Colin Powell.

Posted by: Kate at February 5, 2004 09:56 PM

Janet Jackson

Posted by: BallsDeep at February 5, 2004 10:44 PM

Mary Landrieu … seriously

Posted by: LvNv at February 6, 2004 12:20 AM

Don’t look for “ticket balancing” - it doesn’t work. The most successful pairings in recent years were not balanced, they were mutually reinforcing. See Bush-Cheney (two western state conservatives from the heart of red state country) and Clinton-Gore (two southern boomers). Running mates can help carry their home state, and that’s it. Kerry will pick a successful Democrat from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana or Illinois. No Republican has won the Presidency without carrying Ohio, so if there is a strong Ohio Democrat, that’s the call. Is there one?

Posted by: Jack at February 6, 2004 08:41 AM

Jack, while I do agree with you for the most part … geography is not as important as it used to be, but we’ve had so many southerners running lately that the empirical data could be misleading. When was the last time a New England Democrat actually won the presidency … JFK. So If I were Kerry I would go either with Edwards … or with Bob Graham from Florida. Florida is likely to be important again and Graham could put the Dems over the top.

Posted by: Mike Van Winkle at February 6, 2004 09:54 AM

Evan Bayh from Indiana is another possibility.

Posted by: admin at February 6, 2004 10:04 AM

I’ll state right up front that I’m a Bush supporter. However if I were running against Bush common sense tells me to pick someone from a large industrial state. Michigan perhaps? Pennsylvania has to be on the list. Why not go out on a limb and pick a woman? Jennifer Granholm from Michigan?

Posted by: Jonathan at February 6, 2004 10:06 AM

Granholm is not a native-born citizen, as I recall. Canadian I think. Therefore cannot be president, therefore cannot be vice president. (Of course, we could always amend the Constitution and have a Schwarzenegger-Granholm presidential race… that’d be fun… maybe he’ll sexually harass her during the debates… we can call it Gropefest 2008… :)

I like the Evan Bayh concept, because I will be going to Notre Dame Law School in November and thus voting in Indiana, so I’d love to see the state be competitive.

I do would think Kerry would have to pick someone from either a key state that Gore didn’t win in 2000 … they are at such an electoral disadvantage from the get-go, they need all the help they can get. So… Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, etc. Yeah.

On the other hand, if I were Edwards, I think I might approach Dean. “Hey Howie, drop out of the race and endorse me, and you can be my VP if I win.” Crazy? Well yeah. But think about it, it would give Edwards a much-needed boost now (yeah endorsements haven’t mattered much in this campaign, but an endorsement from Dean would really whip the media into a frenzy and give Edwards a huge momentum boost), and Dean would be the perfect attack-dog runningmate… wouldn’t you love to see a Dean-Cheney debate? Hollerin’ Howard will keep the lefties happy (without pissing off the South too much — he’s an NRA favorite, after all) while Johnny Boy goes after the Great Middle. I don’t know if it would be a good administration, but I love it as a ticket.

Of course, Dean in 2012 is not so appealing…

Posted by: Brendan at February 6, 2004 10:46 AM

Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico could be a good pick for Kerry - Hispanic, could help carry New Mexico and swing southwestern states like Arizona and Nevada, and possibly help in Florida.

Posted by: Mark Cameron at February 6, 2004 12:20 PM

I don’t think Granholm is eligible - she was born in Canada and therefore can’t serve as President. (Which also means that it won’t be Bush-Schwarzenegger for the GOP!)

Posted by: Mark Cameron at February 6, 2004 12:41 PM

bill clinton as vp would guarantee a democratic win.

Posted by: x at February 6, 2004 02:10 PM

No presidential ticket since 1976 has won without having one candidate on the ticket with a four-letter last name (Reagan-Bush, Reagan-Bush, Bush-Quayle, Clinton-Gore, Clinton-Gore, Bush-Cheney).

Indeed, no one was even tried since Dukakis-Bentsen in 1988.

Therefore, to avoid ignominious defeat — and to steer clear of increasing his already disturbing list of similarities to Dukakis — Kerry (who, BTW, would be the first nominee with a five-letter name Nixon & Agnew) clearly needs to pick Bayh, or somebody else with a four-letter name.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my serious, scholarly political analysis of the day. :)

Posted by: Brendan Loy at February 6, 2004 02:57 PM

Clarification: First major-party nominee with a five-letter name since Nixon & Agnew. Don’t want to forget ol’ H. Ross Perot…

Posted by: Brendan Loy at February 6, 2004 03:00 PM

Harold Ford of Tennessee satisfies the 4 letter requirement, but he won’t be 35 until 2005, so he can’t qualify. Look for him to be Hillary’s running mate in 2008.

From what I can tell, he is among the least idiotic of the Democrats. He may even be non-idiotic, though I wouldn’t want to go that far without doing more research.

Posted by: Tim Shell at February 6, 2004 04:10 PM

Gov. Ed Rendell of PA. Blue collar, straight-talking throw-back powerbroker who knows how to win votes in tough swing state. He’s having some problems with the Republican state legislature and now with some of his Democratic constituents, but all in all, he’ll carry PA for the ticket—and help Kerry carry the Rust Belt.

And as former DNC Chair, he’s well regarded among his party.

Better yet, he’s a great contrast to Kerry. The perfect character foil. And that may be the most important thing.

Posted by: Tom at February 6, 2004 04:58 PM

John Breaux is retiring from the Senate and is from Louisiana. He has been fairly well centrist moderate for most of his career that I can recall, and is well like by most in the Senate. Unlike Kerry.

I am probably completely wrong. But ever since I heard he was retiring from the Senate, I have had this nagging feeling that he was either positioning himself for a VP spot or completely dropping public service to make some money in the private sector. His long long career as an elected official leads me to think he is waiting for the VP call.

Posted by: Fred Radcliffe at February 6, 2004 09:33 PM

The four letter name theory would carry more water if there were more than two names involved….

Posted by: Kate at February 6, 2004 11:34 PM

Most scholarly research shows running mates make no difference. The overwhelming popularity of Bob Graham in Florida —and his long record of credibility on intelligence issues— is worth considering.

Posted by: earlp at February 7, 2004 05:07 AM

Most scholarly research shows running mates make no difference. The overwhelming popularity of Bob Graham in Florida —and his long record of credibility on intelligence issues— is worth considering.

Posted by: earlp at February 7, 2004 05:08 AM

I HOPE KERRY PICKS TEDDY AS HIS VP , OR HILLIARY THAT WAY BUSH WINS FOR SURE.

Posted by: gary at April 18, 2004 10:19 AM

I HOPE KERRY PICKS TEDDY AS HIS VP , OR HILLIARY THAT WAY BUSH WINS FOR SURE.

Posted by: gary at April 18, 2004 10:19 AM

I HOPE KERRY PICKS TEDDY AS HIS VP , OR HILLIARY THAT WAY BUSH WINS FOR SURE.

Posted by: gary at April 18, 2004 10:19 AM