 |
|
 |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Has the vice presidential campaign begun yet?
July 6, 1999 WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 6) -- Although the 2000 presidential election is still far off, the campaign is already getting in full swing and with it the vice presidential guessing game. Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey's endorsement Monday of Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley might be a step towards the vice presidential seat and Kerrey does not deny it. "I would not say 'impossible,'" Kerrey said. "But, boy, it feels awfully close to it."
Do vice president choices tend to hurt presidential hopefuls more than they help, especially in an early phase of the race? Although people vote for the president, the running mate of the president could be an important figure when the race is tight, said Alexandra Starr from the "Washington Monthly." "When you look at Kennedy's pick of Johnson in 1960, you could say that that actually decided in a very, very tight race," Starr said. Since the stakes are high, presidential candidates have to choose their running mates carefully. The choice has traditionally done with geographic considerations in mind in order to balance the ticket. Yet the Clinton-Gore team broke that rule in 1992 when Clinton not only chose a running mate from a neighboring state but also a baby boomer like him. "...It was not a traditional choice, but it turned out to be ... an excellent one," Starr told CNN's "Inside Politics" in an interview aired Monday. Speculation has already singled out potential running mates have already been of the two current front-runners -- Vice President Al Gore for the Democrats, Texas Gov. George W. Bush for the Republicans. Starr discusses the potentials names in the current edition of "Washington Monthly."
Gore's most probable mate, according to Starr, is Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) because he is a lot like Gore. "[H]e would be an attractive choice in the sense that he would sort of reinforce the themes of a Gore ticket, which would be experience and someone who's middle-of-the-road," Starr said. Before the spy scandal, Starr said, former congressman from New Mexico and current Energy Secretary Bill Richardson might have been at the very top of the list. "He's Latino. He's charismatic. He has all this foreign policy experience. He was a popular Congressman," she said. "But the spy scandal might have made him damaged goods." The more unusual choice would be Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, according to Starr, not because of his excellent record but because of his age that might make it a little more difficult for Gore to project the youthful image he wants to.
On the republican side, George W. Bush's lead in the polls and the fund-raising figures turn him into the most likely presidential nominee and desirable running mate. At the top of the Republican roster Starr put Tom Ridge, the governor of Pennsylvania, who embodies the moderate force Bush looks for. "I think he sort of projects the image that Bush wants to project, and also Pennsylvania's a swing state," Starr said. Although a presidential hopeful himself, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), is also included in the list of possible running mates of the Republican presidential nominee. But his candidacy is contingent upon the primaries, Starr said. "It depends if the primaries get nasty. If they do, it might be a little hard for Bush to choose McCain." Another Republican candidate for president, Elizabeth Dole, finds her place on the veep list as well. Yet, Starr thinks Dole might be a possible choice only if Bush does not poll well with women, which is not the case for now.
The two longer shots on the Republican side include Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) and New York Gov. George Pataki. Both have good political record but might be geographically unsuitable for Bush, Starr said. Hagel comes from a big but conservative state that is likely to trend Republican anyway, and New York is considered a largely Democratic state. Sen. Fred Thompson, (R-Tennessee), is also a possibility according to Starr. But he might be a poor geographic choice since he comes from the same state as Bush's most serious rival -- Gore. |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MORE STORIES:Tuesday, July 6, 1999
• Clinton pushes for job, investment help in untapped markets • Has the vice presidential campaign begun yet? • Weicker mulls independent presidential bid in 2000 • GOP tax bill to include breaks for providers of long-term care • New focus on uninsured springs from patients' rights fight • Senate a haven for senior citizens • Bush success at fund raising makes money a top issue • Is the Medicare drug coverage Clinton proposes a good deal? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Windows Media: 
