Biden Will Pick His Successor

by

This year, the veepstakes takes on far more importance than usual, because Biden will likely be a one-term president. The press has been filled with speculations about who he might name, and even that he might even name a running mate soon.

That’s a bad idea. This requires careful thought, and of course he hasn’t even won the nomination yet.

(Indeed, given the spread of coronavirus and the fact that a candidate can’t avoid crowds, Biden—and Sanders—could well become infected; and both men, at 77 and 78, are in high-risk groups. Though Biden is now the odds-on favorite to be nominee, the race isn’t over.)

Biden almost has to appoint either a woman or an African American, and perhaps both. The two obvious names are Kamala Harris or Stacey Abrams. Harris bombed for good reasons. It’s not clear what she believes, and she failed to rouse even the black electorate. Abrams would be better, but also perhaps riskier.

Elizabeth Warren is often mentioned, but my sense is that she is too much of a free spirit for Biden to want as VP. Needless to say, she’d make a terrific running mate—she would generate enthusiasm among mourning progressives—and she’d also make a terrific successor. But Warren is probably a long shot.

There is one other African American woman to consider: Michelle Obama. She is smart, talented, has real leadership skills, and would generate massive black turnout. As Biden’s successor, she’s a plausible president.

If the idea is that Biden evokes a happier time—the Obama-Biden administration—what better way of cementing that feeling in the campaign? It would drive Trump even further around the bend. And imagine Michelle Obama debating Mike Pence.

Michelle Obama is said to have no interest whatever in joining the ticket. But if her country called? Trump’s entire presidency has been devoted to erasing her husband’s legacy. What better way of redeeming it?

(And poor Hillary—left at the altar yet again! She was going to succeed her husband, but Michelle Obama just might play that role.)

This may be a fantasy, but stranger things have happened. Just sayin’.

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