Tammy Duckworth is Biden's safest -- and smartest -- vice presidential pick

[Mosby]

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is playing prevent defense. Biden is ahead of President Trump by six points in national polls and leads in swing states such as Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona. He doesn’t need to recapture the news cycle, retool his strategy or reinvent the wheel to beat Trump. He just needs to stay ahead and run out the clock.

So when Biden picks his running mate, he should simply try to minimize risk. Biden should stay away from big-name progressives such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), future superstars such as Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) or Georgian Stacey Abrams and swing-state saviors such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) or Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). Those candidates might net Biden some votes, but choosing them would also pose real risks to Biden’s campaign and to his agenda. The safest choice, and the one most able to bolster important parts of Biden’s message, is Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).

Duckworth easily meets the basic requirements for the job. She served in the House for four years and has been in the Senate since 2017, giving her more congressional experience than Donald Trump or Barack Obama had when they were inaugurated. As a 52-year-old religiously unaffiliated Asian American, she would balance the ticket demographically. She’s plausible as commander in chief, an essential qualification given Biden’s age. And, like Biden, she’s neither too liberal nor too moderate — data-driven measures place her right in the middle of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

And more than that, adding Duckworth to the ticket would also fill in some of the gaps in Biden’s experience while amplifying his vision. Biden constantly touts his foreign policy experience, but he has never served in the military. Duckworth is a combat veteran who lost her legs in the Iraq War, and as vice president, she would be able to provide a soldier’s firsthand perspective on war in the Middle East. More broadly, her time in the military would underscore Biden’s emphasis on service and sacrifice, especially at a moment when Trump’s handling of the pandemic has raised questions about how he treats members of the armed services.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/29/tammy-duckworth-is-bidens-safest-smartest-vice-presidential-pick/

[CatWoman]

1. no, she's not

I don't have anything against her -- actually I love her.

But leadership of America should look like America.

[elleng]

2. Meaning what, exactly?

[CatWoman]

3. meaning enough with the all white cast

exactly

[greenjar_01]

5. Tammy Duckworth's white?

Huh?

[Drunken Irishman]

7. I'm assuming they think it's the other Tammy - Tammy Baldwin.

[CaptYossarian]

18. The Tammy Baldwin I always vote for is white.

It's not her fault. Her parents were white.

[CatWoman]

9. my bad

i thought she was

[mucifer]

13. She is half Asian and lost her legs and use of an arm to the war photo below:

https://www.vogue.com/article/tammy-duckworth-interview-vogue-october-2018-issue

[CatWoman]

15. i'm well aware she lost her limbs

however, as I stated above I did not know she's not white.

[mucifer]

17. Here's an amazing video that crushed her opponent in the Illinois senate race when he questioned her

family's patriotism because he considered her 100 % Asian:

[OrlandoDem2]

6. The article says she's Asian American.

That said, I wouldn’t mind the governor of NM.

[elleng]

10. Tammy Duckworth was born in Bangkok, Thailand, the daughter of Lamai Sompornpairin

and Franklin Duckworth. Her father, who died in 2005, was a U.S. Army veteran who traced his family's American roots to the American Revolutionary War.[5] Her mother is Thai, of Chinese descent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy_Duckworth

[rurallib]

11. Duckworth's mother is Thai, I believe.

[Jake Stern]

21. If she's white then so was Barack Obama

They're both bi-racial.

[abqtommy]

16. For a long time now I've thought that I see what America looks like every time I go shopping

Last edited Wed Apr 29, 2020, 03:42 PM - Edit history (1)

at my local WalMart. It looks like the friggin' United Nations, you know what I mean? I see people of every ethnic background, gender and age. That's what America looks like!

[Crunchy Frog]

4. she'd be descended on by screaming birthers.

Notwithstanding that, I'd still love to see her as veep and later president.

[Jake Stern]

22. Not to mention the latter day Swiftboaters trying to sully her record

She would make an awesome VP.

[rurallib]

8. I have been on the Duckworth bandwagon for a while but

there is one small problem. That is that Duckworth's state is already pretty certain to go Democratic. So what do we gain? Same is true of Harris and probably Warren.

Whitmer in Michigan would probably assure her state going Democratic.
Not sure if Abrams could turn Georgia, simply because the elections are {shall we say} crooked there.

Lujan-Grisham from NM is an intriguing thought, although NM is a small electoral state.

With Warren, does the governor replace her in the senate? He is a Republican.

[mucifer]

14. We gain some moderate patriots from any state

[CaptYossarian]

20. What we gain is that she more than likely will be replaced in the Senate by a Democrat.

That isn't a sure thing in other places like Wisconsin.

You can't gerrymander a statewide Senate election, but there is voter suppression.

[judeling]

12. I hate to say this but the young children plays against her

It is stupid and unfair, but Biden is starting to make real inroads into the demographics that the age of Tammy's adorable daughters will be an issue. She just doesn't gain enough elsewhere to offset that.

[marybourg]

23. Are you kidding? Did JFK's young children

count against him? Anyone who wouldn’t vote for a ticket where the VP nominee had young children would be voting for the malevolent nincompoop anyway.

[judeling]

25. His Children

is the operative pronoun.
Biden is making huge gains in 65+ and those that attend church.

[babylonsister]

24. Didn't seem to hurt President Obama. nt

[HDSam]

19. I'll be

overjoyed if it’s a Biden/Duckworth ticket.

[Bradshaw3]

26. The perfect choice

I see nothing but positives from him choosing her. Female and Asian American, smart, empathic, experienced, replaced by a Democratic governor, war hero. Of course she will be attacked but so will any nominee, and having watched her on tv, she has a great way of dealing with tough questions while being very personable. And wouldn't it be wonderful if one day she would be our first female President.

[fleur-de-lisa]

27. No, she isn't.

[Mosby]

28. Who do you like?

I'd be happy with Amy, Val, Tammy, Tammy, Grechen, and I could live with Liz.