Tuesday, December 30, 2003
You Can't Always Get What You Want
The sort of person you want as a vice-presidential candidate has changed in recent years. You could call this the Cheney Effect-- Dick "Him Before He Dicks You" Cheney is easily the most influential VP in the history of the Republic (although Al Gore's influence was great, he exercised it under the radar, instead of from an undisclosed location). When personalities are removed from the issue, it's by no means a bad thing to have an experienced vice president sharing the load. People don't generally vote on the basis of who a candidate's running mate is. Nevertheless, given the importance we place on the presidency in difficult times, I don't believe there will be any more Dan Quayles or Spiro Agnews (or Geraldine Ferraros) a heartbeat away.
The problem for Howard Dean is that there are not a lot of Democrats with national stature who fit the current profile of a running mate. (Some dreamers pine for Hillary, but they pine in vain.) Dean's choice, whoever it is, will almost certainly come from the field of 2004 candidates, but the pool is shrinking. John Edwards said yesterday he doesn't want the gig. John Kerry wouldn't be offered it for geographical reasons, never mind his recent attacks on Dean. Joe Lieberman had his shot already. Dick Gephardt will be on his way back to Brigadoon by convention time. The remaining candidates offer nothing but comic relief.
So that leaves Wesley Clark. I believe Dean and Clark will come to an understanding, and Clark will be Dean's running mate. But there's a story out of Florida (already more than a week old) that says outgoing senator and former Democratic candidate Bob Graham is positioning himself for Dean's second slot. Graham, thanks to his foreign policy experience, Southern heritage, and grandfatherly appearance, would be a pretty good choice if Clark refuses the job.
Recommended reading: Dean toured the Midwest yesterday. He got to Green Bay one day late and missed the football game, but he did find time to talk to the Washington Post in Detroit. Just when I start thinking Dean might just be unelectable after all (losing to Bush 53-40 in a Newsweek poll last week), I read an article like this one, and my faith is renewed.
And here's one I missed over Christmas: Eric Boehlert of Salon looks back 34 years to the greatest week in rock history. There were giants in the earth in those days, the very moment the glorious 1960s began to crash--the Beatles, the Stones, Zeppelin, Dylan, the Temptations, and more, high on the charts and blasting on the radio. It's one of the best pieces of rock journalism I've seen in years. I wish I'd written it--and I've tried.
The sort of person you want as a vice-presidential candidate has changed in recent years. You could call this the Cheney Effect-- Dick "Him Before He Dicks You" Cheney is easily the most influential VP in the history of the Republic (although Al Gore's influence was great, he exercised it under the radar, instead of from an undisclosed location). When personalities are removed from the issue, it's by no means a bad thing to have an experienced vice president sharing the load. People don't generally vote on the basis of who a candidate's running mate is. Nevertheless, given the importance we place on the presidency in difficult times, I don't believe there will be any more Dan Quayles or Spiro Agnews (or Geraldine Ferraros) a heartbeat away.
The problem for Howard Dean is that there are not a lot of Democrats with national stature who fit the current profile of a running mate. (Some dreamers pine for Hillary, but they pine in vain.) Dean's choice, whoever it is, will almost certainly come from the field of 2004 candidates, but the pool is shrinking. John Edwards said yesterday he doesn't want the gig. John Kerry wouldn't be offered it for geographical reasons, never mind his recent attacks on Dean. Joe Lieberman had his shot already. Dick Gephardt will be on his way back to Brigadoon by convention time. The remaining candidates offer nothing but comic relief.
So that leaves Wesley Clark. I believe Dean and Clark will come to an understanding, and Clark will be Dean's running mate. But there's a story out of Florida (already more than a week old) that says outgoing senator and former Democratic candidate Bob Graham is positioning himself for Dean's second slot. Graham, thanks to his foreign policy experience, Southern heritage, and grandfatherly appearance, would be a pretty good choice if Clark refuses the job.
Recommended reading: Dean toured the Midwest yesterday. He got to Green Bay one day late and missed the football game, but he did find time to talk to the Washington Post in Detroit. Just when I start thinking Dean might just be unelectable after all (losing to Bush 53-40 in a Newsweek poll last week), I read an article like this one, and my faith is renewed.
And here's one I missed over Christmas: Eric Boehlert of Salon looks back 34 years to the greatest week in rock history. There were giants in the earth in those days, the very moment the glorious 1960s began to crash--the Beatles, the Stones, Zeppelin, Dylan, the Temptations, and more, high on the charts and blasting on the radio. It's one of the best pieces of rock journalism I've seen in years. I wish I'd written it--and I've tried.
