re: #220 KGxvi

Picking a new VP is probably an incredibly dangerous political move. There are uncomfortable questions you have to answer like, “do you not believe he is the most qualified person to be vice president? did you believe he was in 2016? so what changed between then and now?” Then there’s the issue of timing, if you announce before the primaries, what are the odds that the Vice President doesn’t just challenge you in the primaries? If you wait until the convention, what happens if there’s a floor fight for VP?

The only way it works is if the VP decides they don’t want to run a second time. And no VP in their right mind will do that, barring a major medical issue. Because win or lose, you automatically become the front runner for the next election cycle, assuming you want the big desk (unless you’re Dan Quayle).

Quayle actually made one of the most telling comments of the 2000 presidential campaign. Appearing on The Tonight Show shortly after he ended his quixotic presidential campaign, Quayle was asked why he shut it down. Instead of stating the obvious like “people think I’m an idiot” or the GOP approved “the media hate me,” Quayle said, “We just could not stay with the Bush money machine.” He went on to explain that he had not expected to match Bush dollar for dollar, but he had also not expected the ease with which Bush overwhelmed all the other candidates combined.