The new piece on OpenLeft about Obama/Murray leaves us a little skeptical: “I have learned from a trusted inside source that the Obama campaign has approached, and held talks with, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) as a possible Vice-Presidential selection.”
But maybe it’s about time to run through the idea of a vice-presidential pick – either party – from the Northwest. And to suggest that it looks less than likely.
Start with the Republican side; we can deal with it quickly.
Without launching into debate over the exact meshing of qualities that Republican nominee-presumptive John McCain ought to look for, we could safely say that he would be looking for someone with substantial experience, a background of election to major office, with no important skeletons rattling around, someone broadly acceptable to his own party and at least not a drag elsewhere (preferably better than that). To that extent, not so different from Democrat Barack Obama. In McCain’s case, you could also say someone younger, but not necessarily too much younger.
Who from the Northwest fits? There’s one Republican governor, Idaho’s C.L. “Butch” Otter, but Otter, skilled candidate though he is, wouldn’t help with some components of the party and does have a skeleton or two for the national media to play with. There are three Republican U.S. senators in the region, but all three have disqualifiers: Larry Craig’s issues are obvious enough to need no restating; Mike Crapo has had health issues; and Oregon’s Gordon Smith is running for re-election (and, were he to withdraw, his seat would most likely fall to a Democrat). House members are rarely picked, and none of the Northwest’s jump out as having the powerhouse skills and broad support to turn swiftly into national-level candidates. (Not on the Democratic side, either, for that matter.)
You could mention – it probably will be at some point – Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, formerly governor of Idaho, who has strong campaign skills and has spent some time on the national stage. But among other considerations, would McCain want someone from the Bush Administration, just as he’s trying to do his distancing thing? Seems doubtful.
The possibilities open a little more for Obama, though not much.
Scratch Idaho, to begin with: There haven’t been major office Democrats in Idaho for some years now, north of superintendent of public instruction.
Washington has two Democratic senators – Murray and Maria Cantwell – and a Democratic governor, Chris Gregoire. Scratch Gregoire, since she’s in the middle of a hot re-election scrap. Cantwell had a strong re-election win in 2006, but there are better campaigners out there, and she’s not much known nationally.
Murray isn’t a lot better known, though she’s been in the Senate 16 years now and internally has risen to leadership. The OpenLeft argument for her is that she would be “both a balancing and reinforcing selection, she consistently ranks in the top third of the Democratic caucus in terms of progressive voting record. Further, the possibility of two anti-war, community organizers at the top of the Democratic ticket is very appealing.” Or too similar, with little background on the executive side or real immersion into major issues. There’s this too: She would be instantly compared, all over the place, to passed-over Hillary Clinton, and Murray’s more diffident style might not be up to it.
That leaves Oregon, where Blue Oregon recently ran a conversation on who Obama should pick – with a few local names thrown into the mix. Blogger Kari Chisholm’s list of 50 prospects included three Oregonians, which would seem to be the three to consider. One is Governor Ted Kulongoski, who has been a Clinton supporter – not necessarily a disadvantage if Obama wanted to reach across the divide; but likable as Kulongoski is, he doesn’t have a strong media presence. Neither does Senator Ron Wyden, though his assets are real: He is highly popular in the state, wonkish on a string of significant issues, and well known for working with Republicans without forgetting or softening his own point of view. But Wyden’s pre-Congress background was, like Obama’s, as a community organizer; as with Murray, wouldn’t that narrow things just a bit?
The single most logical Northwest vice presidential pick, in either party, in our opinion? The third Oregon name on Chisholm’s list: Former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. He is one of the most instantly charismatic politicians the region has seen in the last generation. His electoral record is rock-solid. He has build a national network and ties, through serious policy work on health care. By way of background, he is a physician – not a bad matchup to Obama. He’d be catnip to the national media (his story as a small-town doctor would be irresistible, as would his preference to work his issue rather than scramble to Congress, as he could have). Especially if he campaigned nationally they way he did in Oregon, in jeans and boots and approach to match (a neat counterpart to Obama’s urbanity). He’d be both a credible and smooth national politician and down-to-earth guy.
Of course, our guess is that if he were asked, he’d turn it down . . .
CORRECTION We earlier attributed the Murray story to TalkLeft; it actually appeared in OpenLeft.
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