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Fascinating read Dan. I think Susan Rice who isn't mentioned fits into this quite well, that she's never ran for political office before becomes an advantage not a disadvantage under your proposition.

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Solid analysis . . . and always enjoy the footnotes! Think a similar "governing"/apolitical case could be made for Susan Rice, too, even though she's definitely young enough to run for president in 2024 or 2028 as a successor to Joe Biden. (Tommy and Ben basically made this case on Pod Save The World this week.) What very much bugs me about all of the various on-background articles coming out is all the parochial sniping -- the criticisms of Kamala sound like (mostly male) Southern California Democrats upset that San Francisco politicians dominate the governor's office and both U.S. Senate seats; the Florida-based snipes at Karen Bass just sound like the only argument Val Demings supporters care to make when she offers much more; and the constant drumbeat about Elizabeth Warren being too much of a classic Massachusetts liberal sound so recycled.

The one contender who seems to avoid a lot of these snipes -- save from Chicago press -- appears to be Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. Biden selecting the junior senator from Illinois four years into her first term (and who grew up in Hawaii) might be too on the nose, yet a lot of the Joe Biden campaign feels a bit like getting the 2012 Obama-Biden band back together, so, wouldn't shock me if Biden-Duckworth winds up as the winning ticket.

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This is one reason why I believe that Gretchen Whitmer, who is an awesome governor would not be the best choice for VP. The other is that she doesn't have any experience in national politics. As you pointed out, he needs someone who can handle the job of being president in an emergency.

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Not surprisingly, I agree with Dan. Never thought about it this way, but now...

I kept thinking of the Vice President as someone who I would trust to run the country incase of emergency, but always cringed at the fact that I wouldn't get a real primary come 2024. Although we had plenty of people on the debate stage, and I chose my person and followed them till the end of the line, the choice of Biden was one taken out of fear for a lot of people. Traumatized by the past 4 years and panicking about the future, we now have a safe and familiar pick, but like Dan says-not one that's really looking to change the future of the democratic party.

I'm literally on the edge of my seat waiting to see who he picked...

92 more days guys...

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it’s an interesting line of reasoning! but i don’t see any way this hoped-for administration can actually stay out of the fight for the future of the party. even if the pick says she won’t run there will be constant speculation that she ultimately will. women cannot apologize our way into power. we must openly seek and wield it.

the future, and the fights for it, are coming whatever we do. with no less a task than to reconstitute and strengthen democracy itself this is no time to shrink, or skirt, or avoid. we need strength of vision and purpose. and that’s what i want to see in a VP.

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Excellent! Couldn't the opposite argument be made however? I'd also think that, given a variety of factors such as age, knowledge that this is most likely a four-year rental if *fingers-crossed* Biden is elected, etc., wouldn't Democrats and the country as a whole feel more secure knowing that his VP would be willing and ready to become / run for President if need be? I think I'd be.

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Does Warren fit into this box or do you think she would be looking to run again in 4 or 8 years?

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