The vice-presidential choice

The US presidential election is not far away. Tuesday November 4th is election day. During the election campaign the candidates have had to make several choices. But one choice sticks out as maybe the most important, the choice vice-presidential.

I believe there are manly two different ways of thinking when choosing a vice president. The best candidate is the person that falls in both of these categories.

1. The candidate that will help you win the election.
2. The candidate that can help you if you get elected.

So who has the Barack Obama and John McCain choosen? Obama chose Joe Biden, and McCain chose Sarah Palin. I think both of these vice president candidates fall in the one of the two categories. What categories do you think they fall into?    

Obama knows he will need someone with experience, especially with foreign policy. He also needs help getting working lass votes. I believe Obama chose Biden mostly because of nr 2, but at the same time he had nr 1 in the back of his mind.

McCain on the other hand chose Palin only to help get elected. They disagree on several issues. I don´t think that Palin would have been chosen, if it wasn´t for that Hillary was nearly chosen by the democrat´s. Before McCain announced Palin as his choice, he had only meet her once, yes once. Many people are saying that she wasn´t his first choice. He wanted Joe Lieberman, but his advisers convinced him that that choice could upset the republican base. So he ended up with Sarah Palin, someone the base would like. 

In the recent days, some people are speculating if Obama should have chosen Hillary instead of Biden. She equally qualified for the role, but Obama went for Biden. Why Biden not Hillary? I think he chose Biden becuase of all the baggage the Clintons have. By this I mean Hillary nearly won the nomination, and might not be completely satisfied with the vice presidential role. At the same time Bill would always be in the background. Obama might not wont to have him breathing down his neck. Now Obama can ask Bill for advise when he needs some. 

You have got to give McCain points for guts though. For choosing someone completely new. But it has turned out she also has some baggage. For example that she might have misused her power as govener (anklages for å ha misbrukt stillingen sin ) she also asked a librarian in her state, if she would be all right with censoring library books if asked to do so (Palin pressured Wasilla librarian).

Joe Bidens baggage is that he has said many thing during the years, and could say something to hurt the campaign at any time. 

Only time will tell who wins and who loses. The race is on, and it looks like it will get ugly. 

Did Obama/McCain do the right choice for vice president?

Will this important choice de the decider for who wins?

Here are some articles in norwegian newspapers about the US election:

Barack Obama med tyngre skyts mot McCain

Vedder på at McCain vinner valget

Jevnt mellom McCain og Obama på ny måling

Palins mann må vitne i sak mot kona

Palin utelukker ikke Russland-angrep

Kritikere: – Obama burde satset på Clinton

Bill Clinton inn i kampen for Obama

Verden vil ha Obama

Kvinnelige velgere tiltrekkes av Palin

- Palin fikk diettpenger mens hun bodde hjemme

valget av visepresidentkandidat har liten betydning, sier forsker.

Derfor begynte han med barnehage-, leppestift-, og kjendisangrepene

Dette er diskriminering av eldre

Bankkollaps kan avgjøre presidentvalget

Hun ble nummer to i miss Alaska

Jeg legger ikke skylda på McCain, men…

Palin er en trangsynt homofob

Palin nekter å samarbeide med etterforskere

Nå fomler presidentkandidatene

Obama og McCain fortsetter økonomi-duell

Amerikanske kvinner vender ryggen til Palin

Palins private mail hacket

Sarah Palins e-post hacket

Palins mann nekter å vitne i sak om maktmisbruk

Palin mobbes for «elendig» intervju

McCain måtte trekke tilbake Palin-uttalelse

Palin sliter i motvind