Sunday, May 18, 2008

The New Role of VP


The Sunday morning talk shows didn’t have a lot to talk about this week. With the democratic party’s story line getting decidedly less exciting as it appears Senator Obama will be the nominee, it was time to fill some air. I only caught parts of This Week, on ABC and Meet the Press for NBC and both shows were covering the same topic for at least part of their round table discussions. The ever looming Vice Presidential debate. Who should near-certain nominees Barack Obama and John McCain choose as their running mates. I don’t really feel a need to engage in more speculation. Both candidates will choose based on a calculus on they really understand, so why try to guess?

As a matter of policy however, the role of Vice President has changed vastly in the last eight years. Dick Cheney wasn’t simply an adviser and President of the Senate as the constitution provides. He was at the center policy decisions and by many accounts was running a parallel white house. So the question is for all you policy thinkers, without delving into your personal feelings for Dick Cheney, which I’m sure are only warm and fuzzy, what kind of a role would you like future VP’s to play? Policy-drivers? Or political back-seaters?

 

The comment section awaits your thoughts. 

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