Who picked a better Veep for the race?

[emzie]

Why would you pick a president who needs 'help'? I thought the point of being in charge was being 'ready' to be in charge?

A good leader doesn't know everything, but knows what he or she doesn't know.

One thing I heard about GWB when he was first elected was his willingness to fill cabinet slots with people who knew more than him about the department.

 

[emzie]

I dont know about this Palin, how does Alaskian politics have much influence on mainland US?

Energy is pretty big. And Sen. Stevens is famous for his ability to redirect money home. That's probably about it.

 

[choxorn]

I'm not sure which is the better choice. On one hand, Biden would be a much better Vice President. On the other hand, Palin might appeal to some of the Hillary voters.

Get back to me in a month and I might have a clearer idea on the matter.

 

[warpus]

Veep?

Shouldn't that be Vee-pee ?

 

[emzie]

I'm not sure which is the better choice. On one hand, Biden would be a much better Vice President. On the other hand, Palin might appeal to some of the Hillary voters.

Get back to me in a month and I might have a clearer idea on the matter.

Yeah, I voted "I have no idea" because I'm curious to see how Palin will play out. I don't expect it to do well, but I know it could with some good strategy.

 

[JollyRoger]

I guess Harriet Meirs wasn't available.

 

[MobBoss]

A good leader doesn't know everything, but knows what he or she doesn't know.

One thing I heard about GWB when he was first elected was his willingness to fill cabinet slots with people who knew more than him about the department.

So, if Obama does what GWB did then he is being smart? Does that mean the left is now of the opinion that GWB was smart? Or what?

The left sure can be confusing.

 

[downtown]

Palin is a much higher risk/higher reward than Biden. McCain prob. needed to roll the dice on something like this, because he wasn't going to win the election with Romney or Pawlenty.

Maybe Palin can slice off some Hillary voters, I dunno. Being pro-life prob. isn't going to help a whole lot, and being a creationist scares away moderate/independents.

But she does have a pretty interesting story, so maybe that snags a few more people.

Personally, I think it isn't going to win the election for John McCain. Palin has a downright frightfully thin resume (even when compared to Obama). You might believe that Palin may help Mccain win the election...but I don't see how anybody can really be comfortable with Palin as the actual PRESIDENT, which could happen. Biden is absolutely qualified.

 

[mangxema]

I think it's amusing that each candidate picked a veep that is, in essence, exactly like the other candidate.

That was my first thought too...

This is kind of a gamble. If everything goes according to plan, I think McCain may have a slight edge, but he should, given that Obama had to declare his pick first. I'm voting 'no idea'.

 

[EnglishEdward]

"I have no idea how this is going to play out."

I found that neither the Bush/Gore nor the
Bush/Kerry contests were interesting to watch.

But this could be fun to see from across the pond!

 

[TheLastOne36]

So, if Obama does what GWB did then he is being smart? Does that mean the left is now of the opinion that GWB was smart? Or what?

The left sure can be confusing.

you can't deny GWB isn't intelligent, if he wasn't, he wouldn't be president!

 

[MobBoss]

Palin is a much higher risk/higher reward than Biden. McCain prob. needed to roll the dice on something like this, because he wasn't going to win the election with Romney or Pawlenty.

Maybe Palin can slice off some Hillary voters, I dunno. Being pro-life prob. isn't going to help a whole lot, and being a creationist scares away moderate/independents.

But she does have a pretty interesting story, so maybe that snags a few more people.

Personally, I think it isn't going to win the election for John McCain. Palin has a downright frightfully thin resume (even when compared to Obama). You might believe that Palin may help Mccain win the election...but I don't see how anybody can really be comfortable with Palin as the actual PRESIDENT, which could happen. Biden is absolutely qualified.

I remind folks of the Zogby interview I listened to about 2 weeks ago. He was under the impression that the final vote wasnt going to be close at all, and that the election would break one way or another after the conventions. Maybe this is how it starts.

 

[.Shane.]

I know my opinion on this is more than a little biased, but I cant help but think that McCain has used his getting a veep after Obama to its greatest effect. While the hope/change candidate went with an established Washington insider, McCain went the opposite, and played to the female vote to boot. One could almost say that Obamas fear of having the experience canard being used against him forced him to choose someone with far more experience than he...but McCain being immune to that was free to choose someone that hits Obama where he is vulnerable...with women.

We disagree on a lot. But I think this is well-said.

Trying to be objective... I think she is a good choice for what you outlined. I find the whole experience thing to be a joke, but in this case, I think it does stand to hurt McCain a little (see next paragraph). BUT, Obama and team don't have much ground to throw stones from on that issue, which I'm sure McCain and team were realizing when making this select. Hopefully it has the affect, also, of causing McCain to shut up about Obama's experience. Its ******ed and no politician can win that game. If you haven't been in politics that long or at the small scale, you lack experience. If have been a big hitter for a while you're insider.

Given McCain's age I do think, if he was truly picking the "best" VP and not the person who will do the most to get him elected, Palin is not the best choice.

I did find it interesting that both candidates ignored the swing-vote theory of picking a veep. Alaska/Delaware are piddly vote counts and are firmly solid for their respective candidate's party.

 

[MobBoss]

you can't deny GWB isn't intelligent, if he wasn't, he wouldn't be president!

I deny the man is not intelligent. He is very intelligent. But the left cant decide whether he is the head of the illuminati, or an imbacile.

I simply find it funny that the left makes fun of Bush for his supposed weakness in having to 'rely' on his choice, and yet calls Obama wise for doing pretty much the same thing.

@Shane: Thanks!

 

[emzie]

So, if Obama does what GWB did then he is being smart? Does that mean the left is now of the opinion that GWB was smart? Or what?

The left sure can be confusing.

Well I happen to think GWB has some really good traits. I dislike a lot of his positions, but he isn't the horrible president the left makes him out to be.

Now, I don't know enough about his first term Secretaries to know if they were the best choice available, but I do remember hearing at the time that he filled them pretty well.

Anyway, I would never want a leader who thought he or she could do anything better than anyone else. No one in the US knows how to run the country as a whole. At best, they'll know who to help them run the country as best it can be run.

 

[.Shane.]

I simply find it funny that the left makes fun of Bush for his supposed weakness in having to 'rely' on his choice, and yet calls Obama wise for doing pretty much the same thing.

The difference is that Cheney has had access, power, and influence as a veep that is completely unprecedented in US history. That is why, and rightly so to a degree, you have all the jokes about Bush being his sock puppet.

As for Bush's intelligence, I don't think he's an idiot compared to Joe Citizen. But, for the job he aspired to and has, he is definitely on the low end of the scale. Think of it like this. The worst utility player in AAA baseball is better than 99.999% of the world at baseball, but I still don't want him on my major league roster. He's fine at AAA. Bush was fine for Texas.

 

[JollyRoger]

I simply find it funny that the left makes fun of Bush for his supposed weakness in having to 'rely' on his choice, and yet calls Obama wise for doing pretty much the same thing.

Well, to be honest, if Bush was running for a third term and he picked Palin, it could be seen as picking someone stronger on foreign policy than he is.

 

[MobBoss]

The difference is that Cheney has had access, power, and influence as a veep that is completely unprecedented in US history. That is why, and rightly so to a degree, you have all the jokes about Bush being his sock puppet.

My point being that Obama runs a lot of the same risks on this with Biden and foreign policy.

 

[JollyRoger]

My point being that Obama runs a lot of the same risks on this with Biden and foreign policy.

Isn't McCain running the risk that he has picked a Dan Quayle? Can you imagine Quayle taking over if something had happened to Bushdaddy? How about Palin if something happens to McCain?

 

[DragonHawk]

On face value, it looks like Biden is a safe (too safe ?) choice for Obama while Palin is a (smart?) gamble for McCain

I voted no idea..

Veep?

Shouldn't that be Vee-pee ?

I also would like an explanation on this