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

[Politico]

Gore/Kaine would have been the perfect, unbeatable ticket this year *sigh* Maybe the Democratic Party should go back to the days of political bosses running the show? Democratic primary/caucus voters do not exactly have a record to be proud of. We're talking about a system/group of voters that have only produced two candidates who won the general election, neither one with over 50% of the popular vote, since taking the bosses out of the equation nearly forty years ago. Some might make the argument, and the argument will definitely grow in popularity if we see a landslide loss this year, that Democratic primary/caucus voters really need somebody else to make the key decisions for them.

That spiel aside, obviously a Obama/Kaine ticket does not have enough experience, specifically in the foreign policy realm. Yeah, Clinton and Bush did not have a lot of foreign policy experience prior to becoming president...But let's not forget that 9/11 happened after they were elected, we were not at war when they were elected, and each one had a running mate who was extremely well versed in foreign policy prior to entering the White House. Anybody who thinks foreign policy is not going to matter this year is nuts. We have thousands and thousands of troops bogged down in two separate wars in the Middle East, with the constant threat of terrorism looming over everybody's shoulders. You better believe that the Republicans are going to find a way to make foreign policy issues a key part of the campaign. And yes, they will succeed and rightfully so - both domestic and foreign issues greatly matter in these dangerous, uncertain times. 

Quite simply, Biden and Bayh are "blah" choices guaranteed not to create a bounce among pretty much anybody, anywhere. Good luck with that.

If Obama does not stop the bleeding, the negative trend in the polling, before he picks his running mate I think it will likely indicate that he will lose the general election no matter who he chooses as a running mate. There's currently a very negative polling trend developing, and the next two weeks are critical for analysis. As a result, if the negative trend in polling continues over the next few weeks then I would like to see Obama pick Hillary and have the ticket lose in a landslide, which it definitely would - Anybody who thinks the nation is going to place a black man/white woman ticket combo into the White House obviously has never been outside of New York City/Washington, DC/Southern California, nor did they really pay attention in 2004, an election John Kerry ultimately lost for simply not supporting a bogus constitutional amendment against gay marriage.

Why would I like to see a landslide Obama/Clinton loss happen? It would end any chance of Hillary Clinton ever coming close to being president in the future. It would finally get the Clintons out of the spotlight once and for all, which is much healthier for everybody in the nation and Democratic Party. In addition, it would guarantee the Democrats pick up more seats in Congress this cycle as there's no way a landslide loss in the presidential election would also come with a party's loss of seats in Congress. A strong, heavily Democratic Congress would easily keep McCain in line and under control. Finally, it would pretty much guarantee a Democratic victory in 2012 against an old-as-dirt McCain or questionable VP (Quick! Name the last time either party won FOUR consecutive presidential elections). Quite simply, I'd rather see Obama/Clinton lose in a landslide then see Obama/Whoever lose in a landslide. I mean, who the heck wants to be forced to listen to four years of the Clintons telling everybody, "we told you so," with a sequel to the "inevitability" campaign in 2012? She doesn't belong anywhere near the White House - surely everybody on here, whether they are a Democrat/Republican/Independent/Other, agrees on that!

Maybe it's just me, though...