Monday, June 16, 2008

Sam Nunn looking favourable for the Democratic VP slot

Fresh from my success of winning a bet on Obama to be Democratic Presidential candidate (placed 14th February 2007 at 13/5) I have now bet on Sam Nunn to be his running mate. The odds of 25/1 on Paddy Power were somewhat of a persuader.

My thinking goes like this. Obama has got to choose someone with sound national security credentials and long experience (to match his somewhat short experience). Step forward Mr Nunn, a US Senator for 24 years, who served on the Senate Armed Services committee and founded the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. 24 carat national security credentials, in other words. Nunn is also very well known across the States.

It is also essential, as always, to balance the Democratic ticket geographically. We have Barack Obama from Illinois. The ticket must have some sort of southern or mid-western presence. Nunn is from Georgia.

The Boston Globe, for good measure, says that Obama and Nunn have found that they have an affinity for each other:

The liberal freshman from Illinois and the national security specialist from rural Georgia immediately hit it off, according to interviews with confidants of the two men.

Nunn, whose somewhat colorless demeanor hides a passion for defense policy, was clearly impressed with Obama's command of the subject, and Obama has called on Nunn since to discuss arms control legislation and other matters, the confidants said.

For two decades, Nunn has been floated as a potential vice presidential candidate by virtue of his national security credentials and conservative southern roots. And each time he has dis missed such talk out of hand, while the party's nominees opted for more liberal choices from states more likely to go Democratic in November.

But this year, the personal and intellectual affinity between the presumptive Democratic nominee and the 69-year-old elder statesman - who abandoned a policy of not backing candidates in Democratic primaries when he endorsed Obama in April - makes him a real possibility as Obama's running mate, according to interviews with current and former government officials who know both men.

Bingo!

And, of course, to get to my conclusion I have discounted Hillary (don't even think about it) and I note that Gov Strickland and Mark Warner (two other key contenders in my view) have discounted themselves.

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