There's reportedly a 'contingent' of Democrats lobbying against Kamala Harris as Biden's running mate

She is right - it is politics..Chris Dodd needs to butt out. Kamala is ambitious and I kind of doubt her sincerity because she out for herself but I think she would make a great President.

I think Susan Rice would be good too and Joe has a relationship with her, though she is very intense and has sharp elbows.

Her response seems ok to me. Have you seen the way Republicans play politics? Sheesh!

I agree that Susan Rice IS intense. Too intense for my liking.

But the same can be said of Kamala Harris. She comes across on television, as cold and unlikable. This is why Democrats rejected her in the primaries.

He needs to go with Elizabeth Warren for the win.

🙋🏽‍♂️

Dirty politics once again

[quote] Her response seems ok to me

There has to be more to Dodd's dislike of Harris, than just her saying "it's politics."

He's from CA, so I'm guessing there is a lot more to the story than he's telling. But he's probably giving Joe an earful behind the scenes.

Elizabeth Warren? God no!

OP = worse than Hitler and the Motion Picture Association of America

Dodd is from Connecticut. Kamala can be quite fun in an interview. She has a great smile and laugh, she can also read a bitch

Why is Chris Dodd even an adviser to the Biden campaign? What fresh ideas is he bringing to the table? This is a problem that continues to plague Democratic politics. Boomers who can't let go gracefully. Just fucking retire these people already.

[quote]He's from CA, so I'm guessing there is a lot more to the story than he's telling.

He's from CT, not CA.

Kamala is so phony

I like Kamala Harris, very much. Democrats are intent on losing, again. Please just get behind her like we are doing with bottom of the barrel Biden.

People in the midwest hate Warren just like they did Hillary. We can't make that mistake again.

Kamala's sister and her team of ex-Rodhamites fucked Kamala over by making her seem as phony, conniving and unspontaneous as the 2016 candidate.

She will have to undo the damage

Kamala is quite fun when she lets her guard down.

Coming from the old retired white guy Chris Dodd?

[quote] Why is Chris Dodd even an adviser to the Biden campaign?

Probably because Biden trusts him. They've probably known each other for 100 years or more.

Which means that his opinion probably carries A LOT of weight.

Not sure if that was intentional R16, but if I had a dollar for every time someone on DL posted "HILLARY is quite fun when she lets her guard down" I'd be able to buy us both a very nice dinner.

Chris Dodd (whoever he is) has an interesting past linked to the KKK: No one knows you Chris and we certainly don't care about your opinions.

Susan Rice is Biden's most likely choice. Of course she has never been elected to office before; but then neither was Trump when he was elected, and she's held such high federal positions (just as Eisenhower and Grant did before they were elected president) that she does by this time have the necessary experience. Plus Biden worked with her for years, and supposedly really likes and trusts her, and everyone from the inside had said he will choose someone with whom he really gets along. And she's very telegenic.

I think Kamala is the second most likely choice.

I will be glad when Chris Dodd finally steps down, and I hope the very smart, very handsome, and very liberal Connecticut congressman Jim Himes takes his place. I would love to see Himes run for president some day.

When Chris Dodd steps down from what R22?

[quote] When Chris Dodd steps down from what [R22]?

From the slate of judges on "American Idol," Rose.

But Dorothy, Chris Dodd retired from the Senate in 2011

I mean I know it's Datalounge where time stands still, but still, that's nine years ago!

He is currently the Chairman and CEO of the MPAA, but I don't know why you'd want him to step down from that job!

"Christopher John Dodd is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States Senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011."

Chris Dodd is a Mary!

Not sure about Harris, she did poorly during the primaries.

Val Demings, Susan Rice and Amy Klobuchar would make excellent VP candidates. I know Amy is out, but she hopefully gets a position in Biden's cabinet. She would be an amazing senate majority leader, given her ability to get bills passed.

The sad last days of Kamala Harris.

I like Kamala just fine and this just goes to show us that women are still held to a different standard than men ... r3’s “cold and unlikeable” for a woman equates to “stoic and determined” for men, women are aggressive men are capable. Of more immediate importance though, Biden could pick CONDOLEEZZA Rice and he will still get my vote.

OP screw you .

R13 You're not helping me like her when you say "bottom of the barrel Biden." In fact you make me like her even less.

If Joe picks Kamala, I am a no go Joe. I want him to pick anyone other than KH.

"When San Francisco police broke down a door inside a group home for mentally disabled people in 2008 and shot a 56-year-old resident, then-District Attorney Kamala Harris didn’t charge the officers with a crime. Instead she prosecuted the schizophrenic woman who was severely injured in the shooting.

Harris charged Teresa Sheehan with assaulting the officers, alleging she came at them with a kitchen knife after they forced their way into her room. But the jury was not convinced. It deadlocked in favor of acquitting Sheehan on the assault charges, and found her not guilty of threatening to kill a social worker who had called the police for help to get Sheehan into a psychiatric hospital.

“Somebody used very poor judgement in deciding to bring these charges,” said Laurie Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles."

Susan Rice is just so boring. I know she's very smart and experienced but she's so blah. Biden needs some personality and warmth beside him. And no - I don't know who that is.

Susan Rice is anything but boring!

Why would I care about whether you like Kamala more or less because of my post R32? If your vote is that easily swayed, you're just another part of a massive problem. Biden IS bottom of the barrel. That's my opinion. But I'm voting for his demented ass. I'm not a stupid troll. I also like Harris. A lot. She will make an excellent president when they wheel Joe away.

So much dithering and dickering! People just have to vote for Biden or Trump. It doesn’t even matter who Biden picks.

Another plus for Susan Rice is that elderly MAGAts will confuse her with Condoleeza who worked for Bush.

So if he picks Warren or Rice and you wanted Harris, you’re going to vote for Trump?

r38 of course it matters who Biden picks, because that is the person who will eventually be leading the country. Biden has already stated he will only serve 1 term and thats if he makes it through the first 4 years.

R40 - Oh. It it does matter!

His VP pick is very important.

I wonder if Hillary is pissed she isn't on the list of consideration?

r5 politics wouldn't have to be dirty if people were open to intellectual discourse. Instead, people vote by emotion so politicians garner favor via emotional stunts.

In a Democracy, you get the government you deserve.

"Biden has already stated he will only serve 1 term"

No, he has not.

I've never gotten over Harris's below-the-belt, thoroughly ahistorical hit on Biden in the debate, so count me as an anybody but Harris Biden voter.

No Black people or Black adjacent people please.

We do not need to give white supremacists or racists any more fuel.

[quote] Not sure about Harris, she did poorly during the primaries.

She wasn't on any primary ballot, Constance.

[quote] Probably because Biden trusts him. They've probably known each other for 100 years or more. Which means that his opinion probably carries A LOT of weight.

whatever...

He will pick whoever Obama tells him to pick.

That is diseased logic, r47.

Why do mid westerners dislike Warren?

They like Harris more based on what?

R45 don't be foolish. We all know Biden is only planning to serve 1 term..if that. His advisors have basically stated as much.

It may be his plan and it may be the expectation of his advisers, r52. But nowhere publicly has he "stated" it.

Not everyone can be picked as VP. I just want the most qualified person selected to help Biden win. Winning is my only focus. However, many of the women mentioned as possible running mates could serve in Biden's cabinet. Perhaps Kamala could be picked to serve as attorney general if she's not suitable for VP.

Susan Rice is boring..so she'll likely get the nod.

I would love Kamala because she's a pitbull and the Dems need someone who can go on the attack.

[quote] We all know Biden is only planning to serve 1 term

I agree. He's just too old to convincing do a second term

I wanted Elizabeth Warren as VP. She's a fighter. However, she may be a bit too divisive and since she's not black--and if that's the criteria, then maybe Warren could be secretary of the treasury.

Warren would be an excellent Attorney General. She would not hesitate to prosecute the Trump crime family.

R53 considering Biden has been kept away from answering questions from reporters recently, we wouldn't know what he has stated. He needs to get out more.

There's no guarantee Joe's VP pick will win the presidency in 2024. There's no guarantee his VP pick will even be the democratic nominee in 2024 nor that Joe will pick the same VP in 2024.

even on a gay board, the very pro-gay Kamala Harris is still bashed by some here. It's mystifying. It just shows lots of gays are misogynistic and racist too. She's amazing and would make a great President some day. I'd be happy if she got the VP nom.

I like Susan Rice but I'm afraid right wing media would be able to gin up enough backlash on her because of their bullshit cooked up lies that she "was involved in spying on the Trump campaign in 2016". We have no idea how many dumbass people will fall for that. Plus her son is a right wing nut job too and that could hurt her chances

Men want to fuck Kamala, so she would be a strong VP choice.

No man wants his dick within a 100 ft. radius of Warren or Rice.

Right wing media will lash onto ANY VP candidate.

"There's no guarantee Joe's VP pick will win the presidency in 2024. There's no guarantee his VP pick will even be the democratic nominee in 2024 nor that Joe will pick the same VP in 2024."

There's no guarantee Joe's VP pick will win the presidency in 2024. There's no guarantee his VP pick will even be the democratic nominee in 2024 nor that Joe will be in the position to pick ANY VP in 2024."

There I fixed it for you.

Let's get real.

Nothing wrong with picking Harris. I do prefer Warren but am not opposed to Harris. Must the VP pick be black? Warren would be great.

[quote] Right wing media will lash onto ANY VP candidate.

It's "latch," dear. Not lash.

There will be no '2 white over 70y old people' ticket R64.

Agree with those who say Chris Dodd should butt out and let Biden pick whoever is likely to bring in the most votes.

Fun fact: Chris Dodd got crabs from sleeping in his brother's bed.

They haven't barely begun their filthy smear on Biden yet. They are waiting for this. Kamala can handle it. The people who say she turned them off in the debate when she said " I was that little girl " are trolls and old racist gay men of Datalounge. It was hardly the most damaging or calculated moment of the debates. Pete was practically hissing at women with his well controlled lisping misogyny. Kamala is THE most qualified candidate of any of them. And Biden needs a strong female fighter by his side, because they are going paint him as an addled pedophile and n*g*er lover anyway. She's the ticket. Don't make Hillary's mistake. She needed a REAL running mate - but the campaign thought she didn't. Ancient Joe Biden needs more help than Obama and Alyssa Milano can provide. Kamala Harris. Love her or vote for her anyway. Do what's both smart and right.

Great point R61. I am perplexed as well and have posed similar questions in the past. This Senator has done more to champion gay rights than just about any other Congressman that I can think of. Whatever the case, I agree with you.

Like hell this cunt should be near the Oval Office.

Never heard of Rep. Karen Bass before. Just read her Wikipedia entry, she seems pretty appealing. Her father was a postal worker and she went to San Diego State and majored in philosophy.

Kamala couldn't even handle Toolski Garbage.

Make no mistake, I want her to have a high profile position but IMHO she is not a great VP pick. She's from California, she did poorly during the primaries, she launched an unnecessary nasty attack against Biden and she will not convince moderate republicans (which will tip the scale on this election) to vote democratic.

[quote]she went to San Diego State and majored in philosophy

That's like going to Trump University and majoring in ethics.

"she will not convince moderate republicans (which will tip the scale on this election) to vote democratic." Please name a NON Republican woman who will do this.

Joe Biden + Karen Bass = nothing. This is no time to roll out an unknown personality for VP. There will be limited campaigning, not much of a convention, media junked up debates and no time for anyone to get to know the philosophy major. Don't be ridiculous. Are you Tim Kaine R71? You just read her wiki page and she should be VP of the United States. Lol. You pick a nobody running mate when you're someone of great substance and personality. Joe Biden needs a SOMEBODY running mate. Simple as that.

[quote]Please name a NON Republican woman who will do this.

Tammy Duckworth

[quote]Please name a NON Republican woman who will do this.

Amy Klobuchar

That's why she was targeted by the nasty far lefties.

Gov. Lujan-Grisham.

I’m not a Kamala fan. Not a fan of her record as a prosecutor. Her “tough” image in Senate hearings is a mystery to me. She kept asking Kavanaugh the same question over and over about ties to a law firm, and I figured she was laying a perjury trap for him but it went absolutely nowhere.

Her campaign was a disaster. She vaulted into the top tier after that first debate and then never had a second act. Remember when she went after Warren for of all things refusing to call on Twitter to kick Trump off their platform?

I don’t mind someone being ambitious. Any great President is super ambitious. But there’s a good way and a bad way to deal with that, and I’m totally baffled by Harris’s awkward laughter and “it’s just politics” answer she gave to Colbert a few weeks ago when he asked her if she was still concerned about Biden’s record on desegregation. When Obama picked Hillary as Secretary of State, he didn’t laugh awkwardly and say, “you idiots thought I really cared about her vote on the War in Iraq?” Her answer seems to say, “I don’t really give a shit about anything but my own advancement” and I just don’t think that’s a good look for anyone who wants to be President. I don’t think she’s ready for prime time and I think her recent campaign and her appearance on the Late Show proves it.

R76 :

R77 and R78 please see above.

Newsflash. WE live in a fascist state of total divide. There are no moderate Republicans who are basing a non Trump vote on his running mate. They either are afraid of dying of Coronavirus or have lost too much money because of it. Joe Biden is a bowl of wet mashed potatoes. Spice the ticket UP for the more progressive democrats (ME) or you will lose their votes. Many millions of them. Don't dilute a weak nominee further.

R68, maybe you have to be an old guy to appreciate that John F. Kennedy owed his 1960 win to the electoral votes of the segregationist South.

100%, R79.

And Joy Reid has joined us at R68.

I knew you wouldn't have a solid response to me R81.

I give you another name Tammy Duckworth

and another Val Demings

[quote] I give you another name Tammy Duckworth

Get back to us when you have a serious name for consideration.

Duckface will not be his running mate. Period.

My heart wants Elizabeth Warren to be the pick for VP.

I fell in love with her when she came out swinging at Mike Bloomberg and knocked him out 30 seconds into his first round of the debates.

I NEVER thought in my life I would see, live in real-time, with my own two wide-as-saucers peepers, a billionaire set back on his heels like that. It was breathtaking, truly one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in a debate,

Warren is one tough, smart, fearless partisan Democratic brawler and I'd love to see her as VP.

BUT, my head says go with Rice or Harris. Biden needs the spark they have. And they too are smart, tough and could one day be the POTUS and I have no doubt they could do the job.

Warren attacked Bloomberg but kissed up to Bernie who told her women can't be president.

I hope it's not going to be Liz!

no one is going to be the perfect candidate. Everyone has flaws.

Joe wants the person like who he was to Obama. But he can't have that because he is old. His VP must be someone that can step in and lead the country and lead the party after he is done.

Warren is fit to be president but her ideals may not fit with Biden's. Also she is in his age bracket, he needs youth.

Kamala is perfect but some think the day after the election she is going to be starting her 2024 campaign. Biden doesn't need a VP that leaves the WH is 2022 and is never seen again except doing campaign stuff.

The mayors aren't qualified.

Rice is great for foreign policy but so is Joe. Never been elected, does nothing to bring in new voters.

So who.

r88, Warren NEVER kissed up to Bernie after that scene on the debate stage. She wouldn't even endorse him.

R89 Joe Biden is great for foreign policy?!?

r72, I disagree. I think Kamala will appeal to moderates and independents being former law enforcement. Being black helps dilute that to the left leaners.

r91, that is why Obama picked him. For his experience. He didn't get us into Iraq or Libya that was Bush Jr. and Obama.

Rice makes the most sense to me. She's the only one Biden has had any working relationship, and by all accounts it was a good one. She'd be a credible president on day one if need be. She's closely identified with Obama, thus further increasing the chance that Biden can recreate the Obama voters. And while she has no history of having been a candidate in her own right, she's not running in her own right and, frankly, how much, if any, traditional campaigning will be taking place in the less than 100 days left until November 3rd?

R93 I’m pretty sure Obama didn’t pick Biden because he thought Biden was better at foreign policy than he was. He picked Biden because he needed an old Roman Catholic white guy with Washington experience and credibility with blue collar whites to balance the ticket.

And you know full well that Biden supported those wars regardless of who it was who proposed them. In July of 2003 he was still praising GW Bush as a bold leader for taking us into Iraq, and throwing shade at his Democratic colleagues who had voted against the war. Then things took a turn for the worse over there. I hope Biden has a VP or a SoS who can temper some of his worst foreign policy impulses.

R85/R77 - the losing buzzer is the only response that you deserve unless you have some reason that I should not be rolling on the floor laughing over the names that you mentioned. Zero and I do mean zero Republicans will ever vote for Duckworth or Demings. This is not a bad thing (can't stand GOP types myself), but a fact nonetheless. What bubble to you live in anyway? Republicans vote Republican - party line, period. You sound like a tiny babe in the woods to think otherwise and you clearly know nothing of the subject matter (considering that my entire family is Republican - I know the way the cult works). But what is so amusingly simple minded is that you feel that they would prefer one moderate Dem over another. Yes, they might hate Warren more than Harris or Duckworth, but they don't LIKE any of them. Joe Biden is actually the closest thing we have to a moderate, white male and senior candidate that they MAY hold their nose and vote for. Don't fool yourself however - not voting at all is the closest form of party-jumping that you will ever see out of these folks. Period.

You sound unhinged R96!

Amy Klobuchar would have been a great VP candidate, moderate republicans would be fine with her. I'll say this again; she was targeted by the far lefties because they do the dirty work for Trump. GOP/Trump/Putin knew Biden-Klobuchar would be a difficult ticket to beat, exactly because they would attract the moderate republican voters that Trump is losing to Biden.

After 4 years I don't get why people still have a hard time understanding the dirty tricks the GOP and the far lefties are pulling.

Amy Klobuchar, Val Demings, Susan Rice are TEAM PLAYERS that Joe Biden can trust.

Warren and to a certain extent also Harris are not.

Susan Rice is a no brainer unless Joe wants her as his Secretary of State.

R97 I think Gina Raimondo picks up where Klobuchar left off. Her name is being thrown around a bunch more lately in all of the speculation articles and I wonder if it’s Biden’s campaign putting out feelers.

Although Gina would is my first choice out of the “top ten”, I really think Biden should pick a black woman and probably Kamala, but not because she’s the most qualified (she isn’t), but because at this point she seems like safest, but not boring choice.

Is Susan Rice enough of a fighter? I don't really view her as a politician. I think of her as a diplomat.

I can’t imagine Susan Rice running for President. She strikes me as a smug, elitist, Washington insider whose knowledge of politics extends to her knowledge of other insiders doing inside things. She appears to have zero knowledge of how to appear personable, charming or relatable.

Is she good at her job? I bet she is. Is she qualified? On some things, but not on being likable enough to be electable, so it doesn’t matter how qualified she is. If she runs in 2024, we will lose. And the country will go immediately back into the hands of the Trumpers, before we even get a chance to finish digging out.

This isn’t the time to take risks on people who have done nothing to show people will vote for them. Pick someone who has won elections in the past.

Kamala Harris is a phony, and her attack on Biden was beneath contempt. Rice is a much better and more serious choice.

R101, that she may not be electable in her own right is what may recommend her for the job. Biden won't have to worry that she has her own political agenda, progressives won't have to worry that she'd get a leg up on one of their preferred candidates, &, similarly, those interested in running in '24 won't be embittered by the choice of a would-be opponent in a sitting vice-president.

R102, You mean like when people elected Donald Trump, because he was a serious and qualified choice?

Trump is a rodeo clown. He waves his arms around and performs tricks to keep your attention away from the fact that he is Putin’s puppet. And people elected him knowing he was totally unqualified in every way.

Where is this imaginary electorate that votes for people not based on their personality, but solely on their qualifications?

[quote]You mean like when people elected Donald Trump, because he was a serious and qualified choice?

People didn't elect Trump, dirty tricks did, he is not a legitimate President.

Kamala Harris is a bitch. And I’ve read in a few articles that Jill Biden isn’t very fond of her since the debate incident.

I’m Team Susan.

[quote]This isn’t the time to take risks on people who have done nothing to show people will vote for them. Pick someone who has won elections in the past.

R101. I agree with your post particularly the last line copied here. I I like Susan Rice, but she lacks any kind of charisma. But similarly, Mike Pence also lacks charisma, but he was elected governor of Indiana before joining the Repig ticket.

What's wrong with Kamala Harris?

Well, here you go.....

I like Susan Rice, she's badass!

[quote] Pete was practically hissing at women with his well controlled lisping misogyny.

Oooh, gurl...

R68, you are not wrong but these DL queens are going to snatch your wig and scratch your eyes out.

[quote] She's from California, she did poorly during the primaries, she launched an unnecessary nasty attack against Biden and she will not convince moderate republicans (which will tip the scale on this election) to vote democratic.

You b*tches...

KAMALA WAS NOT IN THE F*CKING PRIMARIES!!!!

[quote] What's wrong with Kamala Harris?I

Nothing. She is the most viable pick for VP. But the 'likeability' threshold for women is unreasonably high -- and impossibly high for black women. And at Datalounge....well, it's Datalounge...

Susan Rice is a fine appointee but I don't think VP can be someone with no prior experience as an elected official. We've had a super-cerebral, highly-qualified President before and he was not able to be as effective as he could have been. We need a brawler to back up Uncle Joe. Harris is a fighter who knows the game.

You have to imagine who this couple would vote for. Because they are the bulk of America: straight, white, Christian.

Fuck off, Boris. No. there is not. I live in a liberal bubble, and absolutely NO ONE is talking about this. Just you fucking Russian trolls/Trumptards.

A new NYT article about Susan Rice:

On an autumn Friday not long before the 2018 elections, Susan E. Rice was traveling through the Phoenix airport and watching from afar as Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh moved steadily toward confirmation. The convulsive Senate battle had reached a climax, and for Ms. Rice’s party an unhappy one: Senator Susan Collins, the Maine Republican, had just announced her support for Justice Kavanaugh, effectively sealing his victory.

When a former White House colleague tweeted plaintively, asking who might take down Ms. Collins in the 2020 election, Ms. Rice fired off a two-letter reply: “Me.”

The message excited Ms. Rice’s followers, startled her friends and puzzled Democratic Party leaders, most of whom were surprised to learn the former national security adviser had any interest in electoral politics. Party strategists were already in the process of recruiting a challenger for Ms. Collins, and Ms. Rice had not been on their radar as an option. Though she had family roots in Maine, she did not even live in the state.

In public, Ms. Rice did little to clarify her intentions, and she made no overtures to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. When Ms. Rice announced several months later that she had decided against running for family reasons, most Democrats concluded she had never given it real consideration.

They were wrong: Before ruling out the race, Ms. Rice had quietly explored the idea of battling Ms. Collins for weeks, seeking advice from seasoned politicians in Maine, friendly operatives in Washington and top advisers to former President Barack Obama, including Valerie Jarrett and the pollster Joel Benenson. Within her political circle, the sincerity of her interest was clear.

In the end, Ms. Rice did not run. But her exploration of the race represented an emphatic declaration of new political aspirations. It was Ms. Rice’s first and only examination of what it would mean to become a candidate, and test the appeal of her formidable credentials not to her fellow experts but to voters for whom the National Security Council is a distant and obscure institution.

Ms. Rice, 55, is now among a handful of women under consideration to become Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s running mate. It is the latest stage in a path to power that has seen Ms. Rice chosen to be a Rhodes scholar at 21, an assistant secretary of state at 32 and ambassador to the United Nations little more than a decade later.

The questions that faced Ms. Rice in 2018 presaged, in some respects, those that now surround her as a vice-presidential contender: How much do voters prize government experience, or care about the international stage? Is the country ready, just years after seeming to reject elite expertise with the election of President Trump, to embrace a candidate defined chiefly as an analytical policy mind?

And how eager, after all, is Ms. Rice to emerge from the halls of Washington and plunge into the undignified melee of a national political campaign?

In 2018, at least, Ms. Jarrett said she believed Ms. Rice was “relishing the chance to actually run for office.”

“She loves a good battle,” Ms. Jarrett said, adding of Ms. Rice’s deliberations: “It wasn’t just talking to her friends and family. It was talking to people who would have advised her on the nuts and bolts of a campaign.”

‘A personal reckoning’ Ms. Rice’s electoral inexperience is not the only possible mark against her in the vice-presidential process: In an election dominated by a public-health disaster and economic recession, it is unclear how much a candidate best known for her foreign policy credentials would improve Mr. Biden’s chances. And there are people close to Mr. Biden who fear that choosing her would force the campaign to spend precious days relitigating her role in responding to the 2012 terrorist attack on the American mission in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead and prompted months of Republican-led congressional hearings.

While a galaxy of conspiracy theories about the attack has been discredited, Ms. Rice ended up taking the political fall for appearing on the Sunday shows to deliver a set of flawed administration talking points describing it as an outburst of spontaneous violence rather than organized terrorism. In her 2019 memoir, Ms. Rice wrote that the episode turned her “from being a respected if relatively low-profile cabinet official to a nationally notorious villain or heroine, depending on one’s political perspective.”

She would bring clear strengths to a ticket and administration, reinforcing Mr. Biden’s message of sober and seasoned leadership and appealing further to Americans who pine for the Obama years. While she and Mr. Biden have had policy disagreements over the years, they share a deeply held view of the importance of diplomacy and international institutions, a concern for promoting democracy and human rights and a common pride in Obama-era achievements that they helped shape, like the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal.

Should Mr. Biden become president, few other potential vice presidents might be dispatched as easily on important missions around the world. Ms. Rice could confidently play that role, Mr. Benenson suggested, “while President Biden would do a lot of the repair, certainly in the early days of the administration, on the national stage.”

But hanging over everything is the question of Ms. Rice’s abilities as a campaigner. She would be the first person chosen for vice president without prior elected experience since 1972, when the Democratic ticket included R. Sargent Shriver, the former Peace Corps director and John F. Kennedy’s brother-in-law — like Ms. Rice, a diplomat closely linked to a president sorely missed by his party.

Ms. Rice is up against multiple candidates who have run for president themselves, including Senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, and others, like Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who have endured grueling statewide campaigns.

Allies of Ms. Rice have argued privately to Biden advisers that the learning curve for a first-time candidate might be smoother than normal given the strictures of a pandemic-era campaign. If a town-hall meeting or rally might be a relatively new setting for Ms. Rice, a television studio or webinar surely would not. They point, too, to the electoral inexperience on the opposing ticket: Ms. Rice, after all, has won exactly as many elections as Mr. Trump did before defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Ertharin Cousin, the former executive director of the United Nations World Food Program who is friends with Ms. Rice, said Ms. Rice had confided not long after Mr. Obama left office that she was intrigued by electoral politics, though she did not specify Maine as a venue. More recently, Ms. Cousin said, Ms. Rice had confirmed her interest in the vice presidency.

“She said to me: Joe Biden knows me and he knows my capabilities and if he thinks I’m right for him, then I’d be honored to serve with him, full stop,” Ms. Cousin said.

Ms. Cousin, who traveled with Ms. Rice in South Carolina during the 2008 presidential primary there, said that even then voters recognized her from her media appearances and connected with her as “a smart Black woman.” The country has few Black diplomats, Ms. Cousin noted, and voters rarely see them up close.

Still, Ms. Cousin allowed that becoming a national candidate was a daunting hurdle.

Even for people who have been deeply involved in presidential politics, Ms. Cousin said, “I think the experience for the candidate is quite different.”

In an interview, Ms. Rice said she was comfortable on the campaign trail, pointing to her activities for Mr. Obama. Without addressing the vice presidency explicitly, Ms. Rice said she remained interested in running for office. She left open the door to seeking a Senate seat in Washington, D.C., where she grew up and has spent most of her professional life, if the city were to achieve statehood.

Though not a Mainer herself, Ms. Rice’s family is closely tied to the state: Her maternal grandparents emigrated there from Jamaica in the early 20th century, her mother was raised in Maine, and all the men of that generation attended Bowdoin College. Ms. Rice’s mother, Lois Dickson Rice, who died in 2017, grew up in the state before graduating from Radcliffe College and settling down in Washington.

Exploring the race in Maine, Ms. Rice said she had come away convinced she understood the needs of the state. She had a clear sense of what it would have taken to beat Ms. Collins, a dogged campaigner long viewed in Maine as a careful moderate. Ms. Rice’s message, she said, would have been about Maine’s “real socioeconomic challenges,” like broadband access and providing health care to an aging population.

“It is true I have never run for office on my own behalf, but I’ve run for office on behalf of others,” Ms. Rice said in an interview from a vacation home in Maine’s Midcoast region. “If I were to decide to do it, there’s nothing about it that on its face would feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar.”

The decision not to run for Senate, she said, had been about “a personal reckoning” with not wanting to uproot her family in her daughter’s final years of high school.

“I would have, I think, been able to raise a formidable amount of money,” Ms. Rice said. “And this is a state that twice voted for Barack Obama, so Maine is capable of supporting people with his perspective and people who look like me.”

In her memoir, Ms. Rice revealed that as a 10-year-old girl growing up in Washington she had dreamed of one day becoming a senator. But she soon learned that her city lacked representation in Congress and, after spending summers on Capitol Hill, found herself put off by “many members’ unabashed egotism.”

In the same book, Ms. Rice expressed bluntly critical views of several senators who had thrown up strong resistance in 2012 to her possible nomination for secretary of state, effectively blocking her selection. She named one Republican senator as perhaps her most “disingenuous” adversary: Susan Collins.

Candor and caution Ms. Rice declined to go into detail about the conversations she had about the Senate race. Several people who spoke to her at the time said they had stressed the great difficulty of winning office as an outsider in a state where newcomers are often described as being “from away.”

Among those cautionary voices was Tom Allen, a former Democratic congressman and mayor of Portland who ran against Ms. Collins in 2008. Mr. Allen, who said he had known Ms. Rice’s mother, called himself an admirer of the diplomat and said she had given no definitive signal about her level of interest in the race.

“When you make inquiries,” he said, “you’re always serious at some level.”

One person who did take Ms. Rice seriously was Ms. Collins, who just days after Ms. Rice’s tweet assailed her in a television interview as lacking even the basic credential of Maine residency. Two Republicans close to the Collins campaign said that the senator had been excited at the possibility of facing Ms. Rice, whose identification with the Benghazi attack and the Iran nuclear deal might have helped Ms. Collins soothe the discontent she has faced from conservatives who see her as inadequately loyal to Mr. Trump.

The president himself has often joined in those attacks on Ms. Rice over the years, most recently having accused her, without evidence, of having participated in an Obama administration plot against Michael G. Flynn, the retired general and disgraced former national security adviser. No such effort has been documented, and Ms. Rice has denied being involved in any such maneuvering against Mr. Flynn, who later pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators in a case that is still in court.

In February 2019, Ms. Collins’s campaign took a poll and came away unimpressed by Ms. Rice’s standing: It found the senator leading her by 16 percentage points, 47 percent to 31 percent, people briefed on the data said. (“I’m glad she wasted money on it,” Ms. Rice said of the poll.)

In her overtures to Democrats, Ms. Rice relied on a network of contacts from her time in the Obama administration, conferring with Michael Cuzzi, a former strategist for Mr. Obama’s campaign in Maine. About a week after her tweet, she made an unadvertised appearance at a Rockport fund-raiser for Janet Mills, now the governor of Maine.

But Ms. Rice did not seek to court a swelling grass-roots movement, in Maine and Washington, that was mobilizing against Ms. Collins after her vote for Justice Kavanaugh. Other candidates were doing so, including Sara Gideon, the State House speaker, who would soon win support from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and build a grass-roots following online that helped her raise $9 million in just a few months this spring.

Ms. Rice eventually confirmed in April 2019, six months after her tweet, that she would not run for Senate. Some time after that, Ms. Rice said in an interview with The Portland Press-Herald that Maine “deserves senators who live there.”

Jim Mitchell, a Democratic lobbyist in Maine and former state party chair, said that there had been a swirl of excitement about Ms. Rice, but that few people in the state felt as if they could take her measure as a candidate.

“Retail politics still matters in a place like Maine, because there aren’t a lot of people,” he said. “I have no idea if the ambassador has those skills.”

Should the vice-presidential nomination go to another candidate, Ms. Rice would most likely be a top candidate for other offices in a Biden administration, perhaps including secretary of state.

There is at least, in theory, another job prospect on the horizon: senator from the newly admitted state of Washington, D.C. It is perhaps an unlikely prospect, but so, too, were the ideas of moving to Maine and toppling a tenacious local Republican, or ascending more or less directly from the National Security Council to the vice presidency. In June, the Democratic-controlled House voted in favor of statehood.

Ms. Rice, who in June wrote a New York Times Op-Ed column calling for an end to “the enduring oppression of the citizens of the District of Columbia,” said she might be open to an eventual Senate run there.

“I’m a huge champion of statehood for D.C.,” she said, “separate and apart from my own interests.”

There are many things that I like about Rice as a running mate and many that I do not love. Ultimately, I am voting Biden no matter who he chooses though. That said, her disgusting freak of a Trumptard son is like a gift from Baby Jesus straight to Fox News and Dump. They will be interviewing him all day and all night. There is a politician having an unsavory family member and then there is...umm...justifiable homicide.

Rice would make an excellent Secretary of State but not VP. Uncle Joe needs an experienced leader to deal with Congress AND Justice Department. He is not in fighting shape. He will be a masthead President but cannot be expected to be an active, engaged player like Obama or Clinton.

[quote] her disgusting freak of a Trumptard son is like a gift from Baby Jesus straight to Fox News and Dump. They will be interviewing him all day and all night.

Why do you think that would hurt her? Does he hate his mom and spread dirt on her? If not, having a son on the other side during a national election is an asset to her, not a liability.

Trump being the POTUS embodies the fact that wealthy, white male privilege still rules, to the detriment of of all, including white ,wealthy males.

It's a measure of how ingrained that privilege is when one ponders the sickening, destructive, ignorant spectacle that Trump, who has ZERO credentials, electoral wins and knowledge of governing, has made of the Office of the US Presidency.

And now, any animal, mineral or vegetable owes an accounting of their credentials and experience to be the VP?

ALL of these women are smart, credentialed, tough and would make superb a VP. But here they are, held them to a standard to which we never would hold to white, wealthy males.

It's sickening.

Don't get me wrong. Standards are necessary, of course. My point is none apply to some men, depending on their demographic stratum.

[quote] That said, her disgusting freak of a Trumptard son is like a gift from Baby Jesus straight to Fox News and Dump

Susan Rice's son is a MAGAT?

How in the fuck is that even possible?

There's probably a contingent of Democrats lobbying against every potential running mate. So what?

Susan Rice has as much charisma as Tim Kaine. Biden needs someone with charisma who can appeal to young and minority voters.

Yes, R16. Like Kamala Harris. But I'm getting sick of this game. Just pick someone dammit. Biden looks weaker by the day.

Also I agree with Della. Why are these immensely talented and accomplished women being dragged through this gynecological vetting for so fucking long? We don't need every man's opinion. Show some leadership old Joe or let your wife decide. Jesus.

"Biden looks weaker by the day"

He does. Frankly, I wonder if he will even last until November. Not having to physically campaign right now is helping him tremendously. Campaigning is exhausting at an age, but for someone as old as he is, it would really be brutal and tiring. Sometimes I think they will replace him with Hillary.

Warren is unlikable to most swing state voters. Like Hillary, middle America loves to bash her

R124. Not sure if it’s a rebellion thing or what. He was president of the College Republicans at Stanford.

Not to be judgmental but...Susan Rice’s son is one of the most unfortunate-looking people I’ve seen in a long time. It’s even more of a mystery because she and her husband are both reasonably attractive.

R130 he looks like his mom. She is not attractive.

Bernie is around the same age as Biden and he always seems to have 10 times more energy than Biden even after having heart surgery. I think the problem with Biden isn’t just his age but all that he’s been through losing his son. When he lost his wife and daughter he was much younger and had two young kids to live for - but losing Beau I think really took a lot out of him and I also think that’s really the reason he’s running because he did promise Beau that he would run. As a parent, my heart goes out to him.

If that HOMOPHOBE Joy Reid is pushing for Kamala, then I am against her for VP. Will not support Joy Reid on this issue or any other knowing how much she HATES gay people.

The Joy Reid Troll has run out of gas.

He doesn’t have anything to gain by announcing VP until the last possible second.

Everybody who “supports“ Harris on here has being trying to FORCE people to accept her.

She is running a shadow campaign of force and coercion. I don’t like that. She is such a pushy bully and so are her “supporters”.

R21, You conveniently omit the military experience of Ike and Grant!

R136 - this is DL. Please tell me a candidate who does NOT have a fan base that someone, somehow, somewhere could describe as "pushy". Secondly, Kamala Harris has very few friends on these forums (although plenty on others). Who are you talking about exactly? I have seen multiple, multiple threads devoted to Warren and Duckworth fangirls posting every fucking article that they can scour from the internet and calling them the second coming of Christ. Rice has plenty of fans here as well. Even Demings has quite a fan-base here. You must be confusing this forum with another. Otherwise, I am confused.

[quote] Warren is unlikable to most swing state voters. Like Hillary, middle America loves to bash her

Bullshit. REPUBLICANS love to bash Liz. Because they're scared of her.

They're trying to smear her, just like they did with Hillary.

Biden said today that he will announce his pick next week.

Obama introduced Joe Biden in late August.

Give it a rest people.

Politico reports it is Kamala & Then removes it calling it a mistake.

As no fan of Harris, I hope the Politico article is as wrong as its use of the “close to the chest” reference.

R142 - well that is great reporting considering that today is 7/28/2020. Huh?

“He can’t pick her. She’s not black!”

Politico said “Placeholder text was mistakenly published to the site.”

I think they probably have text prepared for each candidate much like they do with the obituaries of famous people - at least that’s what I’m hoping as I am no fan of her either.

I’m all in for Harris.

Yes to Harris, he’ll no to Warren!

[quote] Yes to Harris, he’ll no to Warren!

Oh dear, Boris!

Your translator is acting up again.

Elizabeth Warren finding out Kamala will be Joes running mate

Maya Rudolph, four more years. I'm all in for Kamala.

Putin and the Bernie Bros want anyone but Elizabeth Warren as Vice President.

Those dickless wonders are very scared of her.

[quote] Not to be judgmental but...Susan Rice’s son is one of the most unfortunate-looking people I’ve seen in a long time. It’s even more of a mystery because she and her husband are both reasonably attractive.

Generally, mixed race people have a higher likelihood of being attractive than non-mixed people. He is an exception.

[quote] Everybody who “supports“ Harris on here has being trying to FORCE people to accept her. She is running a shadow campaign of force and coercion. I don’t like that. She is such a pushy bully and so are her “supporters”.

We don't care whether you like it or not. I am putting a voodoo curse on you as I type this.

Anybody think it’s a real mistake for Politico to have released that story?

r133, your argument makes no sense

r133 and this one also. Shooting yourself in the foot.

Cutting off nose to spite face if LGBTQ rights are your issue

Get with it folks. Stop listening to the Repug talking points.

Kamala won't be Joe's Veep. I'm calling it now.

Joe did not attend John Lewis' funeral because tptb are shielding him from getting too close to people, and catching Coronavirus. BUT, Kamala was there, at the funeral. With Joe set to announce his pick next week, I doubt he'd risk his vp pick and let them sit in a church full of people.

OR.... R158, she was going there as his surrogate.

Perhaps, but I don't think so. She was sitting with the rest of the regular, no name politicians. If she was there as a Biden surrogate, she would've had a better seat.

It's a funeral not a political event.

Just think about who would be best, to be that close to the Oval Office, and has your back. We should hope the pick is Kamala.

R160 = r158

[quote]Joe wants the person like who he was to Obama

Biden openly trashed Obama during the 2008 primaries claiming he wasn't experienced enough to run for President. And even during Obama's first term, Biden contradicted Obama in public several times. Biden has never been passive aggressive, so let's stop with the comedy.

Furthermore, this story has been picking up steam in the media the entire week, and the feedback from democrats hasn't been good. If he doesn't pick Harris and goes with a lesser known female candidate, it's going to be seen as Biden being afraid of a strong woman. The K Hive will be out for blood.

And why was this even leaked to the media in the first place? Another example of how piss poor Biden's been conducting his campaign. The optics of this, not just sexist, but racial, it's like does anyone close to him have any grasp on what's been happening out there?

R161, it was a funeral AND a political event. Let's not kid ourselves.

R163, if he picks Rice, my choice, I highly doubt anyone could seriously argue that she wasn't a strong woman.

I'm still hoping that he picks Elizabeth Warren.

She's our best hope and our best advocate.

Warren is even-tempered, highly intelligent, very experienced in FEDERAL government, and she has integrity.

More so than any of the other names being floated out there right now.

There's a contingent of people who WANT Kamala. They will not be happy and will say it was because she's too strong for Biden if she isn't chosen.

PLEASE not Kamala.

r163, he said that himself.

r167, love Liz, voted for her in primary but two white 70 year olds is not the ticket. Sorry.

r166 did like Susan Rice until I read about her stupid son. It's one thing to be a republican but Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin are his heroes. She can't even raise her kid right. That is a slap in the face. Those blow hearts shouldn't inspire anyone.

It's going to be Rice or Harris. And I'm fine with either one.

As for Rice's son being variation of Alex P. Keaton - not an issue.

I think it's going to be Rice because of his long-time relationship with her.

[quote] two white 70 year olds is not the ticket. Sorry.

I will never vote for someone based solely on race.

I vote for the best candidate. PERIOD.

Your argument means nothing to me. In fact, I find it offensive.

r173, what I was really focusing on was

Two 70+ year olds on the ticket will not work, sorry.

R173, Personally it's not race at all for me. I think Amy K. was his best pick for VP. I don't think she needed to be canceled. She had nothing to do with the cops prior to the GF killing. She wasn't in office at the time.

[quote]Just think about who would be best, to be that close to the Oval Office, and has your back. We should hope the pick is Kamala.

Then Liz Warren's back in contention too.

[quote] If he doesn't pick Harris and goes with a lesser known female candidate, it's going to be seen as Biden being afraid of a strong woman. The K Hive will be out for blood.

Anybody afraid of the K hive has no business being president. I hope that observation was just for effect because it's laughable as a serious point for consideration.

If it comes down to Rice and Harris, my money is on Rice as well. Less drama. But neither woman is going away. Both have cabinet potential though he would rightly have to offer State to Rice, given her track record, and AG to Harris given what she'd be giving up. Senate's not nothing.

She will be a fantastic choice.

For Trump.

[quote] She can't even raise her kid right.

Tell me, Norman Bates, are you as an adult still the little boy mother raised?

Rice has three major flaws - although she is a very accomplished woman and I respect her as a leader in our party. First, she has never been ELECTED for a serious governmental role. Second, her name will forever be linked to Benghazi (Hell, forget linked to - she was the center of it) and all of that mountain-out-of-a-molehill garbage that has been a major Fox News talking point for ages. Her worst flaw however is that awful son. Some things in life happen through no real fault of one's own but can utterly destroy you nonetheless. He is her Achilles' heel and it's a HUGE ONE. Not worth all the drama for a candidate who is less qualified than Harris to begin with IMO.

Disagree entirely. You’re cherry picking for Kamala. Benghazi is ancient. If relatives are a problem how did we wind up with the first lady who’s naked on the Internet? What was the current president elected to previously? The question is could she do the job if need be? Susan Rice’s experience is far more vast than Kamala Harris.

R181 - Naked or not, Melania does not talk nor does she have political opinions per se. When that RWNJ son shows up on Fox News, CNN and every network that ranges from far right to occasionally conservative in order to spill "dirt" on his mother, the Clintons, other famous Democrats and rip our party to shreds and give his testimony of how he found salvation and embraced the "light" of the one true party of morals and families on a daily basis......well get back to me. "Benghazi is ancient" You clearly never watch Fox News. They still haven't shut up about it.

[Quote] Naked or not, Melania does not talk nor does she have political opinions per se.

Melania is a birther.

Correct. I never watch Fox News. This may be news to you, but people on Fox have already made their mind up. They don’t even know what Benghazi is. They’ve just been taught that it’s bad. Bad Democrats. And if it wasn’t Benghazi or Benghazi is too hard to spell it will be something else. That’s what fox does. You’re really going to disqualify someone based on how they play on Fox? Do you think we’re gonna lose a lot of Democratic voters through Fox? Idiot or not Susan Rice‘s kid is free in this country to say whatever the fuck he wants. What does that have to do with his mother? That is the stupidest thing I’ve read on this site and stupid is such a low bar here.

[quote] in order to spill "dirt" on his mother

Where do you come up with this? Has he ever said something bad about his mother?

I know it's Mark Halperin, but in his daily newsletter today, after pointing out that "voters across the political spectrum uniformly described Senator Kamala Harris with words such as “insincere,” “inauthentic,” and “vision-challenged,” he observes that "[i]f the focus groups the Biden campaign has seen on the VP prospects suggest anything like what I heard, picking Harris is a non-starter."

Lies! Vogue! Cross examinations!

She definitely allowed Steve Mnuchin’s OneWest bank to get away with foreclosing on tens of thousands of California homeowners, but then tried to bury the evidence.

This is what they want. Us to attack our own.

At least 6 of the women talked about are more than qualified.

Harris, Rice, Warren, Duckworth, and the governors. Not sure about the representatives/mayors.

Duckface is oriental.

She'll never be our VP.

When I argue against Harris don't make it clear I think she can do the job if she gets it and everyone must vote Dem no matter who gets the nod. I think they could all do the job, but there are stronger candidates than Harris. I think they all have drawbacks, none of which are even remotely close to fatal flaws. And separately, as with Hillary, Kamala's supporters on DL are uniquely obnoxious. If I hear one more "she looks great!" Jesus. Insulting to her and no measure of anything useful.

Elizabeth Warren ALL THE WAY!

I don't get the KHives's arguments that Kamala is some strong woman and convincing candidate for VP. She was destroyed by Tulski Garbage during one debate and never came back from that put down. She left the primaries broke and with a 3% poll rating.

^^ agree.

I have to crack up at you guys going over and over about Susan Rice’s son.

Have you met Trump’s kids?

You are rather dense if you can't "get" it R195. Let me break down the fundamental distinction between Trump's hideously stupid spawn and Rice's devil child. Trump's children are his biggest cheerleaders and sycophants. Rice's son is a MAGAt. How hard is it to comprehend the obvious difference here? I realize this must be quite a strain, but you can do it.

Yes, hers is the only family in the country where politics diverge. It's fatal. I know I wouldn't vote for her.

Oh, wait, I'm sensible. Yes, I fucking would vote for her!

If you fools think Benghazi is the burning issue in this country at this time to any extent it could even remotely cost a Biden/Rice ticket the election, I can't even think of a comparison that will begin to light way along the dark path toward an apt description of the extent of your stupidity. Mind you, I haven't eaten much today.

In Slate's most recent ranking of the most likely to get the nod, the top six, in order of their likelihood of being selected, are Harris, Bass, Rice, Duckworth, Warren & Lujan Grisham. The seventh and final name? Michelle Obama:

"We’ll end our final running mate edition of the Surge (RIP) the way we ended the first one: Michelle Obama should be Biden’s running mate choice because the election would be ~over~. It would be done! Michelle Obama would secure the election for Joe Biden the minute she was announced. She doesn’t want to do it … but it would be a lot cooler if she did. That’s all."

Any why not Michelle?! If she doesn't like the idea of campaigning, could this current climate be more tailor-made for her?

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank's not on the Rice bandwagon:

Last October, former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, now being mentioned as a possible running mate for Joe Biden, was on the popular podcast “Pod Save America,” when another former Obama administration official, Tommy Vietor, shared his belief that high-ranking Republican Sen. Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina is a long-standing specimen of excrement.

“He’s been a piece of s---,” Rice concurred. “I said it. I said it, finally, dammit. He’s a piece of s---.” She smiled at the camera.

Ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the United States?

What the %$#@&?

If Biden is actually considering Rice for the job — I suspect the boomlet is more about building her profile for another future post — it would be a costly mistake.

Don’t get me wrong. Biden would be better than President Trump even if he put the general secretary of Antifa on the ticket. And Rice’s cv is impressive: Stanford, Rhodes scholar, assistant secretary of state at age 32, U.N. ambassador.

But at a time when Americans have suffered greatly from a famously pugilistic leader with no electoral experience who embraces public profanity and petty insults, Americans want healing and calm. Why would Biden tap as veep (and put a heartbeat from the presidency) a human lightning rod?

Others reportedly on Biden’s list (all women, most women of color) have run for office. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Val Demings, Karen Bass, Stacey Abrams, Tammy Duckworth, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Gretchen Whitmer know how to persuade voters, twist arms, build coalitions. Rice has never experienced the intense vetting that Harris or Warren has.

Demings rides a Harley and has been a police chief, impeachment manager and lawmaker from a key state. Duckworth lost her legs as a military officer in Iraq. Abrams has the adoration of the Democratic base. Meanwhile Rice, daughter of a Federal Reserve governor, brings the pedigree of Upper Northwest D.C.'s private school elite to the ticket.

Rice’s appeal to Biden is supposedly that they have a personal relationship. But Biden’s comfort and familiarity are luxuries we don’t have when we’ve lost five years of economic growth in one quarter, when the incumbent president’s pandemic bungling is killing 1,000 people a day and when the president talks of putting off the election while his political appointee disrupts the postal system’s capacity to handle mail-in ballots. Rice’s foreign policy expertise offers no complement to Biden’s résumé as former vice president and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Rice’s nomination would open a window for Republicans to change the subject from Trump’s woeful handling of the pandemic, and now the economy, to relitigating their tired Benghazi allegations and endless disputes about “unmasking” Trump campaign officials and the fantasy of “Obamagate.” That’s just noise, but there’s a legitimate case to be made that she protected Rwandan strongman Paul Kagame, a former consulting client of hers, from international efforts to stop the mass atrocities in Congo set off by Rwanda-backed rebels.

Rice’s nemesis Graham says Biden selecting her would “be a good move for Republicans. … I don’t think she’ll wear well.” I don’t much care what Graham thinks; Rice’s sentiments about him are justified, if not her vulgarity. Of more concern is that I heard the exact same warning — choosing Rice won’t “wear well” — earlier this week from one of her former senior colleagues in the Obama White House. It was the latest reminder that Rice has a history of turning allies and opponents alike into enemies.

Most people in politics have sharp elbows, and women often get held to an unfair standard. Even so, the ill will Rice has generated is exceptional. Her f-bombs are legend, to allies at the United Nations, to U.S. diplomats and to administration colleagues. She famously flipped the bird at Richard Holbrooke, told France’s U.N. ambassador that “you’re not going to drag us into your s---ty war” and drew complaints of disrespect from allies on the U.N. Security Council. She gives as good as she gets from Trump, asking on Twitter last Sunday if he “can’t get it up and over the plate” after he said he wouldn’t throw out a first pitch.

In 2012, I wrote a column about the extraordinary resistance to her potential nomination to be secretary of state and the “impressive array of enemies” she had amassed at the State Department and on Capitol Hill. I noted that “there likely aren’t enough Republican or Democratic votes in the Senate to confirm her.” There weren’t, and she withdrew from consideration.

Should Biden win, he would be wise to make good use of Rice’s great brain in his administration. But not as vice president. Biden’s greatest appeal is the hope of relief he offers from government-by-insult and rule-by-rage. He shouldn’t squander it.

It's obvious.

Hillary Clinton

They need to do something, because the K-Hive is having a SHITFIT on twitter tonight after reports have come out that Karen Bass is now the favorite in the Biden VP search.

It's that sort of entitlement R202 that is probably turning off the Biden team.

The VP nominee gets vetted, and is selected by the Presidential nominee. NOT the other way around.

Who in the hell would want to deal with that kind of personality for the next four years? Having some climber who is constantly nipping at your heels?

Forget that.

Elizabeth Warren has a personality that is much better suited to Joe Biden, than either Harris or Rice or Bass.

[quote] In 2012, I wrote a column about the extraordinary resistance to her potential nomination to be secretary of state and the “impressive array of enemies”

Huh? Who are you, R200? I guess we can Google the quote and see.

If not Rice, I agree, Warren has most to offer.

I found the WaPo column kind of sexist. If a man called him a piece of shit nobody would bat an eye. Nor is she wrong. And I feel strongly Benghazi is so inside baseball.

From a purely personal perspective, Biden wouldn't want a competitor VP. He's got four years in the job. He's as much as admitted it. But he will be the president. He needs and deserves everybody rowing in the same direction. tshirts.com.... I have doubts.

I thought she was the capital of Uganda

It will be Kamala or Val Demings for VP.

Privately, Ms. Lindsey is probably amused rather than offended by Rice calling him a POS.

Lindsey is a master at the political put-down, including of the vulgar variety. Look up what he said about Trump before he needed to crawl up Trump's ass and give him a prostrate massage.

Rice's comment about Graham is non-issue.

R203 The Biden team was stupid to leak that story in the first place. Dodd is a fucking moron who should have kept his mouth shut instead of pissing off a block of the voting party.

It's not just Dodd. from CNN:

It's not just Dodd though, R210. From CNN, link glued,

In multiple media reports, Biden allies have attacked Harris' motives. Florida donor John Morgan lamented that Harris "would be running for president the day of the inauguration. For me, loyalty and friendship should mean something." Chris Dodd, a member of Biden's VP vetting team, reportedly complained to a donor that Harris showed "no remorse" when asked about her famous clash with Biden on the debate stage.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. and Biden supporter Ed Rendell, who said he currently does not have a favorite in the search for a running mate, said in an interview that Bass is seen as a "very safe choice" in a way that Harris simply is not.

"Kamala can rub some people the wrong way. Karen Bass is not likely to do that," Rendell said. "The number one rule for picking the VP? Do no harm." Biden clearly came prepared to defend Harris at a press conference on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware, with a photograph of a notecard listing these bullet points under Harris' name: "Do not hold grudges." "Campaigned with me & Jill." "Talented." "Great help to campaign." "Great respect for her."

Dear God, it better not be Bass. She turned me off majorly during her interview on The View.

Fingers crossed for Duckworth!

Democrats should band together now instead of this childish infighting and nitpicking as the world is in total ruins and people are dying en masse. Perfectionistas like Sue Sarandon can go eat shit and gag and die in Moscow for all I care.

r193, that was a a campaign for president which she wasn't prepared for.

My argument for Kamala is she is the best ally for LGBTQ issues in the mix and people need to vote for issues that matter to them if all are qualified. Not someone who just says what is popular in the democratic party right now but one who will not let it go, even if pushed by moderates to do so.

r212, she turned me off regarding George Washington, so I hope she doesn't have the sense to get pulled into that bs.

Bass is unqualified to be President. She is 65. She would be okay as VP in any other election year. With a younger presidential nominee but no, just no. The VP usually does nothing, but now it's has to be someone we think could be ready to step into the presidency.

If the viability of your candidate is based on his choice for running mate...we’re fucked.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again.

I don't think that Republicans who are sick of trump, in addition to moderates and independents, will vote for Biden if he chooses and African American woman as his running mate.

Warren or Klobuchar would have been THE safest choices. They are both immensely qualified, and both experienced, and both are palatable to the aforementioned groups.

I just don't think that the American voter is ready for an African American female who could very well be the next President.

As R211 mentioned, the first rule is "do no harm." I think that Harris, Rice, or Bass would do harm to Joe Biden's chances to be President.

For the record, Al Gore made the same mistake in my opinion. People weren't ready in 2000 for VP Lieberman.

If Gore had chosen another WASPY Southerner like himself as a running mate, it would have been a slam dunk against Bush. However, Gore took a leap of faith, and it caused MAJOR problems for him.

Biden SHOULD not have opened his big mouth and said that he would definitely choose a female running mate. It was a gaffe that really limited his choices.

Again, he could have gone with Tim Ryan from Ohio or Conor Lamb from Pennsylvania, and in this political climate it would be a SLAM DUNK.

Now unfortunately, he has upped his risk factor by insisting on a female running mate. He has upped his risk factor even more, by going with an African American female running mate.

In a close election, these choices will make all the difference. What could have been a 300-something to 100-something Electoral College landslide win for Biden, will probably end up being a 200-something to 200-something Electoral College nail biter.

I don't know why Democratic candidates insist on gambling on elections like this. Especially more so in such a crucial election.

Biden/Ryan or Biden/Lamb versus Trump/Pence would have been so easy. A stark difference with the experienced guy at the top of the ticket and the young, fresh newcomer as VP, versus the two shitheads who got us into this current mess. It would be so EASY for Republican defectors, Republican moderates, and Independents to go to the polls and vote for Biden.

NOW unfortunately, they are going to think long and hard.

Do I risk Biden and this African American woman who I'm not so sure about, or do I go with the two old white guys.

Make no mistake. MANY white voters will go with the two old white guys, just because they are more "familiar."

Hillary made the right VP choice, but unfortunately SHE was the problem at the top of the ticket for many voters.

Biden COULD HAVE made the easy and the right choice by going with an Ohio or Pennsylvania white male running mate. Instead, it's going to be an uphill battle for him.

Democrats may be screaming for a female running mate or an AA female running mate, but that doesn't necessarily play with the voters who will actually make the difference in the election.

I don't know why our candidates always fail to realize this.

If Biden goes with Harris, Rice, Bass, or Duckworth - in my opinion - he won't win. Warren or Klobuchar would most likely give him the win. Tim Ryan or Conor Lamb would definitely give him a slam dunk win.

Bookmark this on Nov. 4 and come back to tell me if I'm wrong or right. Unfortunately, I think I will be right.

I think Biden should go with Lujan-Grisham. Don't know why she's ignored. Looks white enough to calm nervous white voters, but will pull in Hispanics. Has experience and expertise in public health.

Beyonce for VP.

OP: To save time in the future, whenever you hear that "There's reportedly a 'contingent' of Democrats lobbying against" something another contingent of Democrats has proposed, just acknowledge it with a "Yes, I'm sure there is."

Life is simpler when you give in to a few things as being permanent and unresolvable.

From Mark Halperin's Saturday newsletter:

BEST SIMPLIFICATION OF THE CURRENT VEEPSTAKES CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

* Kamala Harris: There is too much concern about her personality and performance to be picked.

* Karen Bass: Lots of liberal baggage make her a risky choice.

* Tammy Duckworth: What questions there are about her are insidery.

* Susan Rice: Trial balloons have yielded little blowback over her lack of candidate experience.

(Again, that is a distillation of the CW, not my own reporting.)

R217, i get the logic of your argument but am not quite sold. By your logic I think Warren is also excluded. She has nothing in common with your safe white man model. I agree, rightly or wrongly, Biden is now boxed in. With a cold clear eye to perception, Rice is his best choice if he’s to pick a safe pair of hands and a black woman She has a pedigree stronger than Harris by a bit but Harris is a close second. But I do agree with the political argument that Harris will be running for president from the moment she puts her hand on the bible or at least can’t be trusted not to. That’s her problem to solve. She’s got years to seek the job (and perfect her ability to develop a platform and pick successful campaign staff.) she is not entitled to this moment or 2024. No one is. If 2016 taught us anything you nominate based on turn and entitlement at your peril (and I have respect for HRC, I just didn’t believe it was her time - or turn.)

Let’s be clear. Joe Biden is being elected president. It is his steadiness and appeal and agenda that people will vote for. That needs to be respected and enacted. There can be no doubt everyone is rowing in the same direction because there’s so much to do and so little time in four years.

Bye bye Bass...

I like Liz Warren for her decency and vision but there is nothing about her that says moderate. This is the candidate who proposed a trans kid to pick her education secretary. Kind hearted, but not exactly politic. Klobuchar, yes, she was the candidate of no, we can't when it came to going overboard and that would have sold.

Maybe he can put some of these women in Cabinet. It all depends on how the Senate breaks after November (actually probably more after December, it will take that long to count the mail ins and that's before Trump tries to sue.) But is it a good thing to heavily raid the Senate right after a candidate was re-elected?

And is being a Cabinet Secretary that great of a profile booster, other than State and AG?

R217 speaks the truth.

Oh Dems. Sigh. Wish they'd only point out the strengths of their candidate. And leave it at that. And trust is such a subjective thing. I wouldn't trust people who use that against kamala.

By the way, I think she is fine but I'm rooting for another VP candidate, so my point is only on principle of fairness.

Susan Rice is back to the Obama era. We need a fresh, forward-framing campaign. Rice also would retrigger the Benghazi witch hunt. Nope

Warren is a hell-no. She has zero appeal To independent swing state voters. 70something year old Massachusetts professors are not a winner’s choice.

Why is Democratic activist so enamored with people who are unable to connect with middle of the road voters in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, and North Carolina?

Yeah, there was nothing worse than the Obama era. What an ordeal.

And without Googling, who could tell you what Benghazi even was?

My recall: it was something about an embassy getting bombed or attacked in one of the unstable Middle East countries. People died. Maybe a gay ambassador. It was probably poorly handled. The Republicans made a big stink about it and in the end Rice took the semi-fall for everybody and Hillary Clinton gave marathon testimony that showed Republicans were full of shit, there was no there there and when it was over everybody believed what they believed before it started. I cannot tell you what year it happened.

I just don't see Benghazi as a deal breaker for anybody. If it is, why aren't Dems doomed as a party?

More in the Benghazi destroys Rice line of thinking, then why isn't it already damning and dooming Biden as the VP of the day and the nominee of the present?

Sorry, if the needle doesn't move when the sitting President ignores that Russia's paying bounties on American soldiers, Benghazi just doesn't have the stuff. It feels like a Hail Mary by DLers who support other nominees. It's a weak argument against her.

The Veep role requires someone seen as capable of taking over the presidency if the worst happens. I did Google Rice's background: Stanford, Oxford, National Security Council, Assistant Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, Ambassador to the United Nations. She's a very reassuring candidate for the role.

I’m a huge Obama fan, but Hillary made the mistake of trying to run for a third Obama term, when pivotal swing state voters wanted a fresh, radically different approach. Biden is already a huge representation of the Obama era, and we don’t need any more . We want to appeal to independents and swing state voters. Moreover, a significant percentage of progressive activists aren’t that thrilled about Obama now, Especially his foreign policy.

[quote]Her response seems ok to me. Have you seen the way Republicans play politics?

Exactly. Kamala is not afraid to cut a bitch and then laugh it off as just politics. And that’s what we need when dealing with scum like Mitch McConnell and other vile Republicans. Enough of the “we go high” bullshit.

Kamala is best choice

The George Floyd Revolution killed Klobuchar’s Chance, and probably any nonBlack choice

So R231, what are these magical needs of the independents and swing state voters and who best captures them? Trump won - by thin margins but won - with the largest number of votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. While HRC did win the overall popular vote she didn't win those states and had she, she would have reached 274. Any chance you're ignoring the candidate factor in your assessment? You seem to be arguing an appeal to independents and swing voters but implying they're all progressives. I'm not sure that reflects swing state voters, but OK.

Some of you want a beauty pageant winner and be entertained with flair. This country is in deep trouble. Knowledge, experience, energy, the right temperament, and skills at governmental problem-solving, do matter

Black women are 6 percent of the population. It's insane to be boxed in to that degree. All of the Black women on the shortlist have serious shortcomings, which is why there's so much debate about it. Biden's old, he needs a VP who can bring in votes AND run the country if need be.

It's completely unclear to me how big a voting faction the BLM activists will be. Not when there's a pandemic and financial collapse.

r217, I didn't get past the first sentences but you are wrong

Never Trumpers are voting for Biden regardless because he is going to be a one term president. They like their odds to re-brand in 2024 with other republicans.

However, if Trump wins in 2020, they have another 4 years of the Republic Party being destroyed beyond repair. And a whole new crop of Progressive way left (AODs) that are going to appeal after the facism of the next 4 years and definitely lose in 2024 to someone who will likely be a two term democratic president.

They will take moderate joe for now.

r234, yeah but the majority of people already forgot about that.

I think Amy K, got a raw deal. She needed to be seen during that ordeal She had nothing to do with the guy not getting charged in the previous brutality complaint. She was Joe's perfect candidate in my opinion. Nose to the ground, grinder in the background getting shit done.

And why is Joe listening to cray cray Dodd, with sex, financial and racial scandals as baggage. Google him. Jeez.

[quote]I think Amy K, got a raw deal.

You want to talk raw deals - history's full of 'em.

I hope Amy K works on her relationship with the black community. She should have reached out years ago knowing she would run for the presidency one day. She must have known how Russian trolls were targeting black folks in 2016 to manipulate them.

I would like to to see her as president one day.

I think Joe should include Val Demings into his list as VP candidates. She's smart, sincere, tough, likable, did a great job during the impeachment trial and unlike Kamala she's trustworthy. She's also from Florida, a state that would swing the election in Joe's favor in a big way.

Another great woman I'd like to see as president one day.

Some of you are overestimating the intelligence of the American populace. Thats right I said overestimating. Nearly everyone born in the 80s is 30 years old now. The education system has been fried. Most adults under 40 are not critical thinkers. Everything is about identity politics and superficiality now.

[quote] R217, I didn't get past the first sentences but you are wrong

Lol. Did you even read what you wrote, R238?

You can't comment on something you have never read.

Oh, lord.

I don't like Harris, but she'll get black people to go out and vote

White democrats can't be depended on to go out and vote

[quote]I hope Amy K works on her relationship with the black community. She should have reached out years ago knowing she would run for the presidency one day. She must have known how Russian trolls were targeting black folks in 2016 to manipulate them.

So it's Russia's fault she had a shit record that was police biased at the expense of minorities?

She should have known when she entered the race that it was going to be a problem given the climate that's been going for almost the last DECADE. That the Myron Burrell case was bound to come up. But even in spite of that, she had a pretty easy ride from the media. If Floyd hadn't been murdered, she would most likely be Biden's VP pick. Her record was all but given a clean pass while Harris was hammered time and time again about hers.

Let's put away the violins.

[quote]Her record was all but given a clean pass while Harris was hammered time and time again about hers.

It was mostly Tulsi Gabbard and Joe Biden himself who hammered Harris' record during the debates.

Awww, I miss the debates, and all the kooky characters. Simpler times.

r245, Black people don't like Harris. They don't like her record as a DA or her being married to a white man.

Biden can wait til he last minute because it's Warren. She already has huge name recognition and popularity.

She's the only POTUS wannabe I could imagine being dynamic up into her 80s.

[R163], if he picks Rice, my choice, I highly doubt anyone could seriously argue that she wasn't a strong woman.I

Only because we know nothing about her...except her missteps as National Security Adviser.

R246

Amy Klobuchar was neither responsible for George Floyd's murder nor for locking up Myon (at least spell his name right) Burrell.

But this is how smear campaigns work, they take a little bit of history and then twist facts to distort what really happened. Same thing with the allegations that she's abusive to her staff.

The mistake Amy K made is not establishing a close relationship with black communities. It's not like she has no connections, they just aren't widely known and she doesn't go about flaunting them.

[quote] Both have cabinet potential though he would rightly have to offer State to Rice, given her track record, and AG to Harris given what she'd be giving up. Senate's not nothing.

U.S. Attorney General may not appeal to Harris. It is a low wattage gig -- William Barr and Jeff Sessions were the f*cking AGs. She is an ELECTED official. If she is not VP, she is only a year or two from being the senior Senator from California - the largest, richest state of the 50 states. She is too young to settle for a position as a political appointee that is not in direct line for the Presidency.

AG would only be workable if Biden promised in advance to support ALL of her prosecutorial decisions. She could quickly build a reputation as a tough, unyielding defender of progressive freedoms and human rights. She could undo some of the damage of the Trump years. I don't know if Biden would go for it, and that would be a deal breaker for her.

If she's not VP it is no biggie. She'll just break some expensive vases, cuss-out some motherf*ckers who probably had it coming, and just move on...

I'll bet Klobuchar wishes she could kill that murdering cop Derek Chauvin. He basically ruined everything for her.

If Kamala gets the AG job she is the most powerful lawmaker in the country = 1/3 of the power triangle; legislative, executive and judicial, so to speak. As VP she's is just a place holder.

[quote] I'll bet Klobuchar wishes she could kill that murdering cop Derek Chauvin. He basically ruined everything for her.

Or at least throw a stapler at his head.

You don't want to know what she's ordered from staples.com.

[quote] U.S. Attorney General may not appeal to Harris.

It's not up to her.

Well it is. She can decline.

She can also have a seat, R259.

In fact, Kamala Harris can have several seats.

I don't even know what R260 means.

[quote] If Kamala gets the AG job she is the most powerful lawmaker in the country = 1/3 of the power triangle; legislative, executive and judicial, so to speak. As VP she's is just a place holder.

No. Look at how Trump has undermined and browbeaten his AGs. Besides the fact that AGs are NOT "lawmakers" consider whether you would regard Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch as having had the unfettered authority of the "most powerful lawmaker in the country."

Harris has greater visibility in the Senate and from that position wouldn't have to worry about overshadowing Biden.

[quote] I don't even know what [R260] means.

Neither does she.

[quote]If Kamala gets the AG job she is the most powerful lawmaker in the country = 1/3 of the power triangle; legislative, executive and judicial, so to speak. As VP she's is just a place holder.

Attorney General, head of the Justice Department, is part of the Executive Branch, which has nothing to do with lawmaking. Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful lawmaker in the country as Speaker of the House.

Fair or not, true or untrue, the narrative is now written: Kamala the upstager.

I'd be very surprised if she gets the nomination now. One of the downsides of being the front runner or obvious choice is you wind up a footnote.

Kamala's strongest asset was that she was a tough-on-crime Dem. But now that has got turned on its head (even by her), so she's only known as an "I was that girl" usurper. She would've been a good VP pick, but she blew it.

[quote]He needs to go with Elizabeth Warren for the win.

The woman 95% of the country hates with a passion.

Susan Rice has more baggage than Hillary. It'll be Benghazi all over again.

Her husband.

[quote] The woman 95% of the country hates with a passion.

Sorry R267, but YOU (singular) does not = 95% of the population.

Democrats love Liz Warren.

Susan E. Rice’s son is a Trump-loving Republican. He says a Stanford classmate assaulted him at pro-Kavanaugh event.

r270, Democrats are not the majority of the country. You're a fucking idiot. Warren is seen as both a liar and a schoolmarm.

I laugh at Benghazi. You're supposed to post it three times to make it work though.

r273, Republicans made emails a scandal. If you think they won't blow this up again you're insane. Her son is also a Freeper nut.

But will it have legs with anybody who isn't already voting Republican?

Benghazi is ancient history and inside baseball. Who cares about it when you've got a deadly disease running wild, an economy in the tank, and a corrupt moron in the Oval Office.

We should be so lucky to live in a world where Benghazi mattered.

[quote] Democrats love Liz Warren.

All 15% of them.