Right now, the Republican Convention occupies the airwaves by necessity, but the Democrats will enjoy their own shindig next week. With the party impending, Hillary Clinton is running out of time to select a vice presidential candidate, and let’s hope her announcement isn’t as anticlimactic as the Mike Pence leak. The Indiana governor was chosen by Trump in hopes of reeling in the Republican establishment vote, and Clinton must also aim for unity with her own strategic pick. However, she’s been steadily adopting platform points from former rival Bernie Sanders, so that pressure has lessened somewhat. Now, she can focus more on what can make up for her perceived shortcomings — because every candidate has ’em.
Clinton’s rumored shortlist has varied for months with speculation aplenty. Many voters have their hearts set on Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as a running mate, and she did visit Clinton’s D.C. home last weekend as part of a revolving door of VP hopefuls. Also present were Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who the media speaks of as a true contender. Hickenlooper has experienced a self-confessed evolution on cannibis legalization, which will only help attract voters who #FeelTheBern.
The New York Times now reports how Clinton has narrowed the list to focus upon those with foreign policy expertise. This could be seen as a curious move for a former Secretary of State, yet much criticism of Clinton has revolved around her interventionist ways and — of course — the Benghazi scandal. So, she’d be smart to be concerned. But Clinton would also be following in the footsteps of former presidents like Ronald Reagan (he chose George Bush, who headed up the CIA) and George W. Bush (he picked Dick Cheney, who was a secretary of defense). Those two used their VPs to increase foreign policy appeal, which Clinton could certainly use.
As a result of this initiative, the Times claims New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez, and Castro could be out of the running. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who was not present at last weekend’s meetings, has been a recently favored possibility. He would bring national security experience to the table as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And the New York Times claims that Kaine’s “boring” reputation provoked this response from Clinton: “I love that about him.” So, Kaine is reportedly one of the top contenders, and a new name has surfaced on the vetting list — James G. Stavridis, who’s on the left side of this split photo along with Kaine.
As a retired four-star Navy admiral, Stavridis comes with loads of foreign policy experience. He was also the 16th supreme allied commander of NATO. He doesn’t have experience as an elected official, but The Times notes how Clinton and Trump are split evenly in terms of foreign policy trustworthiness in the eyes of voters. That’s not exactly a positive thing, but Clinton is reportedly determined to jump ahead of Trump in that department:
Mrs. Clinton has four years of experience as secretary of state to draw on. Last month, in one of her strongest attacks yet, she ridiculed Mr. Trump’s foreign policy positions, mocking his suggestion that the United States reconsider its ties to NATO.
No potential candidate understands NATO better than Mr. Stavridis, who worked closely with Mrs. Clinton when she was secretary of state and whose experience includes overseeing operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, and along the shores of Africa. On Monday night, Mrs. Clinton called Mr. Stavridis, a West Palm Beach, Fla., native who is now dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, “exceptional.”
Asked about the vice-presidential speculation, Mr. Stavridis said in an email, “Stavridis is too long for a bumper sticker and too hard to pronounce – but clearly, global security is a fundamental concern for our nation.”
Choosing Stavridis would be a gamble to a degree, but we should soon find out whether Clinton will take that plunge. She may very well go with the “safe” choice of Kaine or any of the other names on her shortlist. The buzz is that Clinton will announce her running mate at her Saturday Miami rally, but a leak could happen at any moment.
(Via New York Times)