It was nice to be (mostly) away from politics while on vacation last week. I did take an occasional gander at the blogs but mainly lived in a bubble with Mickey Mouse and the family.
But I’m back, and am feeling rested and feisty after vacay, so I’m making a prediction about running mate:
Who?
Brian Schweitzer is the governor of Montana and tapping him as VP would make all kinds of sense.
Why?
Because America deserves a VP who can credibly wear a bolo tie.
First, the process of elimination:
- It’s tough to run on a campaign of “Change” while picking a Senator or other Washington insider (Bayh, Biden, Clinton, Dodd). That suggests a governor.
- The Obama campaign has been famously disciplined in terms of messaging and avoidance of leaks. The recent buzz about Virginia Governor Tim Kaine seems strange in light of that, but it accomplishes two things. First, it kisses the collective butt of us residents of the Commonwealth, which has a good chance of going blue this year. But more importantly, it serves as a head fake to distract the chattering class so that the actual pick can be announced with a Whoosh! of excitement. I also think the choice of Kaine is too obviously tactical as a way to help sew up Virginia in the electoral college.
- Obama has said he’d like to tap someone who can “get things done,” and who has executive experience. His style also suggests he’s wanting to work across the aisle. (Anyone who’s been disappointed that Obama has suddenly become a moderate hasn’t been paying attention: this is a man who rose to national prominence with a speech in which he said there is not a red America or a blue America. He’s not a liberal lion.) Those two factors suggest a Democratic governor of a largely Republican state. Kathleen Sebelius (Gov.-Kansas) and Schweitzer both fit that bill, but Schweitzer gets the job done without ticking off the “No Woman But Hillary” faction.
Now, what are Schweitzer’s positives? You can read about him on Wiki, but here’s a quote I love from Salon from a couple years back:
A native Montanan who spent time in the Middle East before returning to start his own business, Schweitzer espouses a political philosophy that combines the class-based populism of a John Edwards with the budgetary pragmatism of a Howard Dean, all wrapped up in shit-kicking Western dialect that the Daily Kos’ Markos Moulitsas Zúniga calls “a genuine version of Bush’s fake ranch.”
Here are a few other notes:
- While Montana is only 3 electoral votes, putting Schweitzer on the ticket gives Obama even more leverage in the Intermountain West, where Democrats are experiencing some growth. Montana could swing this year, along with Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
- Schweitzer is a really bright guy, with a plain-spoken, folksy style that will be very appealing across many demographics. He’s basically pro-gun, which isn’t my thing, but his position (summed up in the pithy soundbite, “You control your gun and I’ll control mine”) makes sense given his cultural context.
- Having lived in Saudi Arabia for several years (speaks fluent Arabic!), he probably knows more about the Middle East than any other governor. He opposed the Iraq War from the beginning, in part because of this experience.
- Obama has said that he’d like someone with energy policy experience. Schweitzer’s got it, and is able to speak intelligently about it—especially making the link between energy and national security, which is a winning angle for Democrats in my humble opinion.
- On that same topic, Schweitzer has spent some time testifying before Congress about energy policy, so he does know how to work the system a little.
- One of the challenges would be to introduce this relative unknown to the general public—but presto! A new book just came out about Schweitzer! You can read about it here. Here’s a favorite quote from the book review:
Last fall I scheduled an interview with Schweitzer, expecting to have 45 minutes or an hour with the Governor to talk about how the West was shaping up in 2008. Three hours, and a personal tour of the state capitol, later, I’d heard about Montana’s most famous stray dog, pine bark beetles, sagebrush, carbon sequestration, his family’s immigrant roots, and the last few weeks of th Tester campaign. The man can dodge a question like nobody’s business, and you don’t even really notice it’s been dodged until you go back to the transcript. But the getting there is fascinating and always entertaining.
Now doesn’t that sound delightful?
If you’re interested in hearing more from the man himself, check out this interview with Charlie Rose:
14 Responses to “political prognostication”
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OK, I’m willing to work for the Obama/Schweitzer ticket!
The only problem I have with populists is that they frequently end up being captive to majority viewpoints that squash minorities…hence Montana’s anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment….and too often allow for the trampling of the poor (are you listening Mr. Clinton) by eliminating unpopular public assistance programs while going on and on about “personal responsibility” and “pulling yourself up by the boot straps.” It’s one reason I wish western populists would spend a little time talking to grandmothers on the South Side of Chicago, in Hell’s Kitchen in NYC, or the East Side in Houston.
I take him at his word that he wants to be fair to all, I love his energy policy…but I would hope he would temper his fiscal conservatism with a healthy dose of compassion and an understanding of history. He’s a soil conservationist….he knows that things don’t grow, particularly from scortched earth unless they are well tended…the same goes for people. The last populist who really seemed to get that was Paul Wellstone.
I’m down for that. I think that would be a solid pick. If he’s not going to pick a liberal and is going for a more moderate Democrat, I think Schweitzer would be an ideal pick. He’s one of those guys who, like Obama, can really appeal to both sides.
It’s people like Obama and Schweitzer that make the Democrats so appealing this year. They’re the anti-Bush/Cheney in that they’re more of a “big umbrella” party than they’ve been before. That’s why you have people like Casey in PA and Schweitzer in Montana who carry some liberal and some conservative positions, whereas Republicans seem to be a little more single issue oriented than they used to be.
As you’ve said before, the Republicans are going to rue the day they got in bed with the religious right and ultra social conservatives.
I’m convinced.
you might be right here but i can tell you that when i saw kaine and obama together at a local ralley a few weeks ago the body language between the two of them oozed mutual respect and admiration.
since warner (for those of you from other states, mark warner is a former democratic gov of va who is currently running for the senate after our republican senator warner said he wouldn’t be running again) will be the keynote speaker at the democratic convention (like obama did last time), i don’t think it will actually BE kaine.
YES WE CAN!
umm, you all spend a lot of time thinking about and researching these things.
Is this what I get for not having TV?
Having said that, I think you’ve made a strong case for the man. Now we just wait for the text message….
I don’t really watch political coverage on TV—the noise-to-content ratio is too high. Except Colbert/Stewart, which is my true dream ticket.
NSCR, I hear you. In that Salon article I linked to, Schweitzer talked about gun laws and how different contexts called for different amounts of regulation–what makes sense for rural Montana isn’t going to make sense in southside Chicago. My guess is that he’d want to leave the issue of gay marriage to the states as well. He has a bit of a libertarian bent in that regard—he was pretty coy on the issue during the Charlie Rose interview.
Regarding his thoughts on helping “the least of these,” here’s a bit more from Salon:
I was thinking it looked like Biden was the guy. But maybe not . . .
Biden’s had some buzz.
He also had the best line of the campaign: “Every sentence out of Rudy Giuliani’s mouth contains a noun, a verb and 9/11.”
I hope you’re right. I like Schweitzer.
I still have a bit of hope for my darkhorse candidate - Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry. Unfortunately, I don’t think he’s even on the radar.
For now, I think Schweitzer is better for us in Montana, stumping for Democrats and showing them how to win. Who knows, it may spill into Idaho. Now wouldn’t that be something?
FWIW, I like Bill Richardson for Hispanic and foreign policy cred, but Schweitzer would be awesome as well.
I won’t quit my day job.
Just saw Schweitzer’s speech at the convention–Awesome. You made a good call, there!