Does Obama Need a Co-President?

Meaning do you feel confident that Obama can handle the Presidency on his own, or that he would need help from his VP (in addition to his cabinet)?

This is not about "other voters", it's about you and how you feel about our nominee.


Thanks for participating! :hi:

I can't wait for college football to start.

;)

I'm interested in how the DU members actually answer this.

Excuse my reaction. I'm getting a little jaded.

:hi:

You either think our candidate's got the goods or you don't. I want to know how people here feel, not what they think about "other" voters.

It's pretty simple.

ofcourse he needs help from his VP and cabinet. last i checked he is not god.

this is why positions for VP and cabinet members exist. so decisions are fully thought out with multiple opinions etc

Think of it that way.

by themselves. again, he is not god. human beings need multiple perspectives to make correct decisions.

I do.

frankly i dont really care what mccain needs. since i need him not to win

Or is it DU Backwards Day, like on Spongebob?

If Obama picks someone like Biden, he is, in a sense, admitting he needs a seasoned politician with loads of experience because he doesn't have it. The GOP will say "see! we told you so!".

I really think it would be better if Obama picks someone who is knowledgeable but isn't a beltway politician. He needs to stay true to his atypical message of change - someone who isn't part of the"old" Democratic Party.

Do we want Obama to concede that he is somehow "lacking"?

It will show that he's wise enough to surround himself with the best. A weak VP will be a sign that he's afraid of being overshadowed.

If you're asking if he needs a babysitter, no. He needs to make good choices for a supporting cast with experience in areas where he lacks it, as any president does. That's why they have a cabinet. The last four presidents have given their VPs heavy responsibilities. Clinton relied heavilyon ore, for instance, and Cheney and Bush Daddy played perhaps a dominant role in their presidents' administrations. Bush Daddy chose Quayle, who was clearly unqualified for much, but even he was given heavy duties.

No reason Obama shouldn't also pick a VP who he can lean on and rely on when necessary. The position has become important in the last few decades.

But no, he doesn't "need" a co-president. He needs a strong VP, to be his first mate, so to speak. Strong leaders choose strong seconds. Weak leaders are afraid of being overshadowed, and choose weak seconds. Obama will choose a strong VP.

McCain has more knowledge of how the federal government actually operates, but Obama has knowledge of issues outside of DC. So Obama needs good advice inside the Beltway, and McCain needs good advice outside it. I think if anything, Obama is better suited because he has moved in both circles recently, whereas McCain has been in DC for so long he doesn't understand life outside it. It's easier for Obama, too, to find someone good at the DC stuff than for McCain to find someone good at the outside-DC stuff.

So no, neither needs more help than the other. Both just need to surround themselves with the best help they can get.

a nonstarter.
He is getting Dukakised, Kerryed and Gored by the Mainstream Media.
He needs some Swift Boat 527's to be out there talking about McCain's poor military record,
his comfort woman in North Vietnam after he sold out America, what he did to his first wife, his many adulturous affairs, Cindy and her stealing drugs from her foundation and cutting her sister out of her will, his lawsuit against his first wife - he's a friend of trial lawyers - even sued the wife he dumped!
No more Mr Nice Guy - he will lose.

And for VP, he needs someone who will speak truth to power - Wes Clark, Jim Webb, maybe Joe Biden.

No Sebelius, no Kaine, no bland Bayh.

Exactly.

Or you don't.

You either believe that Obama has enough experience or you buy into the McCain campaign's argument that he doesn't.

Yeah, I'm a little pissed this morning.

Why don't we ever hear of the qualities McCain needs in a VP to "compensate for his obvious shortcomings"?

Why do we only hear about this regarding Obama, even from Dems?

And they will also hit him after O announces and they know what our Veep brings to the table. Right now they are in Anti-O mode, so the focus is on us.

He needs somebody he can delegate miscellanious tasks to and perform secondary functions that he doesn't have time for, like using the bully pulpit and public-relations events.

Advice, of course, is a given. But the Veep slot is the only one that doesn't have a specific function assigned to it. The Veep can be put in charge of anything Obama needs him to do for however long it needs to be done. For example, a panel performing daily updates of the political, military, and economic effects of the situation in Georgia. Or fighting poverty. Or helping to deal with the after effects of a hurricane. Or schmoozing with politicians and world leaders.


Dick Cheney is a Co-President. More of his actions is something that we don't need.

Many Repukes wanted Gerald Ford on the ticket to give Reagan some "foreign policy gravitas" (sound familiar?)


In the end, Reagan rejected the calls and picked Bush.


It was the right call.



Obama needs to make the right call also.....

Schweitzer or Kaine

If they say they don't, or if they refuse sound advice, then they deserve any downfall their hubris causes. That's what a Cabinet is for, and is what the VP does in Congress.

Obama and his cabinet are perfectly capable of handling these issues?

A VP may very well have to one day become President, so they should have certain credentials, including some foreign policy experience.

And all Presidents have staff that handle the details.

Why is this even a question?

:popcorn:

And must select a VP who can help him with those decisions.

What errors in judgement has he shown in foreign policy?

:shrug:

(Bush is an exception- he can't find his ass with both hands).

I've seen it tried in a corporate setting because neither person wanted to be second fiddle. It was a disaster. The President is "the decider". No, just kidding. There are appropriate Consitutional restraints on excetive power, which hopefully will be followed when Bush is gone, and that's enough. The Chief Executive is supposed to be where the buck stops.

That's why two newbies on the ticket will only help McCain. I want us to win this time ~ the veep matters.

Thanks!! :hi:

I think I made the point I was going after and am too concerned about the news regarding Stephanie Tubbs Jones to continue criticizing fellow Dems.

Thanks.

person, but somebody that people will be able to imagine as president.

and this question has never been asked about any other candidate its a bullshit question in my opinion..

Plus marketing never hurts. A strong VP is good marketing.