A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
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March 30, 2004Gephardt for VP?Kevin Drum has a few choice words about the rumor going around in Democratic circles that Dick Gephardt is to be the VP on Kerry's ticket. And he's right on target: Democrats are simply sticking their heads in the sand if they don't believe that this entire campaign is going to be about national security first last and always, regardless of whether or not that's what they wish it were about. What Kerry needs is a veep who gives him the maximum possible national security oomph. I would modify Kevin's short list a tad. The VP should be either an elder statesman on foreign policy or a military man with strong diplomatic credentials. Ether illustrates a seriousness about leading a nation at a time of war. My list:
Three of these names are transformational -- leading Republicans who would join an utterly new kind of bipartisan, national unity ticket. One, Anthony Zinni, is outside the box, and would lead to puzzling first reactions, but would also probably wear pretty well. He has an unusual combination of qualities that would ultimately shine through -- solid, sharp, balanced leadership, great communication skills, and more of a "regular guy" demeanor than we get from politicians these days. Also, an intriguingly mixed political pedigree -- he's probably a Republican, having voted for Bush in 2000, being close friends with Powell, and naming Hagel and Lugar as his top foreign policy influences. Yet he's a longstanding vocal opponent of the Iraq war -- making him more palatable to the Democratic base than guys like McCain or Hagel. Zinni is the moderate Republican internationalist we could get onto the Democratic ticket, if only Kerry were willing to take a modest step outside the box. It won't surprise me to find that Kevin is right -- that Kerry went for the safe, conventional choice. Posted by William Swann at March 30, 2004 08:47 PMComments
Nunn would be perfect from my perspective, but I would be surprised if Kerry picked him. The Deaniacs hate Nunn, and he isn't going to deliver any state for Kerry. However, I think Nunn is Cheney without the baggage. He has strong foreign policy and legislative experience, and he is tough, but he didn't work at Haliburton. Because we are a nation "at war," to me Kerry's VP choice is more important than any VP choice has been in any presidential election in a long time. Posted by: Todd Pearson at March 30, 2004 10:22 PMThere's definitely something odd about this list that I've chosen. Everybody on it has some major drawback or another. I believe Nunn has a pro-life and anti-gay rights voting record. Ditto with all three Republicans on the list. McCain, Hagel, and Lugar are all pro-life, and while you and I might suspect that McCain has underlying pro-choice sympathies, that won't help much when all the pro-choice groups get geared up. His consistent record of pro-life votes will count. That makes it all very strange. We're looking for a moderate internationalist on foreign policy -- someone with lots of experience and bipartisan respect. We don't need those pro-life votes. It's a nuisance to deal with all those cultural issues while trying to elevate someone on foreign policy grounds. We need an Olympia Snowe, or Colin Powell, or Christie Whitman style centrist -- someone who swings to the left on cultural issues. That being the case, the natural choice on the Democratic side would be someone like Joe Biden or Joe Lieberman. Biden might be a good choice, but he's from the northeast, and (to me at least) he sometimes projects a distasteful kind of arrogance. Lieberman is great on all counts, except for the small matter that he was largely rejected by the party during the primaries. That's why I'm intruiged by Zinni. He may offer the best combination of remarkable strengths with few drawbacks. If I were Kerry, I'd put him on the short list, and interview him and look closely at his speeches, interviews, and service record. If he is who he seems to be, he might be great. Posted by: William Swann at March 31, 2004 09:52 AMI agree with both points: 1: Kerry needs a bold choice who transmits the ideas of the primacy of hawkishness and statesmanship. 2: Kerry almost certainly lacks the seeds to make a bold choice, someone charismatic who has both big strengths and the corresponding substantial flaws. Everything about the way he has conducted his career suggests he'll pick someone who feels like a comfortable number 2 guy, and who doesn't have obvious flaws to pick on. Posted by: bk at March 31, 2004 11:00 AMInteresting list, William. It sounds like you're saying the biggest problem with Kerry is that he's not Republican enough. |
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