After the summer doldrums that included the pageantry of the Olympic Games, we are now into September and the upcoming Presidential election looms. After a wild primary season, the parties have settled on their candidates. The Democrats have already held their convention last week, and this week the Republicans congregate up in Minnesota. So let's delve into a short discussion of the VP selections.
Barack Obama has tapped longtime Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate. Choosing the very experienced Biden probably won't hurt Obama, but it isn't a terribly exciting choice. Having a reputation for being pugnacious, Biden should be able to hold his own in the one Vice Presidential Debate. What is interesting about the Biden selection is that it is rather evident Biden has been picked to blunt the argument that Obama is too inexperienced, an argument that appeared to be gaining traction before the staging of the Democratic Convention. The disadvantage in having Biden join the ticket is he has been in Washington seemingly forever which somewhat undercuts the central theme of Obama's campaign. The Obama campaign obviously decided it was more important to add gravitas to the ticket than to accentuate the need for change. If there had been some concern Obama represented radical change, picking Biden would seem to allay such fears. Biden is a safe pick for VP which makes sense given that Obama must feel he is the favorite to prevail in November.
While Obama's VP selection didn't surprise, the same can't be said about John McCain picking Sarah Palin, a little known Alaskan Governor. At first glance, the Palin pick seems reckless and foolhardy especially given McCain's advanced age. The obvious problem with the Palin selection is she most certainly isn't ready to be President regardless of what spin comes out of the McCain campaign. Sarah Palin is in her first term as governor in a sparsely populated state. This would suggest she hasn't spent much time thinking about world affairs. That would seem to be a rather sticky problem, but McCain chose to overlook this glaring issue. It seems to me the only reason McCain would throw caution to the wind and opt for a political neophyte like Palin is he felt compelled to shake the race up. If McCain had tapped Romney or Pawlenty, the media would have reacted with ambivalence. But by selecting the little known attractive woman governor of Alaska as his running mate, McCain's campaign has finally found a way to get media attention. It would also be a safe bet to assume McCain wanted to counter the distaste voters have for the Republican Party by choosing a VP candidate far removed from the Washington scene and unaffiliated with the ineffective(and some would say corrupt) Republican leadership of recent years. The other huge advantage Palin brings is she is adored by Social Conservatives. Without Palin, McCain doesn't inspire much passion from Social Conservatives. By joining forces with Palin, McCain has energized the Conservative base. He also has injected some excitement into what otherwise would have been a rather stodgy campaign. There might be some hope that by choosing a woman McCain may steal a few Hillary Clinton supporters, but Palin's strong anti-abortion stance would suggest she won't win too many converts.
The Palin selection is a real throw of the dice by McCain. Though it has successfully grabbed the attention of the media, it might backfire big time. On the one hand, Palin might skate through because of low expectations from the media, but she still will look woefully unprepared for the VP job as compared with the thirty five year veteran of the Washington wars, Joe Biden. Maybe the media will treat Palin with kid gloves, but given her lack of true credentials the media won't be shy to point out an obvious gaffe. It is pretty safe to say the Palin pick does reveal some insecurity within the McCain campaign. The McCain team evidently concluded it couldn't win by playing it safe or doing the conventional thing. In tapping Palin, McCain is trying to buttress his case he is running as a reformer. The trouble is McCain's agenda that features muscular foreign policy and low taxes looks little different than the Bush agenda.
The VP selections now have been made. Obama played it safe and picked Biden. McCain made a more daring choice. Interestingly, neither VP candidate hails from a major swing state. Will Biden be an asset or will he be brought down by his tendency to be verbose? Will Palin shine on the national stage or will she give the impression of being lost and not ready for the VP job? These are among the many questions that will be answered in the next several weeks.
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