This VP stuff is getting silly. Kerry & party will choose.

[madfloridian]

Gets pretty heated here about this, as if we could make a difference. I would rather see Dean do other things.

[Bog Frog]

1. a friend at work says Vilsack & Edwards top the list right now

An interview on radio this A.M. mentioned only Edwards & McCain (as if).

What do folks think of Vilsack as running mate?

[mark414]

2. it should be Edwards

Edwards already has at least some national name recognition, and did very well in the primaries...next to nobody outside of iowa has a clue who vilsac is

[Bog Frog]

3. I'd never heard of either Bill Clinton or Al Gore before 1992.

:shrug:

[1monster]

5. Al Gore ran for President in 1988 (primaries) and Bill Clinton was the

keynote speaker at the Democratic Convention in 1988 when Dukakis was formally nominated.

[Bog Frog]

7. I wasn't politically awake until about halfway through the Clinton admin

and I know who they are now. But thanks.

[Padraig18]

4. According to my county chairman, ...

... the Illinois convention delegation was polled informally (by telephone) over the weekend, and Edwards received almost 85% of the votes from the delegates; he said the state party has conveyed this info to the Kerry campaign.

Wonder if any other delegations are doing this?

[AP]

9. Remarkable considering the race was over by time of IL primary, so that

doesn't even reflect any campaigning by Edwards in IL (unless IL'ans were paying close attention to the OH and WI primary hooplah -- can you get WI TV in Chicago?).

[Padraig18]

10. Yes, WI is routinely covered by Chicago TV stations.

Kerry would have won IL any way, but had Edwards stayed in, it's a virtual certainty that he would have had a decent second-place showing here. He was both watched and well-liked in IL.

[RafterMan]

6. You have to admit

the campaign at this point is not going to fire up anyone who's been following this thing for months.

It's just a way to carry some of the primary enthusiasm forward to the convention.

[janx]

11. I suspect you're right--

It certainly seems like a successful strategy around here.

[janx]

8. Well, Dean's certainly putting his all into helping Kerry.

I don't think any of the "insider" types will make much difference at all, sadly.

We desperately need moderates and independents to win this election. And we need Greens, too. I can't see too many from any of these groups flocking to vote for Kerry if he picks a predictable, "insider" running mate.

So I'll just say that I hope he surprises us all, and that I hope his decision, whatever it is, is actually HIS and not some pressure group's.

He needs to do something to infuse the campaign with excitement and hope, to try something new. I'll never forget seeing Clinton and Gore shortly after Clinton chose Gore as his running mate.

But you're certainly right about this forum. It's getting a little ridiculous. The choice really isn't ours to make, and the arguing around here is pretty pointless. Let's hope and pray that Kerry makes a wise decision, regardless of our personal preferences.