Fineman: Obama's short list is Bayh, Biden, and Kaine

[TheresNoMoney]

I still think Biden is the best choice of those three. He brings a lot of foreign policy and military experience to the table, doesn't cause them to lose a Senate seat, and can act as an effective attack dog against McCain.

Bayh lacks gravitas and his running as VP would hand the Republicans a crucial Senate seat.

Kaine has only 2 1/2 years as governor and would only add to the whole"inexperienced" meme. I also highly doubt he would make the difference in carrying Virginia.

[TheresNoMoney]

There's really no perfect running mate for Obama in this election. His campaign has been extremely well-run thus far, so I trust them to make the best decision here.

[TheresNoMoney]

mark warner.

No foreign policy experience, one-term as governor.

We'd also be giving up a surefire Senate seat pickup.

[TheresNoMoney]

fine, pick biden and lose the election for all i care.

What is your problem with Biden? Please give details.

In my view, Biden helps shore up Obama's two main weak posts, lack of foreign policy/military experience and political experience.  He also has a "tough guy" image which will be perfect to rebut McCain's attacks on Obama.

None of the other VP candidates help shore up Obama's weak points.

[TheresNoMoney]

Aw... Crist got married for nothin.

But now he can run for prez in the future if he wants to.

[TheresNoMoney]

Oh BTW, I don't think Obama VP will be any of these three guys.

You're probably right. What is your best guess?

[TheresNoMoney]

he is a loose cannon.  chances are he will make some off the cuff remark that gets obama in trouble.

That is a good point, but he seems to be very disciplined when he's in a campaign. I don't recall him making any gaffes during his primary campaign. When he's not in a campaign, he does tend to say things that get him in trouble.

he doesnt strike me as the kind of individual who likes be second.  i cant even imagine he would find being vp appealing.  seems like hed prefer sec of defense or sec of state...where he could be in control.

Another good point, but I honestly think he'd be more than happy to be the VP of most powerful country in the world.  He has said that he'd be interested in being Obama's VP.

[TheresNoMoney]

I don't think either Kaine or Bayh would make a difference in carrying Virginia or Indiana. I remain highly skeptical that a VP pick can win a state for a candidate.

And I really think losing a Senate seat in Indiana would be HUGE, as Obama will need every Democratic Senator possible to help get his legislation passed. If the Dems lose Bayh's seat, they will probably not get it back for a long, long time.

[TheresNoMoney]

Being arrogant is one thing. Biden shows his arrogance with a big smirk. He doesn't turn on a lot of voters and is also at risk of saying something really stupid.

I am so sick of the whole "arrogant" thing. Biden is no more "arrogant" than any other Senator in Washington.  I have met him in person and seen him speak on TV numerous times, and I think he comes across as a straight-talker and an upfront guy.

Hell, I've met both Bayh and Biden in person and Biden comes across as WAY more real and down-to-earth than Bayh. Bayh comes across as the ultimate politician.

[TheresNoMoney]

I don't think it would be that big of deal if they did lose it. And Long Thompson still has a reasonable shot at offing off Daniels.

It would be a huge deal. The goal is to get to 60 Senators, and there's no way in hell we do it over the next two cycles without Bayh's seat.

And yes, I believe that a Republican would be heavily favored in a special election there.

[TheresNoMoney]

Biden is confident, that is a good thing.  Confidence is pretty much a requirement to be a national politician.

[TheresNoMoney]

Ok, so you're going to keep denying that he thinks he's so slick (and loves it) by saying he's simply "confident." Fair enough. 

You have a weird thing about Democratic politicians. You call Biden "slick", I call Mitch McConnell and Norm Coleman and Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback "dishonest" and "slimy". And they love it too!  It's all pretty meaningless.

[TheresNoMoney]

Biden would have a much more direct role in shaping national and foreign policy as the one VP than as 1 of 100 Senators. I also think that Obama really respects Biden's knowledge and trusts his judgement.

I'm confident that Biden would jump at the chance to be VP.

[TheresNoMoney]

Same for Mark Warner. Actually, Biden has a lot more seniority so he'd be giving up more.

That's true, but Biden has 36 years of national political experience and Warner has 4 years as governor.

And with Biden as VP, we'd still keep his Delaware seat now and in the future. With Warner as VP, we probably lose that seat to a Republican.

[TheresNoMoney]

Quick question do everyone - How does Biden shake the "DC insider" label? He's more "insider" than Dodd.

He doesn't. However, I think a "DC Insider" might be a good thing to balance out the ticket.

The biggest knock on Obama is that he lacks Washington experience. If he picks Kaine, the whole ticket will be labeled as "risky" and "inexperienced".

[TheresNoMoney]

You realize you're speaking about Obama's running mate, right?

Of course I do, which is why I'm looking for a VP pick that has strengths in areas that are Obama's weaknesses.