Every once in awhile a person needs a good wingman to bring true success the adventure at hand, which helps explain why the position of Vice President is the most difficult for the Party nominee to choose.
Think about, until the turn of the 20th Century, most considered the position of Vice President to a “death sentence” to ones political career by ones Congressional brethren to willow away into obscurity. The prior century, Vice Presidential position was never considered the next step to the Presidency as that went to the Secretary of War. But at some point, it became a game of voter acceptance too show strength within the party and sometimes inside the halls of the Executive Mansion.
Presidential history has shown us that it is not unheard of for a President to choose a running mate from the opposition as Abraham Lincoln did by choosing Tennessee’s Andrew Johnson to help win Southern support. But could you imagine the path we may have taken had we stayed the course of having the Vice President be the runner up?
Kennedy having Nixon to kick around or having a sitting President demoted to Vice President with Eisenhower/ Truman tenure or a conspiratorial administration with Bush/Gore? OK the last one happened with Adams/Jefferson, but imagine the stalemate and gridlock we may have endured.
Many are looking forward to having President Bill Clinton back in the White House, even if it would be in the name of “First Dude” as the spouse to Hillary, yet there was a time when a former sitting President almost ran as the Vice President selection of the nominee who had a small political resume.
In 1980, Reagan was never truly sold on the choice of George HW Bush as the two butted heads throughout the 1980 campaign as competitors. Reagan eventually gave in after Gerald Ford (yes that Gerald Ford) demanded too much in return to ride along and the campaign had to twist wrists for Bush to except the Reagan platform, a platform that Bush had ridiculed on the campaign trail. Some historians like to sugar coat the political difference between Reagan/Bush by saying Reagan needed Bush and Texas to add to his California votes to beat Carter/Mondale.
Recently, even the losing campaign has pushed the notion of bringing in the opposite party as a running mate. John Kerry was rumored to have the “want” of his Senate pal John McCain to ride along with him in 2004, only to have McCain nix the option as he had his sights on 2008 and did not want to upset the GOP. Leaving Kerry to pick (but not happily) the over ambitious John Edwards and hope he could bring in some Southern votes as well, too which on election night Edwards couldn’t even carry his own state for the campaign.
It’s no lie that when Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, many Democratic constituents were upset that he did not choose Hillary Clinton to be his #2, but also felt relief that Senator Joe Biden was the pick. OK, both GOP and DEM alike felt safer that someone with Biden’s extensive resume would be behind the inexperienced Obama. However now with the current cast of inexperienced characters running for 2016 one has to look and wonder who can complement the eventual GOP and DEM nomination.
Some pundits have readied their bracketology of who will fall where by Summer of 2016 and it seems, at least for some, the anointed Hillary Clinton will chose Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, which seems more as political back scratching. Hillary’s resume speaks for herself, so whoever wants to share her pantsuit shenanigans their background does not need to be complete.
Fact is, just like Obama, the three juniors of Rubio, Paul and Cruz have little executive experience. Hell all four have little congressional experience if you look at their absentee/attendance file. So regardless if any of the three make it to Election Day they will need a strong VP to rub their shoulders.
I have stated on numerous social platforms that Senator Marco Rubio was the victor the past 2 debates and only getting stronger in his own self induced snail’s pace to 2016 glory, which has me shining my crystal ball to think about a Rubio presidency and who would be the ideal running mate.There are few Conservative pundits that are buying a Rubio presidency, but those that have seem to be pointing to South Carolina’s Nikki Haley to hold Rubio’s hand, yet I can’t swallow this idea. Yes Haley is still a Tea Party starlet, but she also has taken gut punch recently in the polls with her removal of the Confederate Battle Flag from the State Capitol as the latest slap.
The choice of Rubio to pick a fellow Senator is slim for the simple reason that the GOP has 24 seats to cover and 10 of those seats will be huge battles to keep, so money is already set aside for those races. One of those seats happens to be Florida’s seat that Rubio has given up to run his “win or bust” campaign. It’s obvious that Rubio will not pick Ted Cruz or Rand Paul for Senate seat reasoning, even though their seats are stable.
Besides, the observant eye has yet to see a grudge match between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, which leads many to see the “Trump n’ Cruz” slogans being printed come April 2016.
However I have my eyes on South Dakota’s John Thune to be high on Rubio’s list.
Thune was considered by pundits a likely choice to run in 2016 but he nixed those ideas quickly. He entertained the thought in 2012 only to wave it off it was by all accounts a “weak field” of candidates and the rumor mill for 2016 wasn’t even thought as I believed he has more to do as the Senate Commerce chair and the #3 rank in senate leadership.
Of course Thune does not carry the popularity of Cruz (52%) or Paul (75%) among his fellow Senators as he barely hits the 45% mark, but again he is not as outspoken as they are but his attendance/absentee record much higher. Basically he is in Washington DC doing his job, unlike Cruz/Paul who have been on the campaign stump since the day they were elected to office. Among the Conservative causes, Thune averages around 85% approval from those organizations as well.
If any other Senators have a glimmer of a chance to stand with Rubio, the names of Jake Flake, Kelly Ayotte and Tim Scott should be added to the mix.
Of course as the candidate lists dwindles down to less and less the notion of Rubio still standing has a greater chance and there will be many clamoring for him to pick up one of the fallen as a running mate. Governors like Chris Christie and Jeb(!) Bush still have a fighting chance to see their future political dreams come true, yet I do not see either wanting to play backup to nobody. So if there were a Governor of choice, it has to land with John Huntsman.
Then again, personally I would enjoy seeing the smartest (and most egotistical) man make his comeback. Yes a return of Newt Gingrich.
That’s it, slap the political tap on some Blithering Idiot Ale and keep the Merry in Christmas by spending your Holiday bonuses on the Freedom of Capitalism
CHEERS!
