Joe Biden's ideal VP is Condoleezza Rice

Source: The Hill | June 8, 2020 | Laurence Kotlikoff

The Washington Post just named its top 11 vice presidential picks for Joe Biden. They’re all women, and they’re all Democrats. Each is reasonable, intelligent, articulate and brilliant. Each deeply respects the Constitution. Each, therefore, is far more qualified than President Trump to lead our country.

But given the ongoing, enormous national protests of George Floyd’s horrific killing by a white policeman and his complicit associates, Biden should and most likely will choose a black running mate. It’s not just the times; it’s the politics. Had as many black voters turned out for Hillary Clinton as did for President Obama, Secretary Clinton would now be president and our long national nightmare with President Trump would never have begun.

Five of the Washington Post-designated VP candidates are black. But each comes with a considerable drawback. Only Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has national name recognition. The rest – former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) – do not.

Nor do any except Harris have the gravitas one looks for in a vice president, particularly one with a decent chance, given Biden’s age, of becoming president. Yet, for all of her talents, experience and brilliance, Harris does not appeal to the public, even the Democratic part of the public. That is why she failed to make it far in the presidential primaries.

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But most independents are looking for more than someone on the left with a running mate who is even further to the left. They believe that our real problems don’t merit right- or left-wing answers. They deserve intelligent, first-best answers. In addition, they realize that Biden’s veep will need to be ready to immediately step into the president’s shoes given that Biden would be our nation’s oldest president.  

The best candidate is clearly Condoleezza Rice. As a black woman, she can help bring our country together.

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She’s a Republican, but she’s no ideologue. Consequently, she will instantly appeal to independents across the nation. Her selection would constitute a unity ticket and deprive President Trump not only of most votes in the middle, but millions of votes on the right. 

What everyone will immediately recognize in Secretary Rice is that she can, as needed, run the country. This isn’t simply due to her knowledge of foreign affairs, her deep experience with matters of national security and her close relationships with former and current world’s top leaders. It’s also because of her experience outside of government.

Rice successfully ran one of our nation’s largest and most important private enterprises, namely Stanford University, in her capacity as provost. And unlike many of the contenders to be Biden’s running mate, Rice has the gravitas needed to step in and take over as president at a particularly perilous time for our country.

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