V. Peevishness

Hillary supporters - the rumor I'd heard is that if she gets the nomination, Evan Bayh will be the v.p. candidate. Since I've sort of avoided the candidate fights as much as possible, I'm not aware if this has been debunked or confirmed. anyone know?

anyone have any idea who Obama is leaning toward, you Obama supporters?

fwiw, Hillary people - those of us who already have a problem with Hillary have that problem compounded by the inclusion of Bayh. Insult to injury, all that... It's sort of like, hey, pick the candidate and v/p you'd most prefer NOT to win the nomination.

Hillary is DLC and ghosts of Clinton past. Evan Bayh is the Ken Doll of the pharmas. Could you have a less appealing ticket for people who want to move beyond the democratic party of the last twenty-plus years? (Bayh is called the Ken doll by demos in his state, btw. I didn't make that one up.) Why would you put two DLC-ers on the same ticket? Oh yeah, so that DLC-er can be the next prez nominee.

same as it ever was.

On the other hand, if Obama is more than rhetoric about change, where does his v.p. come from? (I'd like to make a small suggestion: Feingold.) Probably not because Feingold is also from a northern liberal area, but since Obama has made all sorts of noises buzzing about reconciliation with the right wing, he should aim for the same with the left.

Obama doesn't need a southern v.p. to win states in the south (if he can - personally, as someone from the south, I think the fundies will not vote for a democrat because their totally corrupt leadership is in the pocket of the warhead right...bringing on Armageddon, and all that.)

In fact, I think that, strategically, pulling in yet another southern politician is that old sort of politics Obama claims to oppose. Feingold could help in Florida and throughout the nation among liberals who do not feel they have had representation for a while.

McCain won't thrill, but Huckabee as v.p. will put a lot of the white fundie vote in McCain's pocket. I assume McCain will go with Huckabee just for that purpose, because McCain can win the northern and western republican vote.

I win now don my flame retardant suit in the fear that posting an opinion in gd-p that is contrary to one supporter or another's beliefs.

but remember the anti-DLC angst is a worry to only a tiny portion of the party amongst the netroots. Bayh is a likeable enough guy who should do well in a VP role. However I don't see him picking anything up for HRC or shoring up her weaknesses. He's a midwestern moderate Dem. I think she has that bracket taken care of on her own. She may need help with the wavering indies on foreign/military policy, and perceived "toughness" (yes - she's a woman. We can pretend it doesn't matter, and it shouldn't, but there's a real world out there). Clark is also a bit more of an engaging speaker than Bayh is and has more crossover appeal.

Obama? buggered if I could guess, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking there's a huge HRC/BO divide in policy or "progressiveness". It's not like Kucinich is his soulmate. He'll probably go safe middle of the road too - maybe Richardson if he can get some debate coaching.

no, I don't think Obama is mr. prog rock.

Clark would be a good v.p. for either of them, wouldn't he?

As far as Hillary and the tough thing... maybe it's just me, but she reminds me more of Thatcher than, oh, Schroeder. In any case, they'll both be challenged on this point by the republicans, whoever wins the nom.

the anti-DLC agnst maybe a tiny portion of the netroots, but it's a large portion of those who don't even bother to vote. If you cannot swing repukes away from their party, you can draw in those who don't even bother to vote. That's the Obama appeal, the "yes, we can," rather than more of the same. Whether it's all just window dressing or not.

from what I understand, democrats always win when voter turn out is high, and of course some of that turnout is from the disaffected.