Ann Veneman? Seriously?

by Steve Soto

There was a bit of silliness over the weekend from the Obama camp that makes me wonder about them. Someone on Obama’s Veep search committee actually floated the name of former Bush Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman as a possible running mate late last week, which has now been confirmed by sources on Capitol Hill. I originally thought this was some clever political Rovian political disinformation until I saw quotes from someone on the Hill touting her name seriously:

The selection of a Republican could bolster Obama's unifying message, a Capitol Hill Democrat familiar with the discussion said.

"You select a strong independent woman who appeals to Republicans and independents, and so that's hard to beat," the Hill source said, explaining the logic of the possible choice. "Choosing someone like [Veneman] doesn't hurt you with the Democrats. It just doesn't hurt you. But it helps you with Independents and Republicans."

I can only hope this really is a political prank, except that the campaign didn’t issue a denial.

There are no Democrats who can help you with the Ag vote, the women’s vote, or with independents? Do they really think Veneman adds one single vote to Obama’s total, or that Republicans are going to give Obama a second look with the selection of Veneman? She’s a Zero, got that? Team Obama doesn’t think it would be a little demoralizing to the base to see him pick a GOP running mate with no gravitas or vote-getting ability on her own, just for the sake of this damned bipartisanship he cherishes?

Senator, if you want a Republican who can address your own shortcomings, then pick Colin Powell, especially after your somewhat wobbly back-and-forth with Brokaw yesterday when you failed to directly pound back the GOP talking points he was using. Even considering Veneman as someone to help go after the Ag vote, the women’s vote, or independents, when those voters would never be moved to vote for you with this choice anyway demonstrates a real problem with political judgment that you and your team need to fix right away.

This "unifying message" crap is getting way out of hand.