The political website The Hill reported last week that Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is one of Hillary Clinton’s top five vice presidential picks. It is an interesting idea that also makes sense.
Hickenlooper would likely make a good vice president. As the former mayor of a major city and a two-term governor, he is certainly more qualified than many who have held that office. He would also be an imaginative choice for the campaign.
According to The Hill, Clinton’s top five list includes Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez and Hickenlooper. But that list already appears to be shrinking.
Brown would help win Ohio and perhaps other Rust Belt states. He could help with the working-class white men who form much of Donald Trump’s base.
Warren is energetic and combative, as evidenced by her recent Twitter war with Trump. And even more than Brown, would attract and enliven backers of Bernie Sanders.
But Brown and Warren both represent states with Republican governors, who would appoint their replacements. For that reason, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid emphatically rejected picking either of them Monday. “I would yell and scream to stop that,” he said.
Kaine may have problems, too. Also on Monday, CNN reported that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat who would appoint Kaine’s successor, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and the Justice Department’s public integrity unit. No one has suggested Kaine is involved, but Clinton does not need any talk of scandal – even twice removed.
Perez speaks Spanish and could help get out the Hispanic vote. He is also popular with labor groups. Secretary of labor, however, is a poor stepping stone.
Hickenlooper offers something different. A pro-business Democrat with a background as an entrepreneur, he is enough unlike Hillary to broaden the ticket’s appeal. At the same time, his calm, even temperament and ready smile make him an automatic anti-Trump. Hickenlooper could be the perfect foil to a crude carnival barker.
There may be something to this.
