Campaigning for the VP slot?

[stormraiser]

John Edwards will be in Buffalo tomorrow campaigning as the best possible candidate for the Democratic VP slot.



Edwards a man on new mission
By ROBERT J. McCARTHY
News Political Reporter
6/15/2004

When Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina stumps through Buffalo on Wednesday, occupying the Oval Office won't be on his mind, as it was during the Democratic presidential primary campaign.

This visit is part of an aggressive - and some say unprecedented - effort to land the Democratic vice presidential nomination.

While his presidential bid this year fell short of the nomination, Edwards is still very much in campaign mode. His Buffalo appearance is part of a subtle but highly charged effort to raise public awareness and convince his former rival - Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts - that he is the best choice for a running mate.

"Campaigning overtly for the vice presidency is extremely unique; it's unheard of," said John Zogby, the nationally known pollster based in Utica.

"It's usually sort of a disclaimer thing like "I'll do anything I can to help the nominee.' "

Experts say second-spot hopefuls throughout history have used various methods to gain the nominee's attention, but Edwards appears to be banking on raising public awareness and opinion in guiding the nominee. And as Kerry nears a decision just weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Boston, it is clear Edwards is working hard to state his case in important Democratic enclaves like Buffalo.

Edwards is by no means the only Democrat seeking to run with Kerry. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico are prominently mentioned, as are Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, and Florida Sens. Bob Graham and Bill Nelson, among others.

But even Edwards supporters acknowledge that the senator, who drew rave reviews for his populist "two Americas" message, has launched a second phase of his campaign for national office.

He has crisscrossed the country in recent weeks to speak before various groups and help the Kerry campaign raise money. That means tapping into his extensive donor base, which consists primarily of trial lawyers like himself, and reviving the stump speech that last winter propelled him into the top ranks of national Democrats.

"It's good that he's stumping all over the country, and I'm encouraged by some of the polls that have been released," said Masten Council Member Antoine M. Thompson, an early and ardent Edwards supporter.

Indeed, Edwards' efforts appear to be working to at least some degree. A poll conducted by the Associated Press last week found 36 percent of registered voters want Kerry to choose Edwards as his running mate. Among Democrats, that figure shoots to 43 percent - all numbers that Edwards supporters hope Kerry recognizes.

While Edwards works the fund-raisers and spikes his poll numbers, he is performing only a newer version of an ancient courtship dance. Joel Goldstein, a professor of law at Saint Louis University and an expert on the vice presidency, said Hubert H. Humphrey sent a stream of labor leaders, liberals and Southerners to Lyndon B. Johnson during the 1964 campaign.

Though most of Erie County's Democratic hierarchy lined up behind Kerry early on, Edwards made plenty of friends during his many fund-raising trips here. Wednesday's trip will be his sixth here in the past 18 months.

Edwards will speak to Erie County Democratic Chairman Leonard R. Lenihan's Chairman's Council (donors of $1,200 or more) in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo on Wednesday, cementing what Lenihan calls a "special relationship" that has developed over the course of the senator's several visits to Buffalo.

Still, Zogby said the choice for the second spot will hold the nation's attention for only so long. When the conventions are over and the campaign begins in earnest, he said, President Bush and Kerry will occupy the spotlight.

"All the vice presidential nominee is good for is the one debate and the attention generated during the first 72 hours (after selection)," Zogby said. "Otherwise, the VP does the blue highway campaign - places like Batavia or Utica."

[Guest]

My source has Kerry picking Vilsack. We shall see.

[rainstorm]

edwards has nothing else to do

[GalvestonDuck]

Vilsack? Does he WANT to lose?

Fine with me if he picks Vilsack.