The Vice-Presidential Sweepstakes

I’ve been mulling over vice president candidates for some time now. I think there are two factors at work. The first is what it takes to win the election. The second is what it takes to govern. 

There is much talk in the Democratic party about diversity on the ticket. Diversity includes gender, race, age, and perhaps political positions. Joe Biden has committed to having a woman as his running mate - check off gender - and that’s important because roughly half of the voters are women. With the rising consciousness of racial injustice, there is much pressure to have a Black woman on the ticket. With Joe Biden in his late seventies, there is an implicit desire to have a younger person ready to take over the presidency - just in case. 

If Joe Biden is elected president - and I certainly hope is will be - he’s going to have a hell of a time trying to dig out of the wreckage that Mr. Trump has inflicted on the country. The federal government’s role and responsibilities are going to need to be thought out anew and put into place to make America what it should be at home and abroad. He’s going to need some help governing and an active and effective vice president can be of great help. 

As of now, I believe that Joe Biden will be elected president if the election is fair and if there is decent turnout.  And among those candidates being seriously considered, he will win no matter who is on the ticket. 

Here are the candidates who are being vetted according to the New York Times, June 22: Kamila Harris (Sen CA), Elizabeth Warren (Sen MA), Keisha Lance Bottoms (Mayor Atlanta), Val Demings (House FL), Susan Rice (former Nat’l Security Advisor, UN Ambassador), Michelle Lujan Grisham (Gov NM), Tammy Duckworth (Sen IL), Tammy Baldwin (Sen WI), Karen Bass (House CA), Gretchen Whitmer. (Gov MI), Stacey Abrams (narrow loss GA Gov), Gina Raimondo (Gov RI), Maggie Hassan (Sen NH).

From this list there are two outstanding candidates,  In alphabetical order they are  Susan Rice.and Elizabeth Warren. Both women have been around the executive branch of government and know the ropes. Both women share the honor of having been opposed by the Republican Senate for political reasons for confirmation to important positions. (Secretary of State and Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau respectively.). That is indeed a badge of honor. 

Susan Rice is an international relations specialist who would complement Joe Biden’s experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as Vice President. While our domestic affairs may be in disarray, under Trump, our international affairs are in chaos. Foreign governments do not take the USA seriously anymore. Our soft power has been squandered. As a former National Security Advisor and Ambassador to the United Nations, human rights and protection have been at the forefront of her agenda. She would help revive our standing amongst our allies and respect from our adversaries. Rice is a Black woman and age is on her side. 

Elizabeth Warren’s strength is in domestic affairs. She is well known as a candidate for president as are her progressive positions. Given the premise that Bernie voters are crucial to Joe Biden's success, Elizabeth Warren stands out. Her progressive political credentials mirror those of Bernie, without the rough edges and off-putting anger. Warren on the ticket would resolve a schism in the Democratic Party by accommodating both the moderates and the progressives. Her domestic agenda is the wave of the future and it is better realized sooner rather than later. Elizabeth Warren has the imagination and the energy to revive and revitalize a domestic agenda that Trump has shredded to the detriment of the people of America.

I am happy have either Rice or Warren as the vice-presidential nominee.