WI: Clinton picks a different VP?

Zioneer

Banned
So what if Bill Clinton decided not to go with Gore for his vice president (because of scandal, arguments, or whatever)? Who would take Gore's place? Assuming the Clinton administration goes roughly as OTL, is the ATL VP better placed to win in 2000?
 
So what if Bill Clinton decided not to go with Gore for his vice president (because of scandal, arguments, or whatever)? Who would take Gore's place? Assuming the Clinton administration goes roughly as OTL, is the ATL VP better placed to win in 2000?

Here's the list of '92 VP possibilities...

Cuomo: Too old, too liberal.
Gephardt: Never held national office, so no.
Kerrey: Quite possible, excellent choice. As a decorated 'Nam veteran he can partially block GOP attacks on Clinton's draft-dodging.
Hamilton: See Gephardt.
Wofford: Insufficient experience.
Graham: Another good possibility. Has a good shot at taking FL in 2000.
Kerry: Too unknown (except for a trollish joke in '88 about the Secret Service shooting Quayle if Bush was killed to prevent POTUS Quayle) at that point and meh.
 
Tom Harkin? Senator, previous presidential candidate turned Clinton supporter, popular with the working class, northerner. The main problem I see with him is that he made misleading statements about having Vietnam War experience, which doesn't help Clinton on that front.
 
Tom Harkin? Senator, previous presidential candidate turned Clinton supporter, popular with the working class, northerner. The main problem I see with him is that he made misleading statements about having Vietnam War experience, which doesn't help Clinton on that front.

Possible, but opens up Clinton to attacks as a standard-issue McGovern/Dukakis liberal.

Majority leader in Congress doesn't count?

I define "National office" as Speaker, VP, senator or governor.
 
Clinton would pick another moderate/conservative Democrat, likely someone in the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), because he wouldn't want to risk the GOP hitting him with being too liberal. Most likely, the VP will be someone from the South or Midwest, regions of the country not typically associated with "liberalism" like the East Coast or California is. He would also need to be someone who would be acceptable to the left of the party, so it couldn't be someone like Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey who was against abortion.

The most likely candidate might be Bob Kerrey as RogueBeaver suggested. I defnitely know he was on the short list of VP picks. Other possible contenders might be Sam Nunn or John Breaux - all southerners associated with the DLC. I think Nunn would be a particularly strong candidate. Gephardt, another DLC member, is likely seen as too pro-union to have the crossover appeal Clinton was looking for.
 
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