CLINTON-OTHER. Let me clarify from my earlier post that I wasn�t suggesting that Evan Bayh would be a good pick to run with Hillary Clinton. In fact, he doesn�t balance the ticket ideologically, as numerous commenters and blogger Bart Acocella have noted. And I understand why Joe Klein may find that particular pairing attractive; he�s ideologically more centrist than am I. But my purpose in that post was to make the case for the strategic advantages of running as a tandem during the primary -- by any candidate, in either party, and at either the presidential or gubernatorial levels. Reflecting further on specific Hillary veep candidates, however, Bayh does meet the obvious criterion for any Hillary choice, now or later: He�s a white guy. (I�m not sure if the conventional wisdom is that she can pick neither a racial minority nor another woman, but that seems -- even if unfair -- correct to me.) Beyond that, I already suggested that Tom Vilsack would be better than Bayh. He�s a governor, not a fellow senator; he led the Democratic Leadership Council, but tried to move it closer to the labor-left of the party; and his personal story as a former orphan (rather than political legacy-prodigy, like Bayh) is far more powerful. Both are midwesterners, which is the key region in presidential politics (five of the nine closest states) and balances Chicago-raised but New York-associated Hillary.Yet even on regional balancing, Vilsack offers the most obvious of advantages: He�s from Iowa, which is not only a swing state, but home to the one early state where she�s struggling most right now. It would be quite a coup for her to lure him out of the race. As for Barack Obama, he also has to pick a white guy. If John Edwards were smart he�d swallow hard on his own ego and presidential ambitions, pair up with Obama, and the race would take a decided turn in their direction. And he�d find himself in Vilsack�s hypothetical situation in 2016, should Obama-Edwards run the table. (I just don�t see Edwards accepting second banana again.) Final thought: A candidate who might work well for either Obama or Clinton is Mark Warner. He�s smart, has money, isn�t bogged down by incumbency, is liked by the business and blog wings of the party, and offers a record of achievement from a state that�s trending blue in its demographics. Sadly, he was also smart enough to get out of this race when the gettin� was good.
--Tom Schaller
