Chris Dodd: Winning the Race for Vice President
GRUFF MCGRUFF said 11/13, 10:54 PM
For a long time I thought Bill Richardson was a shoe-in. Federal and state experience, domestic and international policy maker, ethnic and sun belt constituencies. But his debate performances seem to have alienated all the majors who might ask him to come aboard. Plus, he looks a lot like The Thing. Dodd has played his cards perfectly. True, he's from a state with no electoral votes, but he sounds smart, he's liberal (and any of the big three are playing to the center, so they might want to shore up the left) and he hasn't made a single enemy in the debates. He also has very Vice Presidential hair.
edwards 08 said 11/14, 12:06 PM
Chris Dodd has little or no chance to get the Vice Presidential Nomination. True, he is a legitimate candidate and has not said anything bad, but is not widely known and does not have the attractiveness or potential vote-getting that a Southern candidate such as Edwards would have. The main issue is not getting the Northeast to vote - it is getting more borderline and conservative Democrats to come aboard the bandwagon. The whole idea of a vice president is to pick someone who might help you pick up votes in a part of the country where your support is weak. Its about giving people more reasons to vote for you, not fewer! So, there woud be no point if Hilary were to win for her to pick Dodd or even Obama. They need support from the more conservative, southern Democrats, and from the Republicans who are more likely to cross party lines. Dodd simply does not bring that to the table.
GRUFF MCGRUFF said 11/14, 12:33 PM
This may be the subject of another debate, but it's germane here: Geography is dead as a determining factor for VP candidates. In the old days, when you actually knew your local representative and almost no other political figures, then clearly in a national race you'd want a VP nominee from a big region or state on your ticket. Now that you can see anyone anywhere at any time, geography matters much less. What matters is shoring up the wings of your party. Dodd is an unapologetic liberal. Liberals in California and New York and everywhere else know him as a liberal. That's what matters.
edwards 08 said 11/14, 03:37 PM
No, geography is a big factor. Edwards was chosen as a running mate not only because he was competing with Kerry, but also he was from North Carolina. Kerry was from the Bay State, one of the most liberal places in our nation. Also, it has to do with political views. You don't just put two liberals on the same ticket. Edwards is the only person with whom I'd put Dodd and he's not going to win. You win elections by getting people to cross party lines and come vote for you. One wants to appear open to a different number of ideas to attract the largest number of voters. It has nothing to do with geography. Its politics.
Independents who are slightly more moderate may not vote for a candidate if they are too far to the left or right. Not all Democrats are liberals, so I don't see why that would necessarily be good to "load up" a party ticket with two liberals. Obama, Clinton, and Edwards all have been significantly enough to the left on all the major issues, so don't try to fool anyone there. They could use any more conservative candidate as a running mate to attract independents and more liberal Republicans
GRUFF MCGRUFF said 11/14, 03:52 PM
Point by point:
"You don't just put two liberals on the same ticket."
Exactly. And most people in the Democratic party would call HRC, JE and BO moderates, if not classic DLC triangulating centrists. They have 'liberal' social views (though not on gay marriage) but they're right out of the DLC playbook. A true liberal, like Dodd, proves that they're at least sensitive to the concerns of the far left.
"You win elections by getting people to cross party lines and come vote for you."
Karl Rove, the man who got George W. Bush elected twice, would argue the exact opposite. You win by motivating your base. And if you want the far left to get out there in numbers, you've got to give them someone to rally around, or at least someone with a record like theirs.
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