Obama’s Surprise VP Selection: A Name that Hasn’t Been Mentioned…

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There has been an abundance of chatter over the past month or so regarding whom each of the candidates will eventually choose as their running mates for the upcoming general election in November. The VP hopefuls are clear on the GOP side - you have Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue, every bodies favorite car salesman Mitt “Mittens” Romney, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, etc, etc. The situation over on the Democratic side is quite the opposite, and many “experts” have almost backed off even making predictions as to whom Barack Obama will eventually choose as his running mate.

Now there’s been a couple names thrown into the mix from day one, names that are still in the mix today - these include Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, Senator (and Republican at that) Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Kansas Governor Kathleen Seiblus, and of course - the man who loves (and I mean LOVES) to talk, Senator Joe Biden.

Then of course there are Obama’s “second tier” possibilities - this column is comprised of long shots including Michael Bloomberg, Bob Casey, Wes Clark, Claire McCaskill, Janet Napolitano, Bill Nelson, Sam Nunn, Ed Rendell, Tim Roemer, Brian Schweitzer and Anthony Zinni (who happens to be my personal favorite.)

However there is growing speculation from various news sources that Obama’s VP selection has not only been made, but was done so a long time ago - with all of the recent hoopla serving as nothing more then a head fake of sorts to both the mainstream media as well as the McCain campaign. So who is this mystery man? Well, he is actually quite popular among Democrats, not to mention is one of the more recognizable U.S. Senators sitting on the left side of the aisle - I am referring of course to none other then (D-WI) Sen. Russ Feingold:

“During the press conference Feingold and Obama unveiled Ethics legislation part of which Bush signed into law. The Good Government Act, I believe. The bill put rules on bundlers (bundling being a hot topic now- see Hess Corporation and Harry Sergeant), lobbyists and corporate jets, etc. A minor victory. In any case this gives Obama and Feingold a record of having already changed Washington.

I thought the press conference seemed odd, a bunch of hubaloo for nothing, considering the legislation hadn’t even passed yet. Basically, it was a big Democratic preamble for the election, I think. Getting the brand out there with lobbyist reform and cleaning up Washington. (Funny thing is Lieberman was there. If they only new…) However, the press conference offers great proof, with great photos, that Obama and Feingold have been changing Washington together for some time. It’s a record the press can go back to. The fact there are great photos to go with it just adds to media saviness of it all.”

I don’t know if this is enough for me too really buy the Feingold selection - but it’s close. In fact, the more you look at it, the more it makes sense:

“Second, Caroline Kennedy is the VP vetter. Russ Feingold, along with John McCain were recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award for their work on McCain-Feingold. Caroline Kennedy was part of that decision and clearly she has a high regard for Feingold. I’m sure he is very much on her radar.”

“Kennedy could have even been placed on the committee to help legitimize the decision. Obama knowing he wanted Feingold, knowing Kennedy would draw the parallels of Obama, Feingold, and her father. Just as she had drawn the parallels of her father and Feingold, and her father and Obama previously.”

“Third, the issues. Feingold has co-sponsored numerous bills that would help Senator Obama. He voted against the war, Patriot Act, FISA (bring in libertarians, independents), immigration bill. He has recently introduced the Use It or Lose It Oil Bill. The list goes on.”

On top of all this, and was something mentioned in the above article - is that Feingold does great among both Independent and Libertarian voters. For instance, in 2004 Feingold beat GOP opponent Tim Michels 62%-37% among Independent voters. This alone make Feingold seem sensible as a VP choice, but is it enough?

Well all by itself the fact Feingold runs good amongst independents is of course not enough - however that is not to say his other accolades don’t - if anything - put him into the “great VP candidate” category.

Here are just a few instances of what else Russ Feingold would bring to the table:

“Feingold is also a budget hawk, sits on the Select-Intelligence Committee (which is HUGE–privileged information), the Judiciary Comm, Budget Comm, and the Foreign Relations Comm, among others.”

“The Select Comm. on Intelligence is really a big one. These Senators have had access to some of the knowledge that has been stinking up politics for the last 7 plus years (see FISA, scandals, etc).”

“Finally, if you want an outsider, you’ve got one in Feingold.”

Impressive. Very impressive indeed. Personally though - even with all of these qualities (which are undoubtedly remarkable, and are a couple of reasons I have been a huge fan of Feingold over the years) to boot, I am unsure that Feingold would bring what Obama needs most - and that is a running mate who strikes a chord with those voters who may find themselves skeptical of voting for Obama on the basis that they are either ill informed or just uninformed about the issues, candidates, platforms, etc.

My top two picks are (as I mentioned above) Anthony Zinni or the former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn. While I will admit Zinni would probably be a better fit at a high level cabinet slot, Nunn on the other hand offers - at least in my opinion - everything Barack Obama could ask for in a VP candidate. He is experienced, a noted foreign policy wonk, as well as a blue dog Democrat with strong appeal in the south.

That said, I would not necessarily be upset if Obama chose Feingold, a matter of fact I would be quite pleased. It’s just that I don’t know if he is the guy Obama could get the most out of politically speaking from the all important Vice Presidential selection.

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