Group Forums >> I'm a Registered Voter, and Proud Of It! >> How about John Edwards as Obama's running mate?
How about John Edwards as Obama's running mate?
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Posted 4 months ago When I watched John Edwards announce his endorsement of Obama the other night, I wondered if perhaps Edwards would accept if Obama were to ask him to be his running mate...Who else has the notoriety of Edwards? Their positions are not terribly far apart. Edwards is, after all, a white man. (Although I've never really understood how voters are swayed by the "balance" of the candidates. It's not like one white man and one bi-racial man equal a man who is 75% white...and one man from the North and one man from the South equal a man who is unbiased against a region of the country...jeesh.) I'd love it, personally. But they would have to promise to let the VP do more work than he is usually allowed to do. Why isn't the VP a member of the Cabinet? Isn't he supposed to be able to step in at a moments notice? Shouldn't he be in every meeting the President has so that he KNOWS what is going on and what was said to whom in the event the President should die?
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| Posted 4 months ago The choice of a running mate is a very calculating one. The VP has to offer something to the ticket that the presidential nominee cannot. John Edwards was picked to be John Kerry's running mate in 2004 because it was thought he would bring in the southern states that normally are allotted to the GOP in the general election. He did not bring in any of those states. It is unlikely the Democratic Party would pick him again as a VP when he did not meet expectations last time. I could see Obama giving him a position in the cabinet to focus on poverty, though. Daniela
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| Posted 4 months ago Those are good points regarding the strategy behind the choice of a running mate. While I understand the (pardon the pun) "conventional" logic, I don't see that logic as sound. How does the fact that the VP is from the South really benefit the voters in Southern states? The VP is the most useless job in the government. (Except for Cheney, who has been the ventriloquist for the last 8 years.) S/he does not even sit in on cabinet meetings! We've seen teams, such as Kennedy and Johnson, who were so "incompatible" that they rarely even spoke to each other. But, Johnson "brought in the Southern vote." It is an illogical reason for selecting a VP and the lack of logic is perpetuated by the media and not questioned strenuously enough by voting citizens. Perhaps it's wishful thinking on my part but I think the Kerry campaign could have used Edwards more effectively in the '04 campaign. I think "the media" purposely kept Edwards off camera because they wanted Bush to be re-elected. Edwards is a lot more appealing than Kerry. I mean, after all, whose face would YOU rather wake up to every morning? I would love to see Edwards as a member of the cabinet. Or as Attorney General. I've heard that idea tossed around a little. |