I know guessing Kerry’s running mate is a silly DC parlor game, especially since Kerry isn’t officially the nominee yet. But I’ll admit — it’s a parlor game that I thoroughly enjoy and spend too much time thinking about.
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack generated some much deserved attention on Friday, delivering a hard-hitting critique of the Bush administration’s economic policies at Georgetown University. In case there was any doubt about the significance, the AP account was surprisingly direct. The headline for the feed said: “Possible Running Mate Rips Bush in D.C.”
When asked if his speech was part of the VP audition, Vilsack said, “That’s not what this is about. What this is about is holding an administration accountable for policies that are hurting people.”
That’s not exactly a denial, so let’s just put Vilsack in the “interested” category.
There was also some increased chatter about my two favorite picks for VP, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and General Wesley Clark. Richardson, who emphatically ruled out interest in the job a few months ago, may be more open to the possibility than he let on. The New York Times reported over the weekend that Richardson “has already begun asking people if he should accept it.”
Bill, if you’re reading, the answer is “yes.”
As for Gen. Clark, speculation only increased after he endorsed Kerry just two days after ending his own campaign. The Times cited party leaders as saying Clark would welcome the invitation.
The Times report added that Clark’s alleged interest was a switch from a month ago when Dean was the frontrunner. The Times noted:
Just a month ago, few in his party thought he would be the nominee, and General Clark, who had once suggested that Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, had “dangled” the vice-presidential slot in a meeting last summer, snapped at the mere possibility of being someone else’s vice president, saying, “I’m not going to be Howard Dean’s Dick Cheney.”
Actually, I think this is wrong. Clark didn’t bristle at the idea of being “someone else’s vice president,” he forcefully rejected the notion of being Dean’s vice president. There’s a difference.
For what it’s worth, the New York Post is reporting today that Bill Clinton started encouraging Kerry last week to pick Wes Clark for the ticket.
“The former president has been calling people, including elected officials in New York, saying that Clark would make a great vice-presidential candidate,” a Democratic activist told the Post.
The Post, of course, is a conservative paper with an unreliable track record quoting an unnamed source, so take the news with a grain of salt.