In 2008, I was considering voting for John McCain. As an independent voter, I liked his moderate stance. I liked that he didn't always blindly side with Republicans. I liked some of his policy ideas. And then announced that Sarah Palin would be his running mate.
Suddenly, I didn't like McCain so much anymore.
Oh, I gave Sarah Palin a fair shake. But the more I listened to her, the more I became convinced that she really wasn't ready to be a Vice President ... and I shuddered to think of her becoming President if something were to happen to John McCain.
In short, Sarah Palin had a tremendous impact on my voting decision in the 2008 election. So if you ask me whether a candidate's choice for running mate can affect a voter's decision, I'd have to say ...
Heck. Yes.
This week, we're going to ask our political bloggers the same thing:
Does a candidate's choice of Vice President and Cabinet members affect your decision to support him in an election?
What do you think?
Judging by how often the subject has come up already in our CafeMom Coffee Breaks with the presidential candidates, their Vice President and Cabinet picks are very important to you. The question has come up in every event that we've held so far.
Particularly for women, it's an important issue. If we can't have a woman running for president, we want to know that we would be represented with a Vice President or Cabinet member(s). And we don't want just any woman, as John McCain (and um, Michele Bachmann) proved so well. It has to be a woman that a large number of us believe is well-qualified for the job.
One of the smartest things Barack Obama did was invite former rival Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State. Regardless of what you personally think of her, Secretary Clinton has emerged as the most popular member by far of Obama's administration. Her approval rating among Americans is positive (which is saying a lot in this economy), and in a recent survey we took of CafeMom members, a majority said they would support her over Obama if the two were to run against each other in a 2012 presidential election.
As for the GOP presidential candidates, they're already tossing around names of potential running mates in an effort to get voters' attention.
- Newt Gingrich is calling Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) an 'awfully good' vice presidential pick, and Rick Santorum has said he'd consider Rubio for his Cabinet.
- Mitt Romney has named Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) as a possible running mate, although a month later, he insisted he hasn't even thought about his vice presidential nominee. Some experts believe he'd have the best shot with Rick Santorum as a running mate.
- Rick Santorum is keeping pretty quiet about his Vice President pick, but his "generous benefactor" Foster Friess says Santorum should pick Mitt Romney as his running mate.
- Ron Paul also hasn't publicly mentioned VP picks, but this video is causing a minor stir, as he named Fox Business’s Freedom Watch host Judge Andrew Napolitano as a possible running mate.
Here's what out political bloggers have to say on the subject:
Using Potential Running Mate & Cabinet Picks to Attract Voters Isn't an Option
Vice Presidential Candidates Can Break -- But Not Make -- a Campaign
The People a Presidential Candidate Surrounds Himself With Matter
Kim and Kanye's Baby Name Predictions!
Moms Love Birthday Parties, Too!
Father Knows Best - Happy Father's Day!
Are Cheaters Entitled to Privacy? - A...
Comments 10
I was on the fence too, I was probably leaning more toward McCain. If he had chosen Romney, I would have definitely voted for him, as the economy was starting to tank. It was his decision to choose Palin that made me question his decision making abilities and ultimately vote Democrat.
Billsfan - what a class act you are. Perhaps you can respect other people and refrain from cursing.
The solidly left and the solidly right will always vote for the same party, no matter who the VP is. But the choice lies with the group in the middle, the moderates of both parties, as well as the independents, and it's really the small things with that group. Torn between two candidates, something like a VP pick can absolutely swing a vote. I'm a fairly solid Republic myself, and Sarah Palins gaffes had even me a little uneasy. I voted McCain anyway, but for something who is a lot more centralized than me, she probably alienated a lot of folks.
Romeny and Santorum would never run together , There republicans but Santorum is way to conservative for Romney.
"One of the smartest things Barack Obama did was invite former rival Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State" It was a cynical move made in an attempt to hobble the Clintons. Smart for obama politically, but he never put her up there because any of his advisers told him she'd be a good SOS. And she is not. She has hurt America, in tandem with obama's failed policies, foreign & domestic. Luckily, so far she has not been a TOTAL disaster, but she's still got time.
"Regardless of what you personally think of her, Secretary Clinton has emerged as the most popular member by far of Obama's administration" Popular with whom? I'd take an "unpopular" better-qualified SOS over the unqualified wife of an ex-president any day.
Her appointment was and is an embarrassment, like most everything to do with this administration's foreign policy. The appointment was extemely cynical, calculated only for political gain, and antithetical to America's best interests.
Color this citizen unimpressed, but I would vote for her over obama, if forced to choose between the two.