Survey USA has released 17 different polls on how well John McCain and Barack Obama would do in Pennsylvania with different running mates. Not surprisingly, Obama does best when paired with the high-name-recognition John Edwards and with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. The oddest questions involve a scenario with Obama picking a Republican, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, as his running mate (and running pretty much evenly with McCain).
As long as we're entertaining the possibility of a bipartisan ticket, am I crazy to speculate about Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe? She's a woman with 30 years in Congress, has a lot of foreign policy experience (including a stint on the Select Committee on Intelligence), has always been one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress (and is pro-choice), and might be willing to give up a seat in a US Senate likely to be controlled by Democrats for the foreseeable future. If Obama does pick a woman as a running mate, I'd bet on Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, but unless I'm missing some big disadvantage (like a history of poor debate performances) Snowe doesn't seem any less likely than Hegel.
An interesting possibility, but I can't figure out why Obama would at all do this. It's hard to see anybody but Snowe keeping that seat in the Republican Party...Maine is less than impressed with the GOP right now. So any vestigal party loyalty would cause her to say no. I think that she'd lose her Republican support (not that she has much anyway).
From Obama's point of view, Snowe doesn't bring much foreign policy heft, or even regional heft...he doesn't need her to win Maine. What does she add to the ticket, in any way?
If you're talking a woman VP, Sebelius is a possibility...so is Sanchez, Wasserman-Schultz, Napolitano, Cantwell, McCaskill.
I agree that Snowe is a Republican white woman...but in all honesty, does she offer anything beyond checking those boxes? What does she offer that say, Christine Todd Whitman doesn't?
Posted by: Sabutai | May 20, 2008 at 10:13 PM
I was mainly thinking of longevity of service and foreign-policy credentials (yes, the "heft" of these credentials is debatable), which a governor would lack. Also, putting a pro-choice Republican like Snowe on the ticket would probably make it harder for McCain to capitalize on his appeal among independents. Whitman is an interesting choice, but I think her stint at the EPA under Bush would disqualify her -- and the ultra-preppy Whitman sure wouldn't help the Democratic Party shed its "elitist" image.
Posted by: Robert David Sullivan | May 20, 2008 at 10:55 PM
I will be interested to see who WILL be willing to run with Obama, should he get the nomination. He may HAVE to find a Republican!
BTW - why do you assume independent voters are pro-choice? Obama would do better to balance the ticket with a pro-life Democrat.
Posted by: Peter Porcupine | May 21, 2008 at 12:48 AM