I am respectfully requesting that the Obama campaign never ever float the name for any possible federal future appointee that is be a Republican.
The Obama campaign is seriously vetting VA Gov. Tim Kaine, who happens to be my governor, and who also has many Republican-lite tendencies: he opposes civil unions; he's a war hawk; and whose views on abortion are roughly similar to George W. Bush's.
He isn't a national leader. He isn't a national name. He hasn't done anything on a national scale, aside from give the SOTU response in 2006. His political track record isn't extensive since he was elected governor in 2006 after succeeding Mark Warner, who is running for Senate.
Hey--who does that sound like?
Posted by Blue State Girl at July 28, 2008 06:36 PMEven the “floating” of the idea, even if “they’re just kidding,” well, it’s not something I can handle as a base Democratic Party member.
Really, paradox, I hate to see you tie yourself up in knots so. I truly believe this wasn't a frivolous "float" or that they're "just kidding." Or that they'd seriously choose a Republican. Sometimes a float is just a float, and it is consistent with the message all along, that he is serious about fighting extreme partisanship over merit. It may sound sick to us, but it's music to the mushy middle. That's who he's courtin' now, might as well face it. They're getting the sweet talk now, because he's trusting that we don't need it any more. That's a reason why we all preface our criticisms of the Dem candidate, with, "of course I'm going to vote for him," because we all agree that any Dem is going to be better than McCain. You can see it as him taking our vote for granted, or that he's trusting us to stick to our guns and do what we set out to do, get a Dem in the White House. Either way, why agonize over it? You've made your decision, accept it. And continue to do what you've always been doing - pushing that window back over towards the left, where it belongs.
Posted by iamcoyote at July 28, 2008 07:12 PMObama said on last Sunday's Meet The Press that the VP he chooses will be someone he feels comfortable with, and with whom he shares a political vision. One must cling to the hope that this person will be a Democrat. An unexpected travesty would not be good for the morale of the party base.
Posted by Copeland at July 28, 2008 09:36 PMI can't think of a single person that Senator Obama is likely to pick for veep who will satisfy me. I'm just hoping whoever it is won't piss me off too much. If it's a Republican, I'll be leaving a blank top line on my ballot. If it is a Republican, there's far worse than Veneman. I'm thinking Chuck Hagel. Yikes and a half.
Posted by Meteor Blades at July 29, 2008 01:36 AMI still think the real float is not the Republican, but a female governmental bureaucrat with no election experience. So far, almost all the screaming has been about the float's GOP status. I keep looking at the Democratic pool of former cabinet members and White House appointees whom are women, and there's 2 good handfuls of similar profiles to Ann Veneman.
Posted by idiosynchronic at July 29, 2008 07:34 AMBut idio, weve already been assured that people have no problem with a woman in the White House; just not that woman, IYKWIM! *wink*
Posted by iamcoyote at July 29, 2008 07:42 AMIf you offered to buy a redneck republican Marine a bottle of water in Az, they would think you were trying to pick them up and beat the living crap out of you.
Posted by TIKI AL at July 29, 2008 08:45 AM