Biden can’t go wrong with this VP field
What do you do when you’re locked in your home for seven weeks? You plow through every recipe by the Barefoot Contessa. You tackle that 1,500piece jigsaw puzzle. You binge-watch TV until there’s nothing left on Netflix you haven’t seen. Or you indulge in the latest parlor game sweeping the nation: speculation about who’s going to be Joe Biden’s running mate.
Probably like you, having exhausted the first three options, I’m deep into No. 4. The good news is that at least Biden’s narrowed the field for us somewhat by promising to pick a woman to run with him on the Democratic ticket. It’s a bold move for which he deserves a lot of credit. He understands that he’s not the future of the Democratic Party, but he needs someone alongside of him who is.
Biden’s choice won’t be the first female vice-presidential nominee. We still cherish Geraldine Ferraro and cringe at the memory of Sarah Palin. But whoever she is, she’ll play a more critical role in 2020 than Ferraro did in 1984 or Palin did in 2008, given that Biden will be 78 when and if he’s sworn in as president and, statistically, less likely to complete eight years in office. Which is why Biden has said that the top quality he’s looking for in a vice presidential nominee is someone whom everyone believes could step into the role of president if, God forbid, something happened to him.
That makes experience, especially at the federal level, the most important qualification for a running mate. Biden says he’s also looking for someone “simpatico,” someone he can develop a good working relationship with. In addition to which he must weigh two practical political considerations: Could she help deliver a swing state, and might her election result in the loss of a key Democratic Senate seat?
Note: Don’t be distracted by those who say Biden must also choose an African American woman. Yes, that would be ideal, and there are a number of outstanding African American women to choose from. But the No. 1 thing on Nov. 3, just like it was in the primary, is electability. Even Rep. James Clyburn, the first to urge Biden to choose an African American woman, disagrees that it’s the only way black voters will turn out to vote against Donald Trump.
“I’m among those who feel that it would be great for him to select a woman of color,” Clyburn told NBC News. “But that is not a must.” Biden’s decision, Clyburn added, should be based on “the vetting and the polling.”
Weighing the above considerations, I’d rate the top 10 contenders as follows. (No, Michelle Obama’s not interested). First Rank: Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth; and former national security adviser Susan Rice. Second rank: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Tammy Baldwin, and Rep. Val Demings. Third rank: Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Each of these women is outstanding. Each of them would make an exciting ticket. Each of them is a serious policy wonk. Each can deliver the message. Democrats will unite around Biden, no matter which of them he chooses, and each also brings her own strengths to the ticket.
Top tier: Klobuchar, Harris and Warren bring strong Senate records to the table, plus experience as a presidential candidate. Duckworth adds her heroic military service. Klobuchar and Duckworth could help deliver a key Midwest state. Rice has the most foreign policy experience.
Second tier: Whitmer’s the only one with executive experience. Cortez Masto and Baldwin combine Senate experience with their ability to help deliver a swing state. Former police chief Demings shone as impeachment manager in the House.
Third tier: She’s a rising star of the Democratic Party, the first African American female major-party gubernatorial nominee in the country, and she’s campaigning hard for the job. Still, it’s hard to imagine Abrams stepping up from a failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate to vice president or president.
It’s a tough choice. Biden last week formed a review committee headed by former Sen. Chris Dodd to begin the vetting process. At this point, nobody knows who will emerge as Biden’s first choice, but the committee’s blessed with no lack of outstanding choices. I’d prefer any one of the top tier candidates. But my favorite vice presidential candidate is: Whomever Biden chooses. With such an all-star cast, he can’t go wrong.