experience is overrated in the sense that the foreign policy status quo is always more wrong than they are right. A thoughtful autodidact who spends years learning on their own time and taking an interest in world affairs is probably stronger on foreign policy and national security than most Senators who sit on national security and foreign policy committees.

[gcomeau]

71. Nay. Economics more important.

People are unnecessarily worried about the National Security debate against McCain because they're overly focused on that "war hero" factor. It is not the problem people keep making it out to be.

1. The nation overwhelmingly agrees Iraq is a disaster.
2. The majority agrees we need to get the hell out.

McCain is the firmly established "we need to stay in and somehow things will turn around... eventually...." candidate. Obama doesn't need much in the way of help convincing people he's right on this when they already agree with him.

The economy is the trickier ground to navigate. By far. McCain hasn't committed to a clear unpopular position there, he's just hopelessly clueless. That can be fixed by his advisers getting their crap together and coaching him on economic policy properly/getting him his own VP with domestic policy creds. That's where Obama needs reinforcements, not national security.

[lumberjack_jeff]

32. Gregoire is good, but I'm not sure she brings all that much to the table.

Except increased credibility with women.

[newmajority]

38. Gregoire's not gonna be VP

They can't have her. It's too late in the season for the Democrats here to run a rookie candidate, and I'll be goddamned if I'll live in a state where Dino Rossi is governor.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[newmajority]

43. Obama/Grovelbot 2008!!!

Why the Hell not? :evilgrin:

[AlinPA]

34. Gov Schweitzer. Smart. Down to earth. Will attract Independents. Might help

carry some western states + IA, IN.

[bridgit]

66. California - Arnold Schwarzenegger, he's bullish on America/California, wears a green tie...

in his effort to accentuate green tech here in Cali and beyond, is married to the Obama wing of The Kennedy Family, has a dem strategist, understands the plight of the immigrant, already has international status, and would be a viable inclusion of moderate republican thought...such as it is

When I did poli work, I worked on Gov. Napolitano's campaign from here in California...she's a nice woman, very compassionate about the people around her :thumbsup:

[XemaSab]

76. F*** Arnold

He moves with the wind.

[gcomeau]

68. Sebelius looks like the way to go.

Reasons

[democrat2thecore]

73. I think you might be right! Here's why (inside)

I was opposed to the Sebelius possibility until just a couple of weeks ago. Now, I understand how powerful that ticket could be. For one thing - she's a great governor. From all I've read she is easily qualified to step on the national stage.

However, electability for the ticket is why she may very well be the choice. And we have Senator Hillary Clinton to thank. She has shown the power a woman can bring to the polls. Exit polls clearly show that Hillary is a choice, not just for reasons of policy, but because a good number of women think it's time a woman be president. Period. Now, Sebelius is a great campaigner, speaker and would fire up a nation already hungering for change. Too much change with that ticket? No. It's a ticket that makes the GOP tremble. The power of so many women voting for a woman on the ticket - when they may otherwise pass Obama by - is something that cannot be ignored. It would bring two coalitions for change together into an unstoppable force in November.

I've thought long and hard about this. I really think Governor Sibelius could help ignite a whole new electorate for change, that combined with the movement we have with Barack Obama - it's just too full of great possibilities to pass up.

[NC_Nurse]

69. Easley is kind of conservative...endorsed Hillary in our primary.

I guess if he wanted to appeal to Hillary supporters and Southerners. :shrug:

[XemaSab]

74. A moderate could be good

:shrug:

[RBInMaine]

70. Strickland and Kaine are both good choices from PURPLE states. I also really like Schweitzer.

[anonymous171]

75. Schweitzer!

[elpresidenteAlex]

78. Schwartzenneger

He could attract independents and Republicans.

[anonymous171]

79. But he wasn't born in America.