I bet a lot of people right now in Democratic circles are asking themselves — ok, is this racial divide in WVA and elsewhere an identity politics thing or an issues thing?
If the former rather than the latter, wouldn’t an Obama-Edwards ticket make sense?
It’d pull him left on substance, but if it isn’t about issues but identity, who cares?
They seemed to mesh well together on stage.
9 responses so far ↓
chuckercanuck // May 14, 2008 at 8:05 pm
yes! Obama-Edwards! Talk about reaching across the aisle!
Homin Lee // May 14, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Edwards…
Pro:
(1) A good-looking man + serious monogamist - draw for some diehard female supporters of Clinton
(2) White man from South + poverty guy - helpful in bringing all those wayward Appalachian chickens back to the Democratic roost
(3) Additional regional advantages - Puts NC into play, makes VA more competitive, increases down ballot chances in neighboring states, brings WV, AR, TN within striking distance
(4) Racial balance on the ticket - very obvious
(5) Perverse benefit from Elizabeth Edward’s death - creates a spectacle that effectively neutralizes GOP attacks
Con:
(1) Didn’t work the first time - Dems didn’t get any tangible benefit out of his VP candidacy in 2004
(2) Two one term senators on one ticket - lack of foreign policy credibility, experience issues
(3) Two liberal lawyers on one ticket - tort reform weakness, overall union /anti-NAFTA pandering likely to be even more shrill and pronounced
(4) Extremely smarmy - I can’t stand his speeches, personally. I think many share this sentiment about him.
(5) Rielle Hunter question - why did he quit the race so early?
(6) Identity politics, for women - no woman on the ticket
Boris // May 14, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Edwards would be ok, but if Obama’s main goal is to appeal to Clinton’s supporters, he should just bite the bullet and pick her ala LBJ and JFK.
Personally, I think the two best people for Obama to pick would be Jim Webb or Joe Biden. Both would be extremely effective on the stump and would give him a lot of credibility on foreign policy matters. Webb would be a particularly inspired choice. As a former Reagan cabinet member and a military man, he would reinforce Obama bipartisan appeal. As a new face in American politics, he would reinforce Obama’s change message. As a gunloving white man, he would help Obama with the downscale whites. He has always been a strong war opponent, which puts him in lock step with Obama. Plus, he might help win Virginia. I honestly see no negatives with him.
Christian // May 14, 2008 at 9:38 pm
There are lots of black and rich white people who like guns too, y’know. 50 Cent and Dick Cheney come to mind.
But yes, that sounds like a good choice.
I personally don’t see Edwards wanting to be the VP candidate yet *again.* Why try a second time for the warm bucket of spit?
Also, I’m rather wary of talk of “identity politics.” On the one hand, it denies that people have some sort of individuality or rationality in their decision making. Sure, no one is completely rational, and it probably does have some role in affecting how people vote, but I hope it’s never the sole deciding factor. On the other, identity politics is often the spark that sets off the fires of insurgencies, civil wars, secessions, and a host of other things that make the original Pandora’s Box look like a Happy Meal.
Anyway, from the field of currently serious candidates, no matter who Obama picks as his VP it’ll balance the ticket racially, and I don’t think Democratic women are going to give up on abortion rights and other things that easily, so he has little to loose on the “identity” front by not picking Hillary.
Alan // May 14, 2008 at 10:23 pm
What makes you think what people call “issue politics” are any more individual or rational? And if Operation Chaos and those behind it aren’t an example of identity politics I don’t know what is.
Ben // May 14, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Gents: allow me to be a little more explicit here, then.
I don’t think it’s just identity politics. I think that there are some serious issue (or ideological) clashes here. (Hillary’s just better at papering over them.)
But most of my Democratic-leaning interlocutors here think it isn’t, and if I take your views over mine on that point, Edwards then is an excellent candidate.
Christian // May 14, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Alan: You’re right in that issue politics aren’t any more rational, and it was naiive of me to imply that no one ever gets killed over them, but I generally feel that once “identity” comes into play and gets exploited by leaders to the point that the “us versus them” mentality takes hold, things do tend to get really ugly.
As for Operation Chaos, by both your and my estimations it would definitely count as an example of exploitative identity politics, and a somewhat horrifying one with Limbaugh openly saying he wants it to end in riots and destruction.
Ben // May 14, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I figure that Operation Chaos was more just a way for Limbaugh to keep himself occupied — he wanted to do something that would allow him not to go ballistic about McCain every day.
It might have flipped one primary — Indiana. Otherwise, it just gave Hillary a point or two in the other states, and blunted the effect of the Obamacans (or “premature anti-Clintonites”).
And hey, the Kossacks did it first.
***
Anyway, the Dems weren’t going to riot. They want to win too badly this year.
Chicago ‘68 is the sort of thing that can only happen to a party in power, or a party with no hope of achieving power.
Ben // May 15, 2008 at 12:03 am
Oh, but about the other ideas:
I think that Jim Webb is an excellent pick in terms of his cultural appeal.
He’s a bit of a loose cannon (see (1) gun incident and (2) Bush party incident), and his government resume is a little thin, but he can come back with a zinger about his military service if asked, I am sure. (Like McCain’s line about Hanoi being his longest residence, when he was accused of being a carpetbagger in AZ.)
I’ve got a soft spot for fighters, and so I have one for Webb. (That he challenged Allen after deciding he just plain didn’t like the man — it’s a cool story.)
If he wants cross-party appeal & is serious about competing in the Great Plains states, though, I still think Hegel would be a great pick. (But yes, possibly out of reach.)
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