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The Hill had a good idea… ask 97 US Senators if they’d like to be Vice President.  The variety of answers was quite interesting.  I was saddened and yet satisfied that Mitch McConnell said simply “No.”  The two men from here in Iowa, one from each party, had to be cute… I think they were expecting the question.  Harkin (D), who ran for President in 1992 (he did not make it very far, as I recall), said “No, I’d have Jon Stewart stand in for me. Jon Stewart. That’s my guy.”  Chuck Grassley (R) said “I’m too old to be vice president. But I am young enough to be reelected to the Senate.”  I hope that was an announcement of his intent to run again in  2010.

I think you can tell a lot from some of the answers that came out… especially the ones from the relatively unknowns (at least to me) who have been “thinking about it”, as if they were serious contenders… some are, others not so much.  But more importantly are the ones who would be very suitable, in either party, and yet were smart and/or gracious enough to know better than to say anything that sounded like “Wow, ME??? Yes!!! Please choose me!!!”.

Personally, I hope that the Republicans leave the House and Senate out of the VP list… it will be hard enough if we lose any more seats this year, we don’t need to pull another one out and make it harder to replace with a Republican.  Clearly, some districts and states won’t be such a big problem, but I think keeping the rest of the team as intact as possible right now is a solid tactic.

What I think will make a lot more sense is to look at the stable of current and former state Governors for some practical balance… and preferably solid conservatives.  Bob Ray from Iowa comes to mind, but I suspect he’d say “No” and would prefer to enjoy his retirement.  Schwarzenegger, while not the most conservative candidate, would likely provide a significant boost of support, perhaps even from California… but he can’t thanks to the 12th Amendment.  Sarah Palin from Alaska.  Mitch Daniels.  How about someone from the South like Mark Sanford or Haley Barbour?

Some have said that VP is a more active role than it used to be.  And that no one’s gunning for you.  And the hours are better than for the President.  I suspect it’s still high-pressure, especially if you’re thinking of it as an apprenticeship.  And good or bad, most people don’t remember who the Vice President was.  Except for Spiro Agnew.  And Dick Cheney.  And Andrew Johnson.  And Al Gore.  Other than them.

Me, I’d say “No”, but only so I appear hard-to-get.

Hat Tip to Memeorandum.

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