Diary authored by my good friend, "WLBD", who is new to DailyKos and has to wait a week before she can post a diary herself. This was too good a diary to keep the world waiting...
Enough already! Put me out of my misery!! If I read one more word about the Democratic veepstakes, I may go blind. If I hear one more word about it, I may go deaf. If I keep obsessing about it, I may go insane!
Every week or so, someone new tops the "Most Likely" list from this cast of characters frequently or infrequently mentioned: Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, Tim Kaine, Wes Clark, Jack Reed, Kathleen Sebelius, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Ted Strickland, Brian Schweitzer, Bob Casey, Ed Rendell, Chuck Hagel, Janet Napolitano, Ken Salazar, Michael Bloomberg, Bob Graham, General Eric Shinsecki, John Kerry, Al Gore, John Podesta, Federico Pena, Leon Panetta and, last but not least, Hillary Clinton. Then there’s Nancy Pelosi’s favorite, Texas Congressman Chet Edwards (though his last name is out of favor right now). I’ve even heard CT Governor Jodi Rell mentioned! Jim Webb and Mark Warner said no. John Edwards is resoundingly out. The uber-progressive Feingold has zero chance. East, West, North and South, yet undoubtedly I have even forgotten others.
Beginning on August 25th, each night of the Democratic National Convention has a theme: Monday-ONE NATION; Tuesday-RENEWING AMERICA’S PROMISE; Wednesday-SECURING AMERICA’S FUTURE; and Thursday-CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN. The winner of the VP sweepstakes speaks Wednesday, and did I mention that Wes Clark’s PAC is called "WesPAC-Securing America’s Future"? So many choices, so many positives, so many negatives, so many considerations, so much waiting around and wondering. Perhaps Caroline Kennedy will simply pull a Cheney and select herself.
Some voted for the war; others opposed it from the start. Some are long-time Washington Insiders; others fit well with Obama’s call for change and a New Politics in Washington. Some are strong on national security and/or have a military background. Several are bland and wimpy; a few would be strong attack dogs on the campaign trail. Some are more progressive than Obama (excellent!); others are even more centrist (god forbid!) One is a card-carrying conservative with a smart position on Iraq. Many are pro gun; some are anti-choice. One is rumored to be a bigtime womanizer (do we really want another one of those in the White House?) while another is rumored to be gay (shhh... don't ask, don't tell). Some might help carry a Red State. Some feel right at home in the DLC (god forbid again!) Some would cause the calamitous loss of a U.S. Senate seat (god forbid one final time!) Are VP’s supposed to fade into the background or effectively challenge their president (as Obama says he wants)? Who could best step up to the Big Job if need be?
END IT...MAKE IT BE OVER!! I’m ready to cry Uncle!!! Of course, I signed up for the Obama campaign’s "Be The First To Know" notification so that I would find out at the very moment the decision was ready for prime time. A tiny pie-in-the-sky part of me dares to dream that Barack will come up with an amazing running mate who has been on no one’s list! The realist in me imagines a more pragmatic conversation with our nominee-apparent: "Senator Obama, I implore you to make this damned announcement already so that I can begin practicing to embrace your choice."
I doubt that his choice will be one of my top picks, so I’ll need some time to MoveOn from obsession to acceptance. Until then, maybe I’ll try counting backwards from 9,579,381,575,934 (our current National Debt). Or maybe I’ll just eat a lot of ice cream to pass the time.