A viewer asked this question on 7/24/2000:
Who do you speculate Al Gore will choose as his runningmate? I need a quick response.....I have a lot riding on this!
Thanks,
Carol
madpol gave this response on 7/24/2000:
My tarot cards have a bet of their own going on this, so I'm out of the loop on it.
Look for a Californian or a New Yorker. New Jersey's Bill Bradley is still in the running.
Texas' Jim Hightower or Illinois former Senator Paul Simon could also add weight to the ticket.
The problem is finding someone who can stand on the same platform as Al Gore and not seem more exciting.
JesseGordon gave this response on 7/24/2000:
Ooh, I hate to speculate, because I'll look WRONG in just a few weeks. But I will, since you asked twice.
I think Gore is waiting to see who Bush picks before he makes his decision, since Gore is in the fortuitous situation of picking second. Here's who I think Gore will pick based on each of Bush's possibilities:
If Bush picks Cheney:
Gore will also pick an "elder statesman." Cheney will give Bush gravitas and foreign policy weight; Gore already has those, so he'll focus on the stability of age and pick someone reminiscent of Lloyd Bentsen (but Bentsen is too old). So I'd go for George Mitchell, who is evidently Bill Clinton's favorite too.
If Bush picks Dole:
Gore will certainly have to pick a woman to counter Liddy. The obvious choice is Dianne Feinstein. Without a woman V.P., too many centrist women would vote for Liddy instead of the typical centrist woman vote for a Democrat.
If Bush picks Colin Powell:
Powell has said no already; but I'm sure Bush is still praying for a miracle. Honestly, if Bush got Powell, it's just hopeless for Gore. But given that Gore is in it anyway, he'd have to pick a serious black or minority candidate. Since the "hawk" vote would be lost to Bush-Powell anyway, he might as well go for Jesse Jackson and move left, begging Nader to drop out and support a newly populist Gore-Jackson ticket.
If Bush picks John McCain:
There's been a lot of recent speculation about that; it too is unlikely. Gore's biggest worry then would be the "media love affair" with McCain; the counter is to have a exciting V.P. himself. I suppose the cutesy thing to do would be to pick Bill Bradley. That might work, if Bradley has been focusing on charisma lessons since March.
Overall, I like George Mitchell and I'd love to see Dianne Feinstein as V.P. (but I once voted for Geraldine Ferraro and that guy she was running with; i.e., my votes are strongly feminist).
Mitchell would help Gore in the Northeast (he's from Maine) and with Catholics (he's Irish), but Gore's pretty strong in those already. But Mitchell would emphasize the "serious" nature of Gore, since Gore's best attack on Bush is that Bush is a frat boy type. And Gore needs a centrist like Mitchell to appeal to the vast majority who's not to his left.
I do think Feinstein would be wise politically too (i.e., besides my personal bias in her favor), to cement the "gender gap" (but with an added factor because she's Jewish). I think he'll go for Fienstein if Nader continues to rise in the polls, because then the real threat is from losing the left instead of losing the center.
JesseGordon gave this follow-up answer on 7/24/2000:
Following up:
Check out http://www.speakout.com/Veepstakes/Veepstakeswinners.asp
They predict (with percent probability)
15% Dianne Feinstein
Senator (CA)
13% Bill Bradley
(Fmr Senator (D-NJ))
12% Evan Bayh
(Senator (D-IN))
7% Bob Graham
(Senator (D-FL))
6% Richard Gephardt
(Representative (D-MO))
And a vote by viewers there prediceted:
12% Bill Bradley
Former Senator (NJ)
10% Dianne Feinstein
(Senator (D-CA))
7% Evan Bayh
(Senator (D-IN))
6% Ann Richards
(Fmr Governor (D-TX))
6% Richard Gephardt
(Representative (D-MO))
carol_krebs asked this question on 7/24/2000:
Who do you speculate Al Gore will choose as his runningmate? Please make it speedy....I have a lot running on this answer.
Thanks
Carol
stevehaddock gave this response on 7/24/2000:
This is always a crap shoot.
Gore, as a southerner, might pick someone from the North-east to "balance" the ticket. Mind you, having two southerners in the White House didn't hurt Clinton at all.
I think Bradley is out. The two are just too different.
Unfortunately, Democratic bench strength isn't too good right now. You don't have standouts like Bentsen, Johnson or Humphrey, all of whom were political heavyweights before becoming vice-president. Cuomo might have been a good choice six years ago, but he's too liberal for the taste of Democrats now. Ditto for Jesse Jackson. Ted Kennedy is both too old and too controversial. Simon wants to leave politics - he's tired of the fundraising.
So my prediction? How about a long shot like the heroic, famous, moderate and mid-western John Glenn?