We need her.

They flipped out. "What does this have to do with Covid-19?" "Does she really think calling everyone racist will make them less racist?"

SMH, people are living in their bubbles still.

While I think it's great that she did this, is it really fair to give a white woman extra credit for calling out racism when black women like Kamala Harris, Susan Rice, Val Demings, Karen Bass, etc., have been doing that for years?

her credit for doing this from the position of Governor. I would praise a white male Governor for doing this as well. I would praise ANY governor, black, white, male or female for doing this. This is a big deal to me. Lots of people have "called out racism" as you say. But calling it a public health crisis from the governor's chair? I think that deserves credit whether male, female, black or white.

And I like her for being a strong woman even if there are other strong women out there as well. I think her experience as a governor makes her qualified, even if she is a white woman. Not saying I wouldn't accept other qualified candidates. I'm saying she's near the top of my list.

But that doesn't make her suddenly more qualified than everyone else to be a vice presidential running mate. I'm fact, every one of the women being considered is great on race and has used their power and positions to draw attention to and try to address racism.
And the primary reason more black people - especially women - haven't called racism a public health crisis from a governor's chair is that racism has kept black people out of governors' chairs. So she's getting extra credit because she did something from a position that no black woman has been able to occupy. Stacey Abrams no doubt would have been just as kick-ass if the governorship hadn't been stolen from her.

I hear what you're saying, but I just don't think a white woman doing something black women have been doing most their careers should leapfrog her over highly qualified African American women who have never had the opportunity to do what she's being hailed for from the position she holds.

and you know it. She gets credit for saying it in my book. And being a governor does make her qualified. There are lots of women who are qualified, but you have to admit, being a governor is a huge leg up.

Look. I desperately want to win. I want to win more than insisting that the VP choice must be a black woman. There will be plenty of positions in the administration for rewarding black women.

I've never agreed with that requirement in the first place although it would be nice. Yes it would be nice. But we gotta win first. Always thought it was a mistake to go down that road. You and I will just have to disagree on that point. And I still believe Whitmer gets credit even if she is white.

But it's frustrating to see a white person get extra points and put on a pedestal for doing and saying the right thing on race when black people have been living it and NEVER get credit for that. When we do these things, we're playing the race card or at best, get a shrug and a "of COURSE she did. What do you expect."

I can see why you and many people think Whitmer would be a great running mate. She's smart, strategic, committed, savvy, woke, etc. But she was all of those things BEFORE she made this declaration yesterday. I don't think her saying that makes her any more qualified or deserving of being elevated over the black women being considered than she was last week. And I think giving a white woman bonus points for being good on race and moving her in front of the black women have been dealing with, navigating, and overcoming racism just to get into rooms where white women have been for decades is insulting to all of the women involved.

Selecting a white woman who is good on race, even if she's really really good, is NOT the same as selecting a woman of color. And picking a black woman and winning are not mutually exclusive propositions. It's more than likely that choosing a black woman, thereby energizing black voters who will be asked to stand in line for hours and jump through many other hoops just to cast their ballots, could give Biden the margin he needs to win.

If getting there requires a special call out to each White person that sees the light and join us in that fight, then I am perfectly ok with that, achieving the end goal, to me is more important than legislating past grievances, even justified ones.

We're not talking about her being an ally. We're talking about her being selected for a position that several black women are being considered for.

Whitmer doesn't need to be Biden's running mate in order to be an ally. She can continue being a great ally as governor of Michigan.

I worked most of my working life in corporate America as a highly trained professional. When I first started out my career, I figured that having a Black person in a position of influence would be a positive for me as a Black person. It doesn’t often work that way. A company may have a Black or Hispanic diversity officer, but I have never experienced a case where those people rocked the boat. Personally, one of my worst work experiences involved a Black person who could have insured a fairer outcome but did not. Three of my best experiences involved White people that used their management position to get me in a place where my hard work could bring me success, they gained nothing from that other than knowing that a competent person had moved forward. So for me, whether a person will be effective in a job defending my aspirations is more important than whether the person is of my race - I know that is hard to read, but it is a hard truth that I have learned. Harris, Rice , Whitmer may in the end be equally effective VPs, but of the three, Whitmer has considerably more administrative experience, if that is most important for Biden, I am ok with that because I believe that she will fight for things that I need from society as a Black person.

But it sounds like you're saying that a white woman can be a more effective advocate for black people than a black woman Vice President. i think that is misguided.

I like Whitmer and understand what you're saying. But I'm also a little impatient with the notion that black people, especially black women, should just keep waiting, never actually getting the position - not this time, maybe next time - while white people are rewarded for being anti-racist (and for their privilege) by being given those positions.

Everything you think that Whitmer can do for us as VP can be done by any of the black women who are being considered. I'm not sure how you're defining "administrative experience," but a state Attorney General/Senator, a police chief/Congresswoman, and a National Security Advisor/ Assistant Secretary of State/UN Ambassador all have acquired substantial administrative and executive experience AND have garnered significant national and foreign affairs chops and understanding of the workings of the federal government, so I wouldn't assume Whitmer is more qualified than any of them.

And we don't know when there ever will be another opportunity for a black woman to be a running mate on a Democratic ticket. It's time.

That said, no matter who Biden picks, I will work my tail off for the ticket - his VP selection won't in any way affect my commitment.

What I said was that Whitmer has more experience at the executive level. Whether she would be good at the VP job is an unknown, as it is an unknown with Harris.

I believe that times have changed and will continue to change for the better. We are going to have more Black Presidents, male and female.

Experience running a department at state or federal level, while important, is not like being a Governor. I believe that you are over-rating international experience also, Angela Merkel was not known internationally when she won Chancellor of Germany, but she is the all time great in that office, or on par with Wily Brant. So a smart person that has no foreign policy experience would not be a drag in office, I would expect her to surround herself with experienced foreign policy people.

The person who no one but me is mentioning is the Governor of New Mexico. She is the person who I expect to emerge from this process as Joe’s choice. She should make Florida, Texas and Arizona blue, big pluses in her favor. She has a lot of high level statewide administrative experience, and she was something like a four term Congresswoman before becoming Governor. I know that Harris, Rice and Whitmer gives some people chills down their spines, but I believe the New Mexico Governor is a superior choice to any of the names that people are throwing out.

the next Governor of Michigan, I believe will be Black. That fact for me is unimportant, I would be ok with whoever her second in Michigan is.

Although Whitmer has the most experience at administration (followed by Harris), I would prefer that she stay in Michigan and maybe become a VP for Joe’s VP in 2024, if Joe does what many expect and use one term to clean up Trump’s mess, but choose not to run in 2024. Whitmer is still young, so I believe she has the time to wait.