We have spent some time considering the prospects of John Thune as John McCain's Vice-Presidential pick, we haven't dealt with the notion of Tom Daschle serving the same role for Barack Obama. David Brooks does so today:
Obama will need a vice president who knows the millions of ways that power is exercised and subverted in Washington. He’ll need someone who can be a senior, authoritative presence in a cabinet that may range from Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to the labor leader Andy Stern. He’ll need someone who can supervise his young reformers and build transpartisan coalitions more effectively than Obama has as senator.
Sam Nunn and Tom Daschle seem to fit the bill. Nunn is one of those senior Democrats (like David Boren and Bob Kerrey) who left the Senate lamenting the dumbed-down nature of modern politics. Daschle was more partisan as majority leader, but he is still widely trusted and universally liked. As experienced legislators, both could take Obama’s lofty hopes and translate them into nitty-gritty action.
Daschle has obvious electoral weaknesses (he may deliver no states and was defeated for re-election). Brooks encourages voters to consider not who would gain votes for the top of the ticket, but who would serve well in the office of Vice-President. On those grounds Daschle is top tier.
Recent Comments