Joe Biden’s Most Obvious Choice for V.P.

I hope you will allow me to make my case before you trash what I am about to say and then feel free to do so.

If you trust Joe Biden not to hurt you or be dangerous because of erratic behavior, but you would like to have confidence in him before you vote for him, maybe that can be resolved by his V.P. choice.

What are the qualities that his V.P. must have?

1. They need to be ready on day one should anything unfortunate happen to Joe because of his health, age, etc.

2. They need to be smart to grasp and understand complex matters and their implications quickly and deeply

3. They need to be wise to know what’s important to focus on and what is less important and less urgent

4. They need to have a track record of already making tough decisions and having made good judgment calls in their career so far (of course there are going to be some that in retrospect weren’t so good)

5. They need to be able to select the best, brightest and most practical people to advise them and to consult and listen to them and consider what they say

Before I name the most obvious choice, let me remind you that Trump won in 2016 as more of an anti-Hillary vote because too many people disliked her and how she represented the same old, same old “swamp” in Washington that Trump promised he’d drain.

I think you’re getting where this is going.

Given all the crises facing us, would you rather have a V.P. who is qualified and ready on “day one” should he or she be called upon to be President or someone you like more?

Since it’s clear that people’s liking of Trump has lessened and since he has never demonstrated being qualified for the job he has, the best and obvious choice for V.P. is Hillary Clinton.

Furthermore, since it’s clear that the world is tired of old white guys leading America and may not be too fond of an older white woman doing the same, I’d suggest that if a Biden/Clinton ticket wins that it be for one term. In that way they won’t have to worry about re-election — I mean c’mon, Biden would be 82! — and these four years could be used to help develop and grow younger leaders who currently may not be quite ready for prime time.

And BTW Hillary has the earned the right to an apology for how she was treated so poorly after all the service she has given this country and Biden will probably need to then tell her he needs her help and ask her to serve (a déjà vu of Obama making her Secretary of State). That is the very least he and we could do.

Finally, if this does come to pass, a word to Hillary.

You’re smart and even wise from everything you’ve been through and you need to trust your own voice and judgment to know the right thing to do rather than overly deferring to polls, handlers, etc. No one would blame you for being bitter, but America needs you to instead have the better part of you shine through, because it needs you.

You are more than qualified to lead this country.