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  • THURSDAY JUNE 12 2008 6:00 AM

Get Your VP On

Now that we have finally picked our candidates, after a horribly long and unnecessary primary season, it’s time for the nominees to choose their Vice Presidential candidate. Barack Obama has some decent selections to pick from. I will now list them and explain why they are all horrible people. Enjoy.

First up, Hillary Clinton.

Pros:

She supposedly will help Obama with white, working class voters – a group that has not voted for the Democratic candidate since 1964. (Why people think a woman will win over a bunch of stupid, white guys, I don’t know, but that’s supposed to be a “pro.”) Also, The Clinton team is ruthless and will fight a tough battle against Republicans. The Clinton name also brings up memories of a rosier time and Americans like to think happy thoughts. She will bring a boatload of rich fundraisers with her and Obama could actually win Arkansas with Hillary. And finally, there are quite a few angry older ladies who might sit this one out unless Hillary is on the ticket.

Cons:

She’s a demon. And there’s more. Having Bill Clinton associated with the White House would undermine Obama constantly. Hillary totally lacks any National Security experience and would therefore highlight Obama’s major weakness. She undermines Obama’s entire campaign because she is a Washington insider. During the primary, she repeatedly said McCain has the experience to be president, but Obama does not. Republicans have already turned it into an ad and would only turn up the flame if she were on the ticket. Finally, Hillary is the right-wings wet dream. If she is on the ticket, it will cause more depressed Republicans to turn out and vote, which will have a negative effect on Democratic pick ups in the Senate, Congress and on down the line. Also, she’s a demon.

Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas.

Pros:

She has one of those vagina things, which seems to be important to many Clinton supporters. Sebelius is very popular in Kansas and could swing the state. She also has ties to Ohio, where her father was governor and could be very helpful in that horrible state. Sebelius is popular with conservative Democrats and some Republicans, but is a liberal. Most importantly, she has a good economic record. In 2005, Time named her as one of the nation's five best governors for balancing the state’s $1.1 billion budget deficit without raising taxes or cutting funding for education.

Cons:

Um, who the fuck is she? She may be a rising star in the party, but nationally she is completely unknown. If she were selected, it would be a horribly obvious move to pacify Clinton supporters, which would just enrage them. They’ve already said as much.


Pick Sebelius or Evan Bayh, then you are just saying you did not want Hillary Clinton. And that is a problem. For Obama.


Right. You let me know what you won't get upset about, you angry freaks.

The NRA is also very, very opposed to Sebelius because she vetoed a bill that would have allowed crazy gun owners in Kansas to carry their weapons concealed. The NRA would have a field day with an Obama/Sebelius ticket, which could cause problems in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania. She won’t help with white men, which is the demographic Obama needs to chip away at. Sebelius also has zero foreign policy experience and that’s a serious problem.

Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico.

Pros:

Hello Latinos! Richardson could swing states like Texas, Nevada, Colorado and Florida by bringing in an overwhelming number of Latino voters. Those are big states, right? He has been very successful as a governor. Richardson’s foreign policy experience is unparalleled – on both sides of the aisle. An experienced diplomat would fit in perfectly with Obama’s platform and it is what the country needs right now. He’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times. He’s a former Energy Secretary – something we seem to have a bit of a problem with right now. He fits in well with Obama’s “change” platform.

Cons:

Holy shit is he bad in a debate, and my God does he make the occasional really stupid comment. Can America handle a “double ethnic” ticket? Some people think it’s a negative – I disagree. Other than that, not a lot of negatives to Richardson.

Jim Webb, Senator from Virginia.

Pros:

He would cancel out McCain’s war hero status. Webb is a Vietnam vet who is walking around with two Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars, the Silver Star and the Navy Cross. That’s some serious shit, there. Webb can attack McCain’s bullshit votes against soldier’s benefits in ways Obama never will be able to. Webb also worked in the Pentagon under Reagan, who is some sort of right wing God. (I think because he was insane with Alzheimer’s.) Some people also believe Webb could help Obama with the Appalachian states – I think they are fucking crazy. Finally, Webb is considered to be a “brilliant legislative tactician.”

Cons:

#1 and huge reason: Removing Webb from the Senate is not a good idea. He’s from a red state, if you take him out of the Senate, there’s a decent chance that seat goes back to the Republicans. Also, he is terrible on the campaign trail – and he will look even worse in contrast to Obama. His background could seriously hurt Democratic chances. Webb is basically a right wing nutjob.


Liberals are Marxists.


The upper crust of academia and the pampered salons of Hollywood are waging war on American traditions.


Affirmative Action is state sponsored terrorism.


Holy fucking shit. And there’s more. In 1979, Webb wrote an article in The Washingtonian called, “Women Can't Fight." I don’t need to go into that one, do I? He was still attacking feminism in 1997.

Giving Webb the nod would be a massive slap in the face to Clinton supporters – so it’s a no go. Webb will not be VP – and he shouldn’t be. His articles did a lot of harm to women in the military.

Wesley Clark, retired general.

Pros:

Again, he’s got the military thing going, something Obama needs. He is also in the Clinton camp and this would help with Hillary and her supporters. He’s run before, so he’s been vetted a bit and probably won’t make too many mistakes. But the only reason to pick Clark is his national security credibility.

Cons:

Sucks at speaking. Just sucks. People were pretty excited about the idea of a general running in the Democratic 2004 primary – and he had his clock cleaned because he sucked. And Republicans have some serious criticisms of his time in charge in Kosovo.

Ted Strickland, governor of Ohio.

Pros:

Look at cons.

Cons:

He just said this:


"Absolutely not. If drafted, I will not run; nominated, I will not accept; and if elected, I will not serve," he said in an interview scheduled to air Tuesday night. "So, I don't know how more crystal clear I can be."


Joe Biden, Senator from Delaware.

Pros:

Wit. He can turn a phrase better than anyone out there. Biden can slam and destroy opponents with his tongue. For a VP candidate, that’s invaluable. As far as qualifications, he’s loaded. Very few Democrats know more about foreign policy than Biden – and he loves to mix it up with Republicans on the issue. He’s the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which would help with upcoming Supreme Court nominations. And, he’s an experienced campaigner and comes from a blue-collar background.

Cons:

Well, his sharp tongue sometimes goes bad. Oh, and there’s the fact that he is a massive corporate whore, which means he optimizes everything Obama is against.

Those are the current front runners, but many other names are in the wind. I’m sure in the end, Obama will pick someone crazy and we will all be shocked. Like, myself, for instance.

Next week: McCain's options.

 

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Comments
gfvella

gfvella

Australia
November 2004

JUN 13, 2008 12:38 AM

FearTheReaper said:

gfvella said:

FearTheReaper said:

gfvella said:
An alternate view is that Obama's team is already full of corporate whores and now that he has the nomination Obama can afford to let his naive fans drift a little.



Of course the irony is that you're so naive that you believe all Obama "fans" are naive.

You show complete and total ignorance in regards to what is happening in American politics at this moment.



To say "naive fans" is not to say that all all Obama fans are naive.

And how is it ignorant to say that Obama's team is full of Democrat Apparatchiks many of whom have been in and out of bed with Corporate American their whole careers?

I referenced the URL containing the data that lists many of Obama's senior staff and links to their own wiki-pages, which make this explicit. If these pages have all been cooked I'm willing to informed otherwise.

Obama has a team of old Washington-hands. Not exactly what a dream team for change would look like. If you want to argue different let's hear it. Or you can be your normally provocative, insulting self kiss which is funny if nothing else



Actually, I wrote an article about it last year, so not only are you full of shit, but you're late to the game. But keep patting yourself on the back for providing the world with new information. Maybe you should make yourself a little medal and wear it around town.

Every candidate has "naive fans." Your attempt to portray Obama as having more than the norm is a colossal pile of shit of a point. It wreaks of ignorance and naivete. But keep 'em coming. I'll try to adjust my brain to simplicity.



So I was ignorant because I didn't remember you article from last year? Or because your article dispel the notion that Obama's team is full of old fashioned democrat operatives? And I don't regard as linking to wikipedia as providing the world with new information, but it is usually considered polite to link to the information you are basing your arguments and/or questions on. As I said if you can direct me to information that says different then I'm happy to have a look.

I had a look through your article list, but i can't find the one you are referring to. Could you link it pls or mention what its title was.

Given the number of political neophytes Obama has brought to this election through his campaigning it is arguable that he does have more naive fans than average. It is also arguable that they are generally less ignorant than average given everything that has been reported about their relatively high socio-economic status (college educated etc). So there is a counter-balancing argument of more less politically active supporters versus better than average education.

So does their education allow them to see the political realities that Obama has to work with and accept his balancing of Change vs Success? Or does their political naivety mean they will be unwilling to tolerate him making any gestures to realpolitik in order to get elected?

Naive may not be the best word given what ChrisSick said about how it is being bandied around in the US in a partisan way, but its th best term I have for the new voters/not previously politically active voters Obama has set out to recruit.

And I only wear my medals around at Mardi Gras. biggrin

Metaverse

Metaverse

USA
March 2005

JUN 13, 2008 01:19 AM

I like Richardson and Biden..and wouldn't be opposed to Clinton...but I really don't know as much as others in this thread...so I'm doing more reading about politics and politicians this year then I have ever done in my life.

abbazappa

abbazappa

Sacramento, CA
June 2006

JUN 13, 2008 01:27 AM

i think Richardson would be a realy good choice.

ChrisSick

ChrisSick

Philadelphia, PA
March 2008

JUN 13, 2008 02:17 AM

gfvella said:

ChrisSick said: I'm not indifferent to your point, but there aren't many people out there who can run a national campaign, and many of them got the experience working on previous campaigns, in D.C.

The point I was making in my original post was that both Biden and Clinton have taken a ton of corporate money and given that Obama hasn't, that would cause a huge contrast against his platform and message.



It the old saw about how to clean up a gutter you first have to get down in the gutter. I said in another thread that it would be incredibly interesting to see if Obama does try to follow through on his promises of change. It will be interesting to see who he picks as his chief of staff and as his secretaries, that will probably demonstrate whether he really intends to try to change anything.

The corporate money is a good point I hadn't considered. I haven't seen any coverage, but is Obama still pulling strongly from his internet focus on small donors?



His small donations/internet grassroots, as far as I can understand it, is the backbone of his funding. Which says a lot given how incredibly well funded he is. I do have to cop to not throughly examining recent finical disclosures from either campaign, though. There have been accusations that he's taken lobbyist/PAC money, but the biggest amount I've seen him pegged to is something like 150k, which is a drop in the bucket for a $200m campaign. Also you may not have seen the story that he recently made the DNC return $100k in lobbyist/PAC money.

The old saw I always liked was 'you can't govern if you don't get elected'.

gfvella

gfvella

Australia
November 2004

JUN 13, 2008 04:21 AM

gfvella said: So does their education allow them to see the political realities that Obama has to work with and accept his balancing of Change vs Success? Or does their political naivety mean they will be unwilling to tolerate him making any gestures to realpolitik in order to get elected?



Interesting article in the SMH, which illuminates the issue about Obama and washington insiders and how this affects the type of campaign he is trying to run and his support base.

suaveadonis

suaveadonis

USA
January 2007

JUN 13, 2008 01:52 PM

gfvella said

I had a look through your article list, but i can't find the one you are referring to. Could you link it pls or mention what its title was



I think it is this one:

obama

VanityIndustrial

VanityIndustrial

Saint Joseph, MO
December 2007

JUN 13, 2008 07:29 PM

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Coyotemike

Coyotemike

USA
May 2006

JUN 13, 2008 07:31 PM

VanityIndustrial said:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.



You should be beaten to death with a half-decomposed monkey for that suggestion.

VanityIndustrial

VanityIndustrial

Saint Joseph, MO
December 2007

JUN 13, 2008 07:37 PM

coyotemike said:

VanityIndustrial said:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.



You should be beaten to death with a half-decomposed monkey for that suggestion.



The Obama/Junior Nation would be strong. tongue

In all seriousness I find it a difficult field to choose from. But I am torn on this election in general, because I see a strong victory for Obama regardless of who he chooses in November; but the cynic in me thinks the American people will get what they deserve.

gfvella

gfvella

Australia
November 2004

JUN 13, 2008 07:41 PM

coyotemike said:

VanityIndustrial said:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.



You should be beaten to death with a half-decomposed monkey for that suggestion.



Hey, it would give Obama an instant rebuttal to not having a link to the common man <grin>

I'm not that up on American race drivers but I gather he was the person Tallegaha <sp?> was based on. If that doesn't give the Obama campaign the common touch what would! tongue

VanityIndustrial

VanityIndustrial

Saint Joseph, MO
December 2007

JUN 13, 2008 08:37 PM

gfvella said:

coyotemike said:

VanityIndustrial said:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.



You should be beaten to death with a half-decomposed monkey for that suggestion.



Hey, it would give Obama an instant rebuttal to not having a link to the common man <grin>
I'm not that up on American race drivers but I gather he was the person Tallegaha <sp?> was based on. If that doesn't give the Obama campaign the common touch what would! tongue


And that's why he's the perfect choice for VEEP

To the Talladega comment: Sort of. I see it as more a stereotype of the NASCAR driver/fan.

Note: I'm not really a nascar fan, just tired of the media contention that Obama has to pick a VEEP that will win the white, male blue collar vote.

ckdexterhaven

ckdexterhaven

USA
December 2005

JUN 13, 2008 08:43 PM

VanityIndustrial said:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.


Well, it would certainly help Obama in the south.

suaveadonis

suaveadonis

USA
January 2007

JUN 14, 2008 04:52 AM

While I always thought Bill Richarsdon would be the VP after his endorsement of Barrack, I really like the idea of John Edwards being the VP for the simple reason he shares some of the same views and would be more "cooperative" to Barrack's goals and ideals.

Honestly, I wish they would have a separate election for VP which I think was done when our country was founded.

otaku

otaku

USA
January 2004

JUN 14, 2008 07:41 AM

bald_eagle said:

bunky said:
Honestly, I wish they would have a separate election for VP which I think was done when our country was founded.



Not exactly. After the votes were counted, the guy who came in second became the veep. That didn't work out too well, so the Constitution was amended.



Speaking of increased risk of assassination...
"The VP called, he asked if you wanted to go out hunting today."

thetwelfthstate

thetwelfthstate

Chicago, IL
November 2007

JUN 14, 2008 08:43 AM

Just in case you forgot those guns you're so against are the reason this country is around. Booze and guns got the revolution started my friends.

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