WASHINGTON - With the clock ticking on his hunt for a running mate, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spent nearly three hours on Monday meeting with his vice presidential search team and campaign advisers.
Obama visited the downtown office of Eric Holder, a former deputy attorney general who is leading the process of researching and analyzing potential vice presidential picks, and emerged with little to say.
Asked by reporters who he met with, Obama replied: “Some guys.” As he got into his car, he asked reporters how they were doing then told them: “Get back on the bus.”
A few minutes after Obama pulled away, the Politico newspaper reported that the other leader of the search process, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John Kennedy, and campaign manager David Plouffe and strategist David Axelrod left the building through a separate entrance.
The Washington Post reported Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has had “very serious” talks about joining the ticket, according to sources close to Kaine. Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh are also being seriously vetted for the job, the Post said.
Neither Obama nor Republican rival John McCain is expected to make a choice during the opening week of the Olympic Games in China, which start on Aug. 8, giving them less than two weeks to make their decisions known or wait until near the nominating conventions.
The Democratic convention opens on Aug. 25.
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- Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama speaks alongside his top economic advisors during a roundtable meeting at a hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 28)
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The guy needed the anti-Obama: Jim Webb.
Jim Webb may be inexperienced, but he is a passionate guy and that’s exactly what Obama’s campaign is missing.
Some people refer to Obama’s style as professorial. Sort of an insult to college professors, as I try never to seem that cool or dispassionate.
I’m sure he’ll give a fantastic convention speech, but the problem is that all the in-between appearances just aren’t that good.
He’s not Bill Clinton. Not even close.
- Posted by DavidFirst, in order to position himself to mop up mess after mess left by Bush/Cheney, Obama must survive this lengthy and nasty general election process. There are some incredibly influential people who stand to lose should Obama triumph.
These financial giants and war mongers will not give up control without a bare-knuckled fight, as evidenced by their current puppet, McCain’s, violent shifts towards offshore drilling and embracing of the far-right dogma he shunned as a “maverick” for so many years.
For Obama to not only succeed, but do so convincingly, he must provide himself legitimacy and leverage to perform these tall tasks. He needs a veteran by his side to FIGHT for change - not just one who can talk about it or symbolize it by some prima facia perception like governors Tim Kaine, the presumptive favorite, or Kathleen Sebelius.
Obama is smart, tenacious and has surrounded himself with seasoned advisors. He has earned trust and endured more attacks in nine months than Bush has in eight years. Obama has shown he’s able to carry the burden - and fear - of change on his own bony yet sturdy shoulders.
That said, in a running mate, Obama needs an attack dog. He needs foreign policy gravitas. He needs someone with raw guts.
A politician who can talk milk and potatoes with grocery shoppers while explaining the real dangers of Pakistan to cynical crowds at the local VFW post.
We’ve had eight years of unchecked hubris. Why not some hubris from the left now?!?
Kaine, in this regard, brings little to the table except to try and turn Virginia blue and gather up some key independents and jaded Republicans. Ditto Indiana and Sen. Evan Bayh.
It’s our turn, and we need somebody who has scratched and battled for change for years. That is not “same old beltway politics”, that is experience FOR change and the resume to back it up.
That said, my top three picks for who would clearly be Obama’s most effective campaigner AND staunch assistant executive are as follows: Joe Biden, Joe Biden and Joe Biden.
The man is passionate, experienced and noble. He single-handedly neutered Rudy Gulliani and exposed “America’s Mayor” for the manipulating the fears and anxieties of the 9-11 attacks for his political gain.
Joe Biden gives Obama, not just the safety net that Bayh or Kaine would provide, but a springboard to go and do the great things that must be done in these next four turbulent years.
Any other VP choice is simply for geographical and/or cosmetic purposes only and will be less an asset than Biden ever would prove a liability.
- RBJ
- Posted by Rick Bruni Jr.