My Take on Biden's VP Choice

[MineralMan]

Frankly, I don't think it matters all that much, really. He's almost certainly going to pick a woman and probably a woman of color. His choice is not going to be the deciding factor for voters, though. This race is about Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, almost entirely. There is so much difference between the two that his VP nominee will not significantly alter anyone's vote, it seems to me.

Who will it be? I have no idea, but I'll be voting for Joe Biden, whoever it is. I'm not wasting any energy worrying about which individual he selects. He'll make a good choice.

[HotTeaBag]

1. I agree, and agree again.

But, I am not looking forward to the 'debates' about whether his choice was the right one and who would have been the better choice for (insert reason here).

[JenniferJuniper]

2. For me, Biden's age makes this a very important choice.

He's not likely to run again, so we need someone who may be able to pick up the mantle for 2024, when he'll be 82, or earlier, if heaven forbid something happens.

Of course I'll vote for him either way, but I'm hoping he picks the right person.

[MineralMan]

4. I have no doubt that Biden knows that and will choose accordingly.

Give him some credit. He's a pretty smart guy, you know...

[Trumpocalypse]

11. Anything about Biden's age

Just gives credibility to GOP talking points.

[Quixote1818]

14. Exactly. This is a huge choice! nt

[Gothmog]

3. I trust Joe Biden and will be happy with his choice

[themaguffin]

5. It matters on the margins in terms of running up the score to help down ballot races

My biggest concern with Susan Rice is that the GOP will scream Benghazi for weeks and the media will let them.

It's not fair, but it will definitely happen if she is picked and that will erode some lead, even if small.

It sucks.

[frazzled]

10. I doubt it will be Rice

For that reason, but more so another, which Biden telegraphed (perhaps unintentionally) in an interview a while back. Refusing to say whom he might pick, he spoke about considerations he would make in choosing. The most important one was getting someone to balance out his own strengths and weaknesses.

Joe Biden's major strength is in the area of foreign affairs. Susan Rice would duplicate this. He really doesn't need her, at least in the VP slot. She's great, though, and could play many other roles in an administration. As to which weaknesses he'd like to fill in, I'm not sure: it could be economic, it could be racial, it could be military. He's already settled on balancing his gender outlook with that of a woman. That's a huge effing step already.

[Tom Rinaldo]

6. He has an array of excellent candidates for the position

While Klobuchar was still in the running I would have argued against her, as I don't think adding a white moderate to the ticket would have been a wise move. But strong cases can be made for all of the women who I have heard remain in consideration. For any number of reasons, it might be that one or another of them would be best for the ticket, but part of being "best for the ticket" includes the chemistry that exists between Biden and his VP choice, and I sure as hell not in a position to judge that. The other thing is vetting and the like. This is an important decision. Biden and his team have access to a whole lot more information about these women than I do. That is why expertise matters, making sound decisions, unlike McCain for example picking Palin on little more than a whim.

[unblock]

7. I'm with you, but largely it's not even about Biden.

Presidential elections with an incumbent running are almost always referenda about the incumbent, and this time probably more so than any other because Donnie is so far from the norm.

Mostly this election is America's opportunity to reject fascism and bigotry and corruption. Biden is doing well to blend into the background and let the people project onto him familiarity, comfort, tradition, normalcy, non controversiality, etc.

People rarely vote the bottom of the ticket and they certainly won't this time. The top of the ticket is far too important.

[blm]

8. I think he'll tap the person most capable of doing the immense amount of work

the White House will need to do to right this nation’s course and help create and implement the policies needed to do that.

Whoever he chooses will have my full support. Period.

[empedocles]

9. Palin was useful to the Dems. Biden has not been a good target, trumpers will

very aggressively, greatly magnify whatever they can in the VP - the VP choice may be more important than usual in losing votes.

[Trumpocalypse]

12. Sad to say

but what matters to anyone on DU, including myself, is irrelevant. It what matters to swing voters, progressives and African Americans and anyone who stayed home in 16 that matters. Biden's VP choice can either help with them or hurt.

[JI7]

13. With VP it's more about not picking someone bad like

Palin or Kerry picking Edwards.

But we know everyone Biden is looking at and none of them will be bad. VP process always gets more attention than it should .

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. I don't think running mate choices make as much difference as the pundits claim.

All of the people who seem to be in the running right now would be good, solid VP candidates. Most voters vote for the top of the ticket; just adding someone from State X doesn't automatically mean that state will vote for the ticket; they won't if they don't like the presidential candidate. An especially bad choice could be a drag on the ticket, though. I don't think Palin did McCain any good, although if he'd chosen the conventional (and horrible in his own way but less obviously so) Tim Pawlenty, I don't think he'd have won anyhow - but it might have been closer. I remember my devoutly Republican father bemoaning the choice of Palin, though I suspect he voted for McCain even so (he's gone now but I think he'd have been horrified at Trump).

In any event, I'm not losing any sleep over the decision or advocating strongly for or against any of them. Any of the possibilities will be fine with me.

[MineralMan]

16. That's how I feel, too.

I don't see any horrible choices in his potential picks. I'd rather not see him pick Warren, though, just because of the age question. I doubt he would choose her anyhow. Rice would be OK, and so would Harris. But, anyone who is currently in the running would be fine, I think.

[BluesRunTheGame]

17. Does the name Alben W. Barkley ring a bell?

He was Harry Truman’s Vice President.

He was the last Democrat to serve as VP that decided against running for President.

LBJ ascended to the Presidency upon JFKs death. He ran for re-election and won.

The rest of them....

Humphrey, Mondale, and Gore ran...and lost.

Historically, our presidential candidates have been really bad at choosing their replacements.

THATS WHY this choice is important.

The person Biden chooses will become the automatic front runner next time around.

Let’s hope he chooses well. We probably can’t afford a bad choice.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

18. Ditto,

agree.