There's no way Bayh will get the VP spot

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Kerry's running on the economy and jobs.  He claims tax cuts for the rich caused the economy to suffer.  Bayh voted for these very tax cuts.  I think making Bayh the VP could drive away the ultra-liberals that voted for Nader last time.  He's like the democratic equivalent of Arnold.  Democrats are going to want a real democrat as the running mate.  

[zachman]

I wouldn't bet on Bayh. I wouldn't bet on anyone to become Veep. There are four or five real contenders.

[ncjake]

Bayh voted for these very tax cuts.

Well, Kerry is also running against the war, but he voted for that very war.

"I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." -- John F. Kerry

"The threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real. It has been with us since the end of [the gulf war], and particularly in the last 4 years we know after Operation Desert Fox failed to force him to reaccept them, that he has continued to build those weapons. He has had a free hand for 4 years to reconstitute these weapons, allowing the world, during the interval, to lose the focus we had on weapons of mass destruction and the issue of proliferation." -- John Kerry

"(W)e need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. We all know the litany of his offenses. He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. ...And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real. - John Kerry

[Nation]

Every one of those statements somehow involves weapons of mass destruction, and we all know what happened with that. I don't see how that hurts Kerry.

[ncjake]

Every one of those statements somehow involves weapons of mass destruction, and we all know what happened with that. I don't see how that hurts Kerry.

He is saying that Saddam has WMD. Now he's saying they never had them. If Bush lied about these weapons then so did John Kerry!

[angus]

Not following this too closely, but I'll chime in.  I think If I'm John Kerry I'm thinking about considering a Republican for a running mate.  But that's way off-topic.  For your approval, I submit Stuart Rothenberg.  I think he is a fairly wise man.  He used to do a two-man show with this cowboy-type southwesterner who was very funny.  I forget his name.  Rothenberg was the straight guy.  Like old day comedy routines.  He mentions Bayh about halfway down in this Q&A piece.  It's cryptic, but telling.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23281-2004Mar2.html

[Beet]

Every one of those statements somehow involves weapons of mass destruction, and we all know what happened with that. I don't see how that hurts Kerry.

He is saying that Saddam has WMD. Now he's saying they never had them. If Bush lied about these weapons then so did John Kerry!

Maybe Kerry was basing his opinions out of his trust for the president and agencies of his administration (CIA) when they said Iraq had WMD. If Bush was not lying, then somebody in one of these agencies failed. And if so, we should find out why.

[angus]

Every one of those statements somehow involves weapons of mass destruction, and we all know what happened with that. I don't see how that hurts Kerry.

He is saying that Saddam has WMD. Now he's saying they never had them. If Bush lied about these weapons then so did John Kerry!

Maybe Kerry was basing his opinions out of his trust for the president and agencies of his administration (CIA) when they said Iraq had WMD. If Bush was not lying, then somebody in one of these agencies failed. And if so, we should find out why.

This is a fair suggestion.  I have wondered why.  But, if I may change the subject, the willingness of President Bush to stand up to the press' suggestions that 'heads should roll' over this is

OH  THE PAPER.

Man, sorry this is the sort of consummerism that deserves a decent rant.  So I'm setting here typing in my drunken stupor and I hear this TTTTTTTTT.  Okay, nobody wants to get the f      the door.  okay  then I get it and it's this, like, 19-year-old white kid with the new fascist haircut that all the rage around here.  No problem.  "I'm with the SF Chronicle...blalkdfjlkajfl;dkj"  Okay, "Look, I'm not into it right now, okay?"   ..."  Okay sir, no problem, but we have this one-dollar off one month's ...""""" and it goes on for about 7 minutes.  no.  maybe 2.  But I'm like "no man we're not really into the paper.  good luck" the whole time.  See, this is what I'm talking about.  I don't give a rat's ass whether it's the Sierra Club or the NRA, but when either I'm trying to do my thing, or when we're eating, or, well, usually I look out there but Geekgirl didn't know them and was all like angus you need to come over here and see who this is and I went over there and he wanted to sell me a newspaper and I wish him the best of luck and I just wanted to know whether  You think I'm too goddamned drunk to tell whether you're yanking my chain.  No way,

[ncjake]

Dude I didnt understand a word of that. What are you drinking?

[Beet]

btw Richardson said no. I guess that improves Bayh's chances by 10%. But consider Kghadial is from Indiana and still doesn't think Bayh is ready... well thats saying something.





Which one is Bayh and which one is Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich?

[angus]

Okay, now, I'm saying Bayh is none of my business.  That's an internal matter for the democrats.  But, if I'm Kerry, I'd say that Bayh's choice as a way to reach out to strong defense and possibly education republicans may have merit, as a theoretical construction.  But don't expect that Mr. Bayh will,  in this way, effect a state that hasn't given its votes to a Democrat in more than sixty years.  I don't expect the Kerry people to be swayed by this reasoning.

[emergingDmajority1]

Kerry is the NE liberal and a veteran, it wouldn't make sense to balance the ticket out with Clark or somebody too similar to him.

For a VP he needs to dip into the south or midwest for someone like Bayh and Edwards. Kerry is still for keeping the middle class tax cuts, and Bayh would go along with it I'm sure. Edwards and Kerry also have very similar economic agendas.

Bayh is 48, he's a Senator, he's been the Indiana Secretary of State, and he's been a Governor. The guy is ready!

had Bayh run in the primaries, he probably would've been our candidate right now.

[Beet]

Kerry is the NE liberal and a veteran, it wouldn't make sense to balance the ticket out with Clark or somebody too similar to him.

Clark is from Arkansas, and he supported Reagan, so he's not that similiar. But yes I don't know much about Bayh, I could easily support him if I knew more, and Kerry's tax position is to keep most of the Bush tax cuts.

[angus]

Kerry is the NE liberal and a veteran, it wouldn't make sense to balance the ticket out with Clark or somebody too similar to him.

Clark is from Arkansas, and he supported Reagan, so he's not that similiar. But yes I don't know much about Bayh, I could easily support him if I knew more, and Kerry's tax position is to keep most of the Bush tax cuts.

You will lose.  This is a losers strategy.  You know it.

[ncjake]

Clark flip flops almost as much as Kerry, that would be an awful ticket. I say you guys go for Hillary. She's liberal and a woman, what Dem could pass that up?

[Platypus]

OK, what do we need?

1. Someone to the right of Kerry
2. Someone from one of four regions: Rustbelt, Southwest, Iner Midwest and Missouri, or Florida.
3. Someone who will definently carry their home states, and is from a swing state.

Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa. Mid-left, very very popular here, and with workers. Would keep Iowa, help lock in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, wouldn't hurt in MN, might help in MO, and would probably halep in Ohio as well. He would be a good choice to stop any slide.

To have someone to gain states is harder. This is where Edwards would come in if he was from a state like Ohio. Do we have any charismatic Midwesterners, who would win their state and help in their region, is to the right of Kerry, and is from a swing state?

Any bets it will be no-one mentioned in this thread, although I have no idea who it will be. I would like to have an Iowan VP for sure though

[Kghadial]

I really really like Evan Bayh.  I will admit it. I think he'd be a good choice for VP or Pres. when he's in his fifties. But this year, right now i don't seem him being very good for the party.

Indiana won't go for the Dems, the Bayh's are a powerful bunch here in Indiana but Evan Bayh isn't enough.  

Indiana will be closer this year than last time around regardless of Evan running or not.  The Indiana conservative is an odd sort, not much like Southern conservatives at all.  There will be more of a backlash against fiddling with the Constitution then in the South, there will be some consernation about the deficit.  Still despite all this about half the populace will alway vote Republican in Presidential races, unless Evan is the presidential candidate.

Evan is the wrong answer because:  he doesn't put his home state in contention, he seems a little like the "Bush Lite" which was obviously rejected in '02 , his skeleton in the closet has hardly been aired and is fresh for Republican picking at.

What is the skeleton? When running for Secretary of State some questions as to whether he was a resident of Indiana for long enough to actually run for that office came up, then all the questions went away ...  

You see Evan Bayh had lived in the DC area almost all his young life since his father was a senator.  He moved back and kinda quickly ran for Sec State, I don't know if how these things got cleared up, but I'm sure if they did get cleared up legitimately that Karl Rove can spin it to make it look bad.

[Beet]

Kerry is the NE liberal and a veteran, it wouldn't make sense to balance the ticket out with Clark or somebody too similar to him.

Clark is from Arkansas, and he supported Reagan, so he's not that similiar. But yes I don't know much about Bayh, I could easily support him if I knew more, and Kerry's tax position is to keep most of the Bush tax cuts.

You will lose.  This is a losers strategy.  You know it.

Yeah you're correct. I think Bush = bad, so the Bush-lite strategy = worse. The only reason Kerry supports parts of the cuts is because they'll be phased out in a matter of years anyways, whereas Bush would pander to the corporate lobby even if it meant $10 trillion in debt. We should improve our own finances first.

[StevenNick]

I don't think Kerry is going to go for Bayh.  Indiana will go Bush one way or another and I think Kerry will want someone from one of the contested states.  I think Richardson is more likely.  Maybe one of the Florida senators, although I think that would be a stupid move considering that both of them are about as lively as rigor mortis.  Gephardt is a distinct possibility.

[Ben.]

 I just don’t get this idea of Gephardt as Kerry's running mate its like giving Dukakis Mondale as a running mate... the guy is past his prime would no go on to contest the presidency in 2012, he to the left of Kerry, would really help Kerry with any swing groups in the Midwest, he's dull (in my view) and unexciting and has a record of failure he's not won back the house or ever really come close added to that how did his mighty Union allies help him or Dean in Iowa?... no Kerry is not stupid and he wont pick Gephardt (if he does...whom I kidding I still vote for them but can't see it inspiring me or anyone else)... but then again Gephardt wont get picked!  

[Gustaf]

Gephardt got killed as a VP choice when he got 10% in Iowa.

[Ben.]

   
There are more reasons than that Gustaf, but your right! besides as I said Kerry doesn’t need to augment his social liberalism with a dash of old-New Deal style economic liberalism and union sponsored protectionism.... but I don’t think Kerry's dumb enough to pick Gephardt... sorry... I hope Kerry's not that dumb... he doesn’t seem to be... please… please…GOD!!!... ok calm down... let the healing begin...    

[Kghadial]

Kerry seems to me to be a very smart politician. He has noticed what mistakes have derailed candidates in the past. I think he's savvy enough to have learned from the mistakes of people around him: Ted Kennedy, Dukakis, Al Gore, Gephardt, etc. In the end i think he'll make one of the better VP choices in modern history.  Al Gore and Bush the first were the top tier, and Cheney right below . But other than those three no VP candidate could be considered a capable president since the Golden VP era of Truman, Nixon, and Johnson (throw in Nixon's '08 running mate Lodge as a capable president type too).  

I think Kerry will pick a capable leader, and someone who helps him electorally.
Who?

Bayh, Rendell, Richardson all seem good. And Brokaw would be a great wild card.

We'll see.

[Ben.]

 
Your right Kerry strikes me as way too canny to do something as foolish and uninspiring as picking Gephardt... I just hope I'm right for the sake of the country!!!

[zachman]

I will be extremely unenthused if Kerry were to pick Gephardt.