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Do we ALL AGREE that this Biden's VP selection is an "affirmative action" choice?

ultmd said:
Therein resides the rub with your argument, Cordeller.

The only time the arbitrary "most qualified" issue gets raised...is when a minority or a female gets the nod (regardless of the arena: politics, business, law, medicine, etc. etc.)

Was Dan Quayle "most qualified" option in 1988? Hardly.
Sarah Palin. Enough said.
Was Mike Pence the single "most qualified" option in 2016? Not even remotely.
Was Paul Ryan the "most qualified" option 2012? Maybe, considering the historically awful field of candidates in 2012.
Was Jack Kemp the single "most qualified" option in 1996? Nope. Certainly not more qualified than long-term Senators like Arlen Specter, Lamar Alexander, Phil Graham and Dick Lugar who campaigned in '96.
Was Al Gore the "most qualified" option 1992? Debatable.

Truth is "most qualified" (on paper) rarely gets the job...anywhere. There are too many other factors to consider. Anyone who runs a business understands this...and can tell you why. What we do is chose the "best fit" from among a list of qualified options.

Kamala Harris is certainly well-qualified for the position. That's all that matters. She was Joe Biden's choice. Whether, or not, she's the single "most qualified" person for the position is a subjective matter. The only thing we can say for sure is that if she was white and male, questions about "most qualified" would have never arisen.
Click to expand...

Is Joe Biden the best choice? No way Jose'. Joe has some conservative leanings which is why so many conservatives are coming out for Status Quo Joe.
 
ultmd said:
Therein resides the rub with your argument, Cordeller.

The only time the arbitrary "most qualified" issue gets raised...is when a minority or a female gets the nod (regardless of the arena: politics, business, law, medicine, etc. etc.)

Was Dan Quayle "most qualified" option in 1988? Hardly.
Sarah Palin. Enough said.
Was Mike Pence the single "most qualified" option in 2016? Not even remotely.
Was Paul Ryan the "most qualified" option 2012? Maybe, considering the historically awful field of candidates in 2012.
Was Jack Kemp the single "most qualified" option in 1996? Nope. Certainly not more qualified than long-term Senators like Arlen Specter, Lamar Alexander, Phil Graham and Dick Lugar who campaigned in '96.
Was Al Gore the "most qualified" option 1992? Debatable.

Truth is "most qualified" (on paper) rarely gets the job...anywhere. There are too many other factors to consider. Anyone who runs a business understands this...and can tell you why. What we do is chose the "best fit" from among a list of qualified options.

Kamala Harris is certainly well-qualified for the position. That's all that matters. She was Joe Biden's choice. Whether, or not, she's the single "most qualified" person for the position is a subjective matter. The only thing we can say for sure is that if she was white and male, questions about "most qualified" would have never arisen.
Click to expand...

Here's my problem with Harris... and you can take it for what it's worth, but the way she was selected - the way Biden painted himself into a corner - first, by stating he was going to pick a woman, and second, by having a short-list of African-American women among which Harris was essentially the only qualified name, it gives the impression that he had to choose her - not that he wanted to choose her. The Vice President is the one person within the Administration who can't be fired by the President outside of the electoral cycle. So if Harris takes it upon herself to become a loose cannon, what can a President Biden do to contain that?

My fear is that we're setting up a Ford-Rockefeller situation wherein the Vice President is the dominant personality and has their own power base within the party. Ford had Rumsfeld and Cheney to keep Rockefeller in check.... who is Biden going to have to keep Harris in check?
 
Razoo said:
Is Joe Biden the best choice? No way Jose'. Joe has some conservative leanings which is why so many conservatives are coming out for Status Quo Joe.
Click to expand...

Say what you will, but Biden will be the most experienced President coming into office in US history. By far. Senator for 36 years, Vice President for 8 on top of that. Nobody else even comes close to that level of experience.

Of course, all of that experience means he's probably not going to be a great reformer... but it does mean he's going to know what it takes to make the trains keep running on time. He's going to be a steady hand on the wheel... and after 4 years of Trump's upheavals, maybe that's exactly what we need? Steady, competent leadership.
 
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