Michael Allen asked me whether I can think of any potential running-mates for Obama who: (1) hails from the West; (2) fits the Jim Webb profile; and (3) doesn’t offend any traditional Democratic constituencies.
That’s easy: Chet Edwards.
Edwards is Nancy Pelosi’s choice for vice-president. He’s a nine-term centrist congressman from Waco, Texas. He used to represent Fort Hood and is well respected by military leaders and veterans’ groups.
The Dallas Morning News has published an editorial supporting an Obama-Edwards ticket, and here are five reasons why Edwards should be Obama’s VP pick.
You can find plenty of Chet Edwards on YouTube.
I think that he’d be an excellent choice.
I also think that Obama has several terrific options. Mike’s question is premised on a belief that Kaine or Sebelius would be bad choices because either one would offend Hillary supporters — Kaine because he’s supposedly pro-life and Sebelius because she’s a woman who’s not Hillary. I don’t agree. All of the top-tier candidates have pluses and minuses. None of them, with the possible exception of Al Gore, would have an enormous upside, and none of them would be a huge mistake.
Kaine is becoming the conventional-wisdom best choice. My guess is that he’ll get the nod if Obama is tied or ahead in the polls when he makes his choice. If, on the other hand, he’s behind in the polls at that point, he’ll try to make a bigger splash by choosing a woman (probably Sebelius) or a dark horse (like Chet Edwards).
Cross-posted from Facebook.
Leave a Reply