Picking the Vice Presidential Candidate

Ruminating on My Porch

The choice of a presidential running mate may be more crucial during this election than ever in the history of the United States. Since the Civil War it has generally been believed that one of the candidates on a ticket ought to be from the South in order to ensure a sizeable showing in that part of the country. If a candidate is considered Liberal, should a more Conservative running mate be picked or vice versa? It is a delicate balancing act a presidential candidate must perform.

This year there is more than securing the election to be considered in the choice of a running mate. It is a chilling notion, but there is the real possibility that regardless of which candidate is elected in November they will not live out the term whether from age or assassination.

As a child I learned about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in school and believed it to be part of a more violent era in history, but lived to see before I was grown the assassination not only of President John F. Kennedy, but Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy as well. Already one young man, possessing a considerable arsenal, has been arrested for endangering Barak Obama’s life. It only takes one hateful racist to perpetrate another tragedy. Whom should Obama pick as a running mate under the circumstances?

And then there’s John McCain who is by all accounts healthy for a man of his years, but whose age makes him a candidate not only for president, but for any number of debilitating or lethal medical problems. He is by far the most moderate of Conservatives. Whom will he pick to mollify the Right and at the same time feel assured of maintaining his agenda?

Who does the Neighborhood feel would make good running mates for Obama and McCain?