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VEEPSTAKES!

2008-06-04 · John · watch on YouTube · US politics & society · news analysis

The day after Obama clinched the Democratic nomination, John runs through ten likely running mates, from Hillary Clinton to Bill Richardson, with a real upside and a mostly comic downside for each, and asks Nerdfighters who should be vice president.

What is said

00:00:00 — Obama secures the Democratic nomination; who is eligible to be vice president (joke about the candidate pool)

  • ★★ John notes it is Wednesday, June 4, the day after Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination for president; the open question is his running mate. — 00:00:00 · Barack Obama, United States presidential election
  • ★ John says the weeks between having a nominee and a running mate are his favourite time of every four years, because anybody could be the next vice president. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John jokes that 'anybody' excludes the 54% of Americans under 35 and anyone who is non-white, non-Christian, non-male or indicted, leaving old white people and Condoleezza Rice. (playful) — 00:00:00

00:00:46 — Ten likely running mates for Obama, each with upside and downside: Clinton, Schweitzer, Biden, Dodd, Sebelius, Kaine, Tester, Webb, Hagel, Richardson

  • ★★★ John introduces ten of the most likely running mates for Barack Obama in 2008, giving an upside and a downside for each. — 00:00:46 · Barack Obama, United States presidential election
  • ★★ On Hillary Clinton: 18 million people voted for her this year, she is popular with voters Obama struggles to win, and she has both the highest favourability and unfavourability of any potential VP. — 00:00:46 · Barack Obama
  • ★★ On Brian Schweitzer: funny in person, a down-home style that plays well in Appalachia, a popular red-state governor; the joke downside is his bolo ties. (playful) — 00:00:46
  • ★★ On Joe Biden: the best grasp of foreign policy in the Senate and knows Sunnis from Shias, unlike certain Republican nominees; but he is too 'Joe Biden-y'. (playful) — 00:01:15
  • ★★ On Chris Dodd: John says he has no idea why Dodd is considered a first-tier vice-presidential candidate and doesn't understand why anyone would vote for him. (playful) — 00:01:44
  • ★★ On Kathleen Sebelius: a brilliant red-state governor who gets things done in a bipartisan way, but it is unclear how good she is at campaigning, and the ticket's name doesn't trip off the tongue. (playful) — 00:01:44
  • ★★ On Tim Kaine: he could help turn Virginia blue and, as a very religious Catholic, help Obama with Catholics; but John finds him boring. (hedged) — 00:02:13 · Barack Obama
  • ★★ On Jon Tester: seven fingers from a farming accident, the same six-dollar flat-top haircut in the same Montana place all his life, funny; but almost no political experience. (playful) — 00:02:13
  • ★★ On Jim Webb: former Republican and Secretary of the Navy, a big military guy who writes genuinely good novels; but he has a reputation for misogyny. — 00:02:42
  • ★★ On Chuck Hagel: a moderate Republican opposed to the war, a Vietnam veteran, Western and Catholic; but his opposition to stem cell research won't fly with many Democrats. (playful) — 00:03:12
  • ★★ On Bill Richardson: a popular governor in a state Obama needs, and a Spanish speaker; John jokes that media doubts about his vetting are 'code' for his cheating on his wife. (playful) — 00:03:12 · Barack Obama

00:03:44 — Wrap-up; ask Nerdfighters (and Barack) who should be VP; sign-off

Humor (significant)

  • Schweitzer's downside: he wears a lot of bolo ties. — 00:01:15 > «I'm not sure the American people are ready to be one heartbeat away from a bolo tie presidency.»
  • John can't see Chris Dodd's upside; yes, Dodd used to date Princess Leia, and that's hot, but that was 20 years ago. — 00:01:44 > «Now he's married to some woman who wasn't in any of the Star Wars movies.»
  • Tester has almost no political experience, but only seven fingers from a farming accident. — 00:02:42 > «You can buy political experience. You can't buy seven fingers.»
  • After Tester's seven fingers, Jim Webb's downside: a reputation for misogyny. — 00:03:12 > «and all ten fingers.»

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