I migrated this over from a post so there are some comments here.
!!!!Barack Obama for President!!!!
The Democratic Nomination is all but finalized & Barack Obama is the Nominee!
Now it is on to Three Stages
Stage #1: VP Nomination
Stage #2: Cabinet Nominations
Stage #3: States that can be Won on the Electoral Map
This discussion is based on a Dream Team, Fantasy VP & Cabinet, with a focus on naming the most qualified for the position and what they can bring in as far as voting blocks &/or States to assure the victory in November!
What I might do is update a tally here on the ongoing discussion as we wade through the possibilities.
Please keep in mind, we don’t want to have a “Democratic Drain” from the Senate, given the majority is razor thin at the moment and only about 30 seats are up for election this November.
Pool of VP &/or Cabinet Personalities I am linking each candidate in the pool to their wikipedia information for base info
Bill Richardson (D), Gov. NM
Chuck Hagel (R), Sen. Nebraska
John Edwards (D), NC
Stephen Colbert (R), Papa Bear Impersonator
Claire McCaskill (D-I), Sen. Missouri
Dennis Kucinich (D), Rep. Ohio
Ed Rendell (D), Gov. PA
Robert Wexler (D), Rep. FL
? (D), Gov. AZ
Gen. Wesley Clark (D), NATO Commander (retired)
Gen. Colin Powell, (R), Sec. Def., Sec State, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Kathleen Sebelius (D), Gov. Kansas
Jim Webb (D), Sen. VA
Tom Daschle (D), SD
Joe Biden (D), Sen. Delaware
Ted Strickland (D), Gov. OH
any other ideas welcome
Vice Presidential Nominations collected from various blogs & MSM
Cabinet Positions collected from various blogs & MSM
Secretary of State — Gov. Bill Richardson [general consensus around blogs]
Biden? Is there a viable D to replace in DE to not lose Senate seat?
Secretary of Defense — Clark – I, Powell – I
Attorney General — Sen. John Edwards [general consensus around blogs up for debate]
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs
Others (not included unless competent nominees are named)
The Hillary Factor, what is best for her
a) Return to NY as Sen
KateStone writesshe would make an excellent Majority Leader to Obama’s Presidency. He has to depend on the Majority Leader to move his agenda forward. Reid is nice but a total failure…don’t want her as VP. Big mistake. He needs her in a key position in the Senate.
b) Supreme Court Nomination
c) NY Governor
d) VP – I
e) some other option?
What to do with Bill Clinton
a) Replaces Hillary in Senate seat (just heard this on radio)
b) Promotes on stump, for Congressional Dems in elections in Purple States
c) Placed in special envoy position to continue work w/ Middle East Peace process
d) ?
States to be Won Outside the Normal Northeast & West Coast Bastions of Democratic Strength
US Census State by State Breakdowns
Blue Electoral: HI, CA, OR, WA, NY, VT, MA, ME, RI, CT, NJ – 153
Purplish Blue Electoral:
Purplish Red Electoral:
Red Electoral:
ps I won’t bite, I promise! But I do reserve the right it you act like an idiotic republican, stating and not backing your view & “knowing” it is b/c I say it is mentality 
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10 responses so far ↓
Hans // May 27, 2008 at 2:49 pm |
I’ll start this out with my opinion I have posted everywhere but here on Ohio.
Without doing the Electoral Map math yet, I personally feel we can not count on Ohio coming through for us. They have repeatedly gone Red the last couple of elections and I think, regardless of whether there is corruption in the “black box” voting, they will not go Blue, save an act of God and apparently God does not want it.
Reason: Ohio, as part of the Rustbelt states, a general decrease in manufacturing sector jobs & “brain drain” is losing more and more of their base, political aware population, otherwise known as Democrats & Independents, to westward migration. The population remaining, for reasons beyond my comprehension, votes based on “God & Guns” instead of “Food & Jobs”.
Solution: Search for western states west of the 100th meridian and in particular the inter-mountain states of Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona & Nevada. These are the states that are receiving a lot of the eastern “brain drain” and every year they get more purple. Also their % of Latino population increases as well.
I think announcing Gov. Richardson early as the intended Sec. of State, will allow him to start mobilizing the Latino vote in these states. Of course, other than the obvious draw of him being a Latino, I believe he can draw a large % of the socially conservative Latino vote that base a lot of their decisions on their Catholic faith.
Step two is finding a prominent & popular Democratic personality within the intermountain states that can galvanize the base in the states, plus with Richardson’s Latinos, then draw in Independent and moderate Republicans who are looking for fiscal responsibility and an end to the war.
Because the Mormon’s influence extends well outside the boarders of Utah into the neighboring states, I consider Rocky Anderson, Mayor SLC as a potential candidate based on his popularity and stance against the Occupation in Iraq.
Sen Orin Hatch (R) UT has been around a long time & been very influential for western states in total during both R & D fed administrations, and his time is limited. Utah & the surround states will be looking for someone to step up to maintain their presence in DC. This would be a great time to step up with a D to fill this looming void.
Potential: westerners love Sec of Interior posts.
Hans // May 27, 2008 at 2:51 pm |
Yee-Hooo, my idea is becoming reality. CNN reports on May 27th, Obama is pursuing a Western States strategy!!!!
Obama said, “We’re going to fight as hard as we can in these states. We want to send the message now that we’re going to go after them and I expect to win them….
I’m absolutely confident that we’re going to do very well west out here because people out west are independent-minded and are going to look at whether or not over the last eight years the country is better off under Republican rule. I think they’re going to conclude they’re not and they want fundamental change, something that I’m offering and John McCain is not.”
Enjoy Jesusland Ohio!
jeremybeales // May 27, 2008 at 10:02 pm |
In terms of the cabinet, it may be waaaay too early to start speculating, but who cares. Its fun!
I’d definitely think Biden has the inside track as Obama’s Secretary of State. He’s a great voice on foreign policy and made waves in the past couple of weeks by hitting back at Bush for his Knesset comments and Lieberman for his heresies. (Don’t worry about the Senate state. Delaware is a blue state and Biden’s son Beau is the AG and would be a strong candidate.)
Clark would definitely be a good option at Defense. He knows the military and would help Obama avoid the type of fights with the military that plagued the Clinton presidency. The other, more under the radar, candidate is Richard Danzig, a Clinton Secretary of the Navy. He’s been an Obama supporter from the very beginning and has been instrumental in helping Obama formulate military policy.
Attorney General could well be Edwards if he wants it. All indications that I’ve seen however are that he doesn’t. Beyond that, I don’t have a ton of names, but given the number of lawyers in DC it wouldn’t be hard to find one.
Secretary of Energy could be a good place for Richardson. I know he’s already done it, but energy policy seems likely to be a lot more exciting and important in an Obama administration than it was in the Clinton administration. Arnold Schwartzenager could be an option here too. He’s been good on energy and global warming issues and would really split Republicans on Obama’s global warming initiatives.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs would likely be Max Cleland. He’s been a Veterans advocate for years and would probably get the job in either Democratic administration. He’s got a great grasp of the issues and would do an outstanding job of making sure veterans get the respect and treatment they deserve. Plus, he’s a war hero and left three limbs on the battlefield in Vietnam, giving him real credibility and moral authority.
A couple of positions you don’t have:
Secretary of the Treasury: Not sure who would be a good fit here. Chris Dodd would be a possibility. He’s the chair of the Senate banking committee and has a safe Senate seat in a blue state, for those who are worried about that kind of stuff. Keeping Hank Paulson on could be a good option too, given that he seems to have good instincts that are muted under Bush and has the trust of Wall Street and the financial markets. Also, an off the wall idea; Mike Bloomberg, who’s got great experience on the issues, pretty good instincts and has indicated an openess to Obama.
Secretary of Homeland Security: Gary Hart. He’s been thinking about these issues for years and even co-authored a report on international terrorism in the US before 9/11 that was remarkably perceptive. He’s a real heavyweight and would inspire a lot of confidence.
Director of National Intelligence: I would absolutely love to see Bob Graham in this spot. He’s got a good grasp of intelligence issues from his time in the Senate and his book, Intelligence Matters, was incredibly perceptive. Also, he’s the type of outsider and heavyweight who could be counted on to reform the intelligence system, a task that is sorely needed after Bush.
National Security Adviser: Sarah Sewell. She’s not that well known yet, but watch out. She’s a Harvard research and close adviser to Obama who has got a sterling reputation. She has been one of the major advocates of counterinsurgency theory. She even wrote the introduction to David Petraeus’ Field Manual.
Secretary of Labor: Andy Stern. He’s the head of the SEIU union and was a key endorser of Obama. He’s likely got it wrapped up.
For the other spots I’ve got no clue. Secretary of the Interior will likely be a Western Governor (Dave Freudenthal maybe?) given that most of the issues the Interior department deals with are in the West and that water rights issues will be big in the next 8 years. I don’t know a ton about Obama’s thinking on education, so I have no idea where he’d go there.
Hans // May 31, 2008 at 7:46 pm |
Richardson should be named Sec of State early for the reasons you mention. I’d love him as VP, but we need a non “minority” strong on defense & military (not hawk, put responsible military) as VP to consolidate middle america voters.
Richardson, due to the huge influx of illegals, into small town america might push away voters who feel the direct affects of the “Mexification” of Small Town, America. (this is not said from a Lou Dobbs’ perspective, but rather reality for those whose schools are “overwhelmed” by hispanic ESL students, non paying emergency room visits for a minor cold, etc.)
Richardson consolidating Latinos is important, but would give the “excuse” for middle America to swallow the bitter pill of McCain. I am not implying we’d win Kentucky, but it does have an huge impact on the bread basket states west of the mississippi.
Amlicar // June 1, 2008 at 9:29 pm |
After all that we have seen during this ‘Finding a DNC nominee’ season, it is foolhardy NOT to include Hillary Clinton as Barack’s first choice for VP.
He cannot win in areas where she can. But she can win in areas where he can.
It would be seen as dumb,… as dumb as Al Gore thinking he could win alone without President Clinton’s visual support, if Barack Obama leaves an opening for John McCain to defeat us , the DNC, again in November 08. He has to least offer the Vice Presidency to her, Hillary, very humbly and openly. She then has to have a very good reason to refuse.
A confused and insecure electorate will become very uneasy and unreliable if they have to wonder who to choose on election day. Barack Obama by himself cannot secure the DNC vistory.
Consider the options they may be given: John McCain and some nut, like Bloomberg, or some person he thinks America has a little soft heart for.
Against Barack Obama and someone who the electorate has to judge and scrutunize all over again . That’s leaving a frigging opening for the Republicans to find a worthy challenge to create confusion and distraction.
Hans // June 1, 2008 at 10:37 pm |
I will have to give this some honest consideration over the next couple of days, and dependent upon how Hillary comes out of the DNC R&BC decision.
I’m still open as to who a good VP would be, I have not checked out the midwest & western female governors that have been floated around.
The VP is really going to have to be someone that can take on Iraq as a “pet project” to extricate ourselves from there in a reasonable fashion, so i really don’t know who that could be yet. So many non-Ideolog “hawks” have been driven out of the system & the Pentagon, that there is going to have to be someone very knowledgable and “strong” that can rebuild a non-biased DoD and sort Iraq out.
Could we see Powell come back as Sec Def, or did he burn all bridges by staying out of the fray after he got served up at the UN?
Mr. Cheeseburger 9000 // June 5, 2008 at 8:07 am |
This is all good analysis but can we think of anyone else other than clinton? yes, it is difficult given that she, along with obama, have OWNED the political landscape in the last few months. but relying on our american psyche and our penchant for short attention spans, a new person will likely sprout. perhaps someone outside the box, like Zohan?
Hans // June 5, 2008 at 3:05 pm |
There are definitely others out there, just a matter of getting off this “primary fervor and lunacy” and entering back into some rational thought to see who they are and what they offer.
hellakali // June 24, 2008 at 5:49 pm |
Im unsure on VP. I know who I dont think it should be. I was for Sebelius…just because her image is mroe subtle then the others and you need a more subtle image behind you. I love edwards…but he needs to be dominant..thats why I dont think he would be good VP. I think webb or powell would be good for defense altrhough some disagree with powell being thathe contributerd to the iraq war..but i think there is more we dont know about that. Either one is good tho…
As far as hill..yea she should go back to her seat in senate..i dont think she should do anything else.
Bill needs to get outta harlem now..and be quiet for a while. He needs to improve the clinton foundation and its efforts (according to tax returns)..maybe do some stuff for the unfortunate, to make up for all the damage he did during the primaries..
Another VP option I like is Wexler…I love everything he does and how he does it…he truly holds Obamas policies at heart and he will also help getting the jewish vote. I dont see it happening tho.
hellakali // June 24, 2008 at 5:50 pm |
wow at all my typos..sorry..goin too fast