Inside Opinion

If you have questions about how the Daily News makes editorial decisions, this blog has the answers. Editorial page editor Matt Zencey and writers Frank Gerjevic and Rosemary Shinohara will discuss what they're working on, answer questions and ask your perspective on issues facing Alaska.


Contributors

Matt Zencey

Matt Zencey joined the Daily News as an editorial writer in 1985 and was named editorial page editor in May 2007. He has won several. "Best editorial writing" awards from the Alaska Press Club and was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University. He lives on the west side of Anchorage, where he enjoys the best weather in town and easy access to the Coastal Trail. E-mail Matt at mzencey@adn.com

Frank Gerjevic

Frank Gerjevic has worked at the Daily News since 1978, where he's been sports editor, copy editor, reporter and columnist. He's been an editorial writer since 1998. He began his newspaper career with the Anchorage Times in 1975. E-mail Frank at fgerjevic@adn.com

Rosemary Shinohara

Rosemary Shinohara is an editorial writer who has lived most of her life in Alaska. She has spent most of her career as a reporter or editor at the Daily News. She covered construction of the Alaska oil pipeline, the Legislature, schools and urban affairs. She has also been an editor for NPR's All Things Considered, and has written for the Associated Press. E-mail Rosemary at rshinohara.com

Archive

"I dare ADN to publish this." - 5/13/2008 8:42 am

Looking to save on gas and ride the bus? - 5/12/2008 9:35 am

Joe Contraire's latest, coming soon - 5/9/2008 2:41 pm

Sarcasm? Hah! A non-fan writes in.... - 5/9/2008 11:48 am

Who's accountable for ADN editorials? - 5/7/2008 11:14 am

Talk radio: Dittoheads vs liberals - 5/7/2008 11:01 am

More info and commentary on John McCain's health care 'plan' - 5/1/2008 6:29 pm

Join the dialogue on race and diversity - 4/30/2008 4:44 pm

How can our community as a whole combat prejudice and discrimination? - 4/30/2008 4:42 pm

What can an individual do about prejudice? - 4/30/2008 4:39 pm

Prejudice here - getting better or worse? - 4/30/2008 4:37 pm

Prejudice and discrimination: How are we doing in Anchorage? - 4/30/2008 4:36 pm

Not-so elevated discourse - 4/28/2008 4:20 pm

Elevated discourse - 4/28/2008 10:44 am

Yin and Yang - 4/25/2008 6:00 pm

UAA vs UAF - 4/24/2008 3:59 pm

Arctic Power demands retraction re Liddy - 4/23/2008 6:04 pm

Airport expansion vs. Kincaid trails - 4/23/2008 10:20 am

About the First Amendment - 4/23/2008 9:52 am

Irwin rips Exxon, partners on Point Thomson - 4/22/2008 5:25 pm

Tesche heads into the sunset - 4/22/2008 4:52 pm

Good words from Leonard Pitts - 4/22/2008 3:25 pm

full archive »

Sarah and the Veepstakes

Posted by Matt Zencey, editorial page editor

Posted: March 12, 2008 - 3:43 pm

Sarah for Veep? Ain’t gonna happen. There is no way John McCain is going to pick an inexperienced but charismatic, good looking young female as his running mate. It will just remind voters of how old he is (71 going on 90) – and it will bring up echoes of that little flap about how he maybe did/maybe didn’t get infatuated with that cute young lobbyist years ago and then help out one of her clients.

Nah, if McCain has half a brain, he will pick Secretary of State Condi Rice as his running mate. A black Republican female – how could he do better than that? She’s a religious conservative to boot – which helps him with the right wing base.

Condi steals some of Obama’s thunder with African-American voters. She steals some of Hillary’s thunder with women voters. And she’s got plenty of official, high-level international experience, which neither Hillary nor Obama have.

Speaking of lack of experience, both Hillary and Obama can offset it – if they pick the right vice-presidential candidate, Bill Richardson.

The guy had the best resume in the Democratic presidential field – former ambassador to the United Nations, cabinet secretary of the Energy Department, 14 years in Congress, currently a two-term governor of New Mexico. Not to mention the fact that -- he’s Hispanic/Latino and he’s from a western state.

Putting him on the ticket would give Hispanics and Latinos a huge reason to turn out and vote Democratic. Being a westerner, Richardson helps the Democrats in a region they need to offset the Republican lock on the South, where white voters still haven’t stopped fighting the Civil War and haven’t forgiven the Democrats for becoming the modern party of civil rights.

So here’s my prediction: Richardson gets the Dems’ nod for veep; Condi Rice gets to run with McCain.

Sorry, ‘bout that, Sarah.


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  3     April 9, 2008 - 9:06pm | este

Too much stress

I hope Gov. Palin does not get involved in national politics, other than to appoint replacements for Young and Stevens. She is running the state and expecting a baby. That's a pretty full plate already. You make me proud to be an Alaskan, Governor Palin. Best wishes to you and your family.

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  April 11, 2008 - 11:08am | rfn

Unfortunately

Governor Sarah Palin would not be able to appoint a replacement for either. That all changed after Frank Murkowski's blatant act of nepotism which saddled Alaska with a Liberal Republican Senator. I know; that should be an oxymoron.....but it really isn't.

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  2     March 12, 2008 - 7:37pm | TheSdog

Matt

The dark horse pick for McCain is Joe Lieberman. This pick is especially likely if he is squared off against Obama. The polls show both men do well with independents and a hybrid ticket of sorts would appeal to the independents.

If McCain looks for a woman, my bet is he tries to get Kay Bailey Hutchinson. It is not entirely clear she will bite. Hutchinson is a fireball and sharp as a tack.

I doubt he will pick Rice because he is eventually going to try and draw distinctions between himself and Bush.

On the D side, Obama and Clinton have egos way too large to ever run together. Bill Richardson would be a good pick but it is not clear he helps anywhere but New Mexico.

The other problem for Richardson is he was absolutely abysmal in the Dem primary debates. It was a little surprising. VP candidates usually do not help you that much but they can hurt you if they look shell shocked like Richardson did.

I do think the candidate on the D side will make a difference in who gets picked for VP.

Obama will go one of 2 directions. He may pick a woman to soften the hard image he has had to take against Hilary. The best woman out there on the D side is Gov. Janet Napolitano. She is well spoken and has made Palin look like the dimwit she is every time the two are together. She also has a slight New York accent and even though she is from Arizona might help Obama in the Northeast where Hilary cleaned his clock except for Vermont and Maine.

The other direction would be to put a white male on the ticket with him. I doubt he goes for another minority male for fear of it looking like a gimmick. There are many possibilities but I would not be surprised to see Gen. Wesley Clark resurface.

Hilary will want Obama but it will not happen. She goes white male all the way for a running mate. It could be Clark but I expect she will find a moderate Dem politician from the South.

Here is some wild speculation for you....

The Dems are unlikely to self destruct but the Clinton and Obama egos make a third party run by one of them a possible consideration.

The other thing that could happen if this thing remains unsettled is Al Gore could come charging in on his white horse. Now, I could see Hilary or Obama bowing to the power of Gore and VPing for hime.

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  March 13, 2008 - 11:00am | rfn

You surely are embarrassed

by my reminding you.....

This algore scenario is the one I've been cautioning about for months.

Remember the white horses being rustled in Colorado...my guess that his agents had grabbed 'em to pick the biggest, whitest one for him to ride down the aisle in Denver?

Even now a smithy in South Korea (there are none left in The U.S.) is busily polishing algore's suit of armor for the romp. By hand, of course. Any use of power equipment would violate the tenents of The First Universal Church of Global Warming.

OTOH, I doubt McCain would select Lieberman; far, far too conservative for his tastes. No point in really rubbing salt in the wounds. I can't see Hillary doing a 3rd party run; but Obama...not impossible. Imagine an Obama/Lieberman ticket! Mavericks all the way. Might not win outright but the court battle would go on for 19 years.

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  1     March 12, 2008 - 4:11pm | smilingfool

Condi is much too smart...

Condi is much too smart to put her name on a ballot with a guy everyone knows is going to lose. Why do you think all we had was lightweights for the Republican nomination? They smart ones know the country has shifted and wants ANYONE except a Republican.

Condi would make a great VP, but she'll wait for a viable candiate before she throws her hat into the ring.

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  April 9, 2008 - 9:04pm | este

I think you are right, but ..

.. I do think McCain has a chance to win. He is the one R who has cred with the Ds. It is also why a real R won't want to tie their horse to his cart. If he wins they will have some influence, but at the cost of diluting their own beliefs. If he loses they will be forever blamed. Leiberman probably can't be selected because he is not an R. It will likely be someone we haven't thought about because they don't matter. He needs to look presidential on his own, and not appear to be strong because of someone else. Thus Sarah. She is smart, has integrity, and virtually no national visibility. There would be a lovefest as people got to know her and the more they see the more they would like. It would easily carry through the election. People are hungering for change - they want to see any sign of integrity in what most have written off as a corrupt institution. And she would then be in a great position to have a loud voice on a national scale. Yes, she could easily be the one. She would be a major asset for a President McCain, and could reinvigorate the Republics from coast to coast. But for her sake, I hope she doesn't do it.

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