Showing posts with label Vice President. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vice President. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
NE Sen. Chuck Hagel Surfaces
The Daily Show strikes again. Monday, March 31st, Nebr. Senator Chuck Hagel (Rep.) appeared to promote his new book, America: Our Next Chapter, Tough Questions, Straight Answers. Clearly the Senator is testing the waters --surfacing-- as a potential running mate to Senator McCain. On Stewart's show Hagel denounced the Iraq War and apologized to the American public for not asking tougher questions when Bush pushed for Congressional support of his preemptive strike. Hagel was an early favorite for the Republican Presidential nominee (and was profiled in a cover story by The New York Times in 2006) but failed to drum up the money to make a competitive run. Hagel could make a solid counterweight to McCain naysayers who worry about McCain's bullishness on Iraq. And the Senator could help haul in middle country "Heartland" states that are currently up for grabs. I only wish he'd consider crossing Party lines for a first-ever U.S. bipartisan ticket.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
GOP VP: "Think Condi"?
With the mystery sucked out of the Republican side of the primary race by Senator McCain’s presumed lock on the nomination, speculation has turned early toward potential running mates for the GOP ticket. One intriguing option—as discussed in a recent Wall Street Journal article—is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
There are a few strategic reasons why Condi might make a good choice, aside from her well-known scholarly intellect, high profile, and ample experience as a high-level diplomat (not to mention awesome piano skills). Republican and Independent voters may feel that they are missing out on the excitement over the much celebrated “firsts” on the Democratic side; some may even hesitate to stand in the way of history by voting against the first major female or African American candidate. Adding Rice to the GOP ticket happens to offer an alternative history-making scenario, essentially neutralizing that Democratic advantage. Also, the WSJ article points out that Rice would gird McCain’s conservative credentials since she is a loyal, longtime Bush ally (whose reputation is largely intact despite the administration’s failures).
The WSJ article talks about a grassroots movement (www.thinkcondi.com) that has formed around the goal of getting Condi on the ticket. It seems to make sense in many ways. However, might Rice’s unmarried status make her a less viable option? A single President or Vice President is unheard of in modern politics—so does marital status matter to voters? Also, might Condi’s close ties to Bush prove instead to be a negative factor? Or does the foreign policy experience she has amassed during his administration constitute a certain advantage?
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/02/08/duo-urges-conservatives-to-think-condi/
There are a few strategic reasons why Condi might make a good choice, aside from her well-known scholarly intellect, high profile, and ample experience as a high-level diplomat (not to mention awesome piano skills). Republican and Independent voters may feel that they are missing out on the excitement over the much celebrated “firsts” on the Democratic side; some may even hesitate to stand in the way of history by voting against the first major female or African American candidate. Adding Rice to the GOP ticket happens to offer an alternative history-making scenario, essentially neutralizing that Democratic advantage. Also, the WSJ article points out that Rice would gird McCain’s conservative credentials since she is a loyal, longtime Bush ally (whose reputation is largely intact despite the administration’s failures).
The WSJ article talks about a grassroots movement (www.thinkcondi.com) that has formed around the goal of getting Condi on the ticket. It seems to make sense in many ways. However, might Rice’s unmarried status make her a less viable option? A single President or Vice President is unheard of in modern politics—so does marital status matter to voters? Also, might Condi’s close ties to Bush prove instead to be a negative factor? Or does the foreign policy experience she has amassed during his administration constitute a certain advantage?
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/02/08/duo-urges-conservatives-to-think-condi/
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