No you pick her because she is incredibly smart, shrewd, connected at the grass roots level and surprisingly charismatic.
Agreed. I will only say this. When she ran and lost in Georgia I kept hearing her name thrown around left and right. She was discussed to the point that I thought it was over the top. Out of curiosity I started reading about her, and then more importantly, what she has had to say and how she came across on television. She is a heavy, unattractive woman and yet when you listen to her for more than 10 minutes it doesn’t matter what she looks like, she is charismatic and extremely shrewd with confidence and assertiveness. She also has few skeletons and is excellent at planning and establishing relationships... she could become a nationally known figure quickly.
Good analysis, with a large blind spot You left out Biden's obvious declining cognitive health. If you are trying to be realistic, this needs to be taken into account. After Corona people will want a President who looks like he will make it through at least 4 years and you don't want to put all this on the woman VP.
All good points. I just think we disagree on what constitutes a legitimate risk. Any thorough vetting process is going to uncover any baggage or controversy from her past. She’s smart, well spoken and quick on her feet so I highly doubt she’s going to have some major foot-in-the-mouth level gaffe. I’ll concede the experience level point, though. No, she’s not your typical candidate. Granted, there’s not much of a difference between her and the first-term candidates I mentioned earlier (my baseline is much different than simply winning one state-wide election), but if he ends up going with somebody like Klobuchar or Warren — I can’t argue against that. Klobuchar, because she’s the most deserving of any nominee, and Warren, because she’s a political heavyweight and would bring balance to the ticket. Although, with a Republican Governor in Massachusetts that scenario has its own problems, but I think you get where I’m going with this. As for Beto, Beto killed his own brand by getting desperate and taking extreme positions on polarizing issues while running for President. Running for President is a lot different than being VP. During a campaign, a VP will be expected to serve as attack dog, win the VP debate, serve as a general surrogate and overall not do anything damaging to the nominee. There wouldn’t be any surprises. I think she handle all of that, all the while carving out her own specific platform and niche. Since losing her bid as governor she’s made her entire platform about voting rights and fighting against voter suppression. Voter suppression is such a critical issue and major reason Trump won in 2016. It’s clearly going to rear it’s ugly head again. I like the idea of having somebody front-and-center that can credibly make the case on those issues. Especially, since her community is disproportionately targeted. Fair point, also, on Wisconsin. These are weird times. Maybe Wisconsin can serve as litmus test. Maybe it’s an outlier. Who knows. Wisconsin is also a weird state in the sense that it truly feels like a 50/50 state in November. Fingers crossed.
Being a 1st term Senator or governor does not undercut the argument that Abrams has a lack of experience. The fact that they are currently in those jobs and she has not had any of those type of jobs shows that they have more experience than Abrams. I don't have any problems at all if Abrams gets the VP nod but questioning her experience is valid. Nobody is advocating for a Tim Kaine like nomination.
What does experience matter? The sitting president was a tabloid-fodder businessman who hosted a reality television series. The GOP nominated a first-term governor of Alaska for VP in 2008. I don't mean this as a commentary on Abrams at all. I just have no idea what experience even means anymore.
It undercuts the argument in my book. Some of these candidates aren’t in the conversation because of their experience. It’s because of race, identity politics, geography or some other motivation. And that’s fine, but let’s call it like it is. Somebody like Val Demings, for example. If she were white, would she be up for consideration? What if she was from New York? Would anyone care? Would Michelle Lujan Grisham be up for consideration if she wasn’t Latina? She’s been governor for one year. ....or Gretchen Whitmer. Would she be a VP candidate if she was from Connecticut? Point being: there are a lot of factors to consider beyond what is broadly interpreted as experience. My point about Abrams, all along, has been about tossing conventional wisdom out of the window and doing something that’s bold. Bold and exciting. I value the latter much more than I value somebody’s ability to win one state-wide race with a year or two as an elected official. The Tim Kaine point was about playing it safe. Hillary, with voter enthusiasm issues of her own, could have opted for a more interesting VP pick like Booker or Castro. She settled on Tim Kaine thinking she had it in the bag, wanted someone she knew wouldn’t hurt her and could help deliver a swing state. Logic that isn’t far removed from the pitches for Klobuchar and Whitmer. Two candidates I think would be fantastic for the job, itself, but candidates that I also worry don’t move the needle much due to both being rather safe and predictable selections. That’s just the way I see it, though.
I agree that there are a lot of factors involved in the pick. As for Val Demings you can say the same about Abrams. Grisham has more experience as a federal public official than Abrams and has actual experience as a gov. Whitmer also has a better cv, unlike Abrams she has been a state senator and a state representative and has exp as a governor, she would definitely be a candidate if she was the governor of Connecticut. Unlike Kaine Klobuchar and Whitmer are women so yeah it is far removed, especially in this political climate. I think the VP debate is a good one and is needed but all of the choses have merits outside of Demings IMO.
For whatever it's worth... https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/poll-biden-vice-president-experience-187056 Voters overwhelmingly want to see Joe Biden choose a vice presidential nominee with governing experience, and they’re far less invested in whether he chooses a woman or a person of color as his running mate, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday. The survey — conducted just after Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 presidential race, making Biden the Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee — found that about two-thirds of voters said it was important Biden choose a running mate with legislative and executive experience. While Biden has vowed to select a woman to join him on the ticket, only 29 percent of voters said it was important for Biden to choose a woman, while 22 percent said it was important that he choose a person of color. Among Democrats, about 8 in 10 said it was important that Biden’s vice-presidential selection have legislative and executive experience. Meanwhile, about half of Democrats said it’s important for Biden’s running mate to be younger than him (77 years old) and for his pick to be a woman. Fewer Democrats say it’s significant that they be more liberal than Biden (41 percent), a person of color (36 percent) or religious (31 percent).
Agree to disagree, then. No way Lujan Grisham or Whitmer are in the conversation if it weren’t for the surface reasons I mentioned. It’s definitely not experience that’s the motivating factor, which goes back to how this conversation started. You can certainly make the argument Abrams doesn’t have a big enough national profile. She’s a bigger name than Demings, though. But you’re right in that Abrams is being considered for many of the same reasons. Full disclosure: I supported Klobuchar during the primary. It frustrated me to no end, but she struggled mightily with expanding her base of support and attracting new voters. Voters just don’t seem to get her. Her brand of: roll up your sleeves, work hard and deliver results doesn’t seem to resonate with people outside of Minnesota, for whatever reason. I just have a difficult time imagining anyone outside of Minnesota being excited by her being picked. And I’m throwing Whitmer in the same category, perhaps unfairly. I just see her (and Klobuchar) as very safe and predictable. Not saying Biden can’t win with either as his running mate. Both could do the job well, I’m sure. I’m just very concerned with voter enthusiasm. Choosing the correct VP is an opportunity to pick somebody that will create their own narrative and divert attention away from the inevitable focus on Biden’s shortcomings (meh energy, gaffes, Burisma, this bogus sexual assault allegation, etc). @Major Just throwing that out there. Anyway, you guys are probably sick of hearing me talk by now. I appreciate the discussion and agree this is an important topic to debate. There are certainly a lot of candidates to choose from. Hopefully, Biden makes a savvy choice that will be able to bring energy to the ticket.
I don't think there's anything bad about having and defending opinions. There's no particular right answer - it's all our individual preferences and thoughts. In terms of that specific poll, it's by a black advocacy group so I'd take it with a grain of salt. But on black voters, I do think Abrams can help. I don't think Kamala or others necessarily do because Biden has more credibility with black voters than "generic black VP". I heard a really good explanation of it - that as a white dude, Biden stood beside Obama's side and never tried to take the spotlight or undermine him or anything else. He always had Obama's back and was always a partner, and that seems to give him a lot of his standing with that community that generic black candidates don't have. But Abrams has legit credibility there because of issues she's fought for such as voting rights, so I can see how she'd be a boost.
I will tell you who wont be picked... The woman who is consistant with her stance about believing all women. Most of these women ravaged Kavanaugh but are mum now.
I haven't read every page, so maybe this has been mentioned, but Biden declaring early that he would pick a woman to be his VP rules out my choice for VP, Andrew Cuomo. The governor of New York has made a very strong impression nationally handling COVID-19 in his state with his well organized daily briefings usually broadcast in full by CNN, answering questions at the end. He certainly has experience governing, and during a crisis. Cuomo exudes everything Biden doesn't, in my opinion. A strong personality, a strong campaigner, a great memory, which he displayed on the 20 or 30 briefings that I saw. Cuomo would make mincemeat of Pence in a debate. Yes, there is the "another guy from the Northeast" factor, but I think that can be overrated. Heck, he even has 3 smart, attractive daughters in their 20's. I can see the attraction of solidifying the Black vote with a Black VP, but does Biden need it? Looks like trump is determined to hand Biden the Black vote on a platter. All one has to do is read trump's "Tweets" about what has happened in Minnesota and now elsewhere. Can't happen. Joe painted himself into a corner.
Joe Biden’s search for a running mate is entering a second round of vetting for a dwindling list of potential vice presidential nominees, with several black women in strong contention. Democrats with knowledge of the process said Biden’s search committee has narrowed the choices to as few as six serious contenders after initial interviews. Those still in contention include Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California, as well as Susan Rice, who served as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser. The process remains somewhat fluid, according to those with knowledge, and additional candidates may still be asked to submit to the extensive document review process now underway for top contenders. Those familiar with Biden’s search spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the process. The campaign’s short list includes several black women, including Harris and Rice. Advisers have also looked closely at Florida Rep. Val Demings and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, both of whom are black, and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Latina. One contender whose standing does appear to have fallen is Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who was a prosecutor years ago in the county that includes Minneapolis. During that period, more than two dozen people — mostly minorities — died during encounters with police. While the people with knowledge of Biden’s vetting process did not rule Klobuchar out, she is widely viewed among Democrats with close ties to the Biden campaign as less likely to be tapped given recent events.
The 'United States Blues' news site--which was in reality an enterprise to promote Kamala Harris--appears to be posting new content once again (it ceased operating when Kamala shut her presidential campaign down. Read into this what you wish. But... psst... keep an eye on it.
