Obama/Hagel '08: Is it Time for a Bipartisan Ticket?
Will Barack Obama Make History by Choosing a Republican Running Mate?
Chuck Hagel is a Republican senator from Nebraska. He's a decorated Vietnam veteran and an articulate, thoughtful man who last year considered jumping into the race himself, and has been talked about as a possible running mate for Mike Bloomberg, should he decide to run. Although a social conservative, he's been a thorn in the side of the Bush/Cheney administration with his criticism of their Iraq policy, and is basically on the same page as the Democrats on the issue.
Obama is an attractive candidate for so many people because of his desire to end the partisan bickering that has resulted in gridlock in Washington on so many fronts. What better way to demonstrate that "we are not red states and blue states, but the United States of America" than to put a Republican on the ticket? Hagel should be an assett to the ticket nationally, undoubtedly helping to win over more Republicans and Independents. His prominent membership on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would also help to fortify Obama, who some perceive as lacking foreign policy expertise.
Would Hagel accept such an invitation? Appearing on CNN's Late Edition over the weekend, he gave this curious response when asked if he would support John McCain for president: "Well, I've not been involved in the primary and I am still not involved in any of that. At the appropriate time, then I'll have something to say about it." Earlier this month he was quoted as saying, "I like Barack Obama a lot. He's smart. He listens. He learns. He's a worthy candidate for president."
He also appeared to line up with Obama's views when, in the CNN interview, he talked about how we should approach dealing with rogue nations. "Great powers engage. Great powers are not afraid. Great powers trade," Hagel said. "If we're going to see any improvement in the Middle East, in Central Asia, the two wars that we're bogged down in right now, we're going to have to engage Iran."
Such a pairing, of course, would be historic, but it wouldn't be the first time it's been considered. Only four years ago, there was much speculation that John Kerry would choose John McCain as his running mate. For an Obama campaign that has already established itself as historic, such a bold move might prove that he really does represent change in a deeply significant way.
Published by Douglas DeLong
I'm an American teacher, writer, podcaster, and photographer who has been living in Japan since 1991. My AC page has 3 components: 1) My Articles 2) My Podcast (Planet Japan) 3) My Photography (Mostly... View profile
- Barack Obama: Experienced Vs. The RepublicansLet's take a look at Barack Obama's experience versus that of five Republicans. I'll define experience in four ways - legislative, executive, political, and foreign policy. I will also pro-rate this up to election day...
- Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama Pays Youngstown State University a VisitBeing invited by Youngstown, Ohio, mayor Jay Williams, I attended a Barack Obama rally held at my alma mater Youngstown State University in Ohio.
- Barack Obama Addresses Newton, Iowa, Crowd on December 30Barack Obama (D, IL)spoke to a crowd of would-be caucus-goers in Newton, Iowa at the Newton Senior High School on December 30th, and obliquely rebutted some of the charges being aimed at him by other front-runners in...
Majority of Americans Would Not Vote for Barack ObamaDemocratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama has consistently been a strong second place in the race for the Democratic nomination, but a new poll released by Harris Int...
Barack Obama Rally in Tiny Boone, Iowa, Draws Hundreds Just Days Before...Iowans come out despite sub-freezing temperatures, on New Year's Eve, to hear Barack Obama speak in the final days before the Iowa 2008 caucuses.
- Updating "The Making of the Presidential Candidates 2004"
- Barack Obama and the Youth Vote
- What Race is Barack Obama? Barack Obama Age? Barack Obama Religion?
- Barack Obama: Facts and Fairytales
- Over-Capacity Crowd at Barack Obama Rally in Seattle, Washington
- Barack Obama: Fired Up and Ready to Go
- The Reasonable Barack Obama
3 Comments
Post a CommentYes, I agree with you completely. I suspect that Barack will ask Chuck Hagel to be his running mate and that the Obama/Hagel ticket will win.
Why? Because Obama has consistently done what he has said he would do... unite the country. What is a better way to unite the country than to run a bipartisan ticket.
McCain can't do the same because Republicans would never stand for it. McCain will ultimately choose someone to the right of his beliefs - this will seal the deal that "McCain is old school". As Jon Stewart said, a McCain/Clinton ticket is the only thing that could give him some hope at winning. Hillary Clinton would never agree to run with McCain however - and he would never ask - because they differ too much on policy.
The old McCain ( the one who at one point considered running with Kerry -- and paid the price for even speaking of such an unholy alliance -- is reluctant to make the same mistake twice.
Obama and Hagel share similar views on the Iraq war and differ on
Hagel has been one of the more reasonable Republicans--BUT--I say helll no to an Obama/Hagel ticket. First of all, this is a politically suicidal move because Obama would be alienating his base, and second of all, Obama's unity message is not necessarily about dissolving party lines and overtly teaming up with Republicans. What he is really talking about is cooling the rhetoric and the baby boomer, latent 60's culture war crap--ending the low blow, gotcha politics, or "silliness", as Obama might call it, that goes on between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicnas, etc, etc. He wants to create an atmosphere in givernment and beyond, that doesn't turn the American people off of getting engaged and involved, and that doesn't create cynicism the way todays old political battles do. It's as simple as that. So, a Republican running mate is the last thing Obama needs. I think John Edwards as VP would be nice. An Obama/Edwards team would be very, very strong.
"Reaching out" to the Republicans is not the answer. Voting them out of the White House and out of Congress is. Obama would be better served in keeping with his promise of change to tap one of the outstanding female Governors. Sebelius and Napolitano leap to mind. Each have succeeded as Democratic Governors in Republican dominated states. The party that has waged war on American workers needs to die of neglect.