Reply #31: It depends on what you think is important. Frankly, my view is that it is way more important

[MADem]

to have someone who can engage/interact effectively, who is a good problem solver, who thinks on their feet, and who is a fast learner. Also, there is no substitute for COMPELLING PERSONALITY. None. Anthony Zinni was incredibly effective in the ME, because he knew how to do the Arab versions of backslapping and backscratching, and those Emirs just LIKED being around the guy. Hell, Kissinger is an "expert" but he's an ASSHOLE. Jimmy Carter had no foreign policy experience when he assumed the Presidency; now he's the world's 'Go To' guy on a wide variety of humanitarian issues, to say nothing of election monitoring.

The fact of the matter is this--to a large extent, it's all over but the shouting by the time someone at the VP or Presidential level walks into the room. State sends their guys to iron out the details, and the country or countries you are working with do the same. The hard work, the nuts and bolts, that's all done amongst the lower level folks. The bigwig gets the credit, but the bigwig isn't the one doing the hard work...

I read that quote as this: She intends to have her VP doing more than going to funerals and meeting the Girl Scouts. The person will be a player, her rep, on the international stage, if she gets the job, of course. I don't read it as any insistence, suggestion, or requirement that the VP have particular skills on his (and it's likely to be a male) CV.