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PrintAugust 7, 2008
A surprise choice for Obama's Veep?
Victor Davis Hanson has a list of the things Barack Obama needs to win in November. The key, according to historian Hanson, is his Veep pick.
"The ideal selection for Obama would be crusty, sloppy, blue-collar, non-arugula eating, southern or Midwestern, white, conservative, old, experienced as an executive, and knowledgeable about foreign affairs that would convince Hillary's old constituency that someone like themselves doesn't look silly running with Obama. He will have to go the Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen route. The problem? They're aren't that many Hubert Humphrey/Scoop Jackson looking sorts still around in the Democratic Party. "
He needs gravitas! as all the Washington media heads were chorusing in unison eight years ago, when George W. Bush was running. Of course W had a lifetime of working for his Dad in political campaigns, spoke Spanish, had flown an F-102 "flying gas bomb" fighter jet in the Texas National Guard during Vietnam, and had actually run a baseball team and an oil business in the real world. W knew a lot about the real world. Still, W took the hint and got his gravitas --- Dick Cheney.
Who else has more experience being Veep? Obama would get the "bitter clinger" vote right off the bat. Obama would be seen as a uniter, not a divider. And he'd get a lot of his facts straight.
The question is whether Mr. Cheney would willing to help Obama out during the next eight years? I'll bet he would. Dick Cheney is a true patriot, as we've seen during the last eight years, and his country needs him. Badly.
Besides, Obama is looking for a ready scapegoat to blame things on. Who's better to for a liberal scapegoat than a "crusty, sloppy, blue-collar, non-arugula eating, southern or Midwestern, white, conservative, old, experienced as an executive, and knowledgeable about foreign affairs"? If anything goes wrong, he can blame Dick Cheney.
There aren't any more middle-aged white guys left in the Democrat Party.
Obama is now awkwardly trying to fumble his way into the mainstream of American politics. Rather than infuriate his leftie base by voting for wiretapping terrorists, proposing just a little oil drilling, and recognizing that talking without preconditions to all the Islamofascisti might not be such a great idea, Obama can do the whole thing in a single, brilliant stroke: Pick Cheney for Veep!
It's the post-racial thing to do.
James Lewis blogs at dangeroustimes.wordpress.com.
