Grading of Decisions on Vice Presidential Running Mate
Both Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have made the most important decisions of their entire campaign. They have selected their running mates. This decision shows the American public how good or bad they will be at making decisions should they be selected to be the President of the United States. It also shows whether the candidates will make decisions for political expediency of for the good of the American people.
Michael E. McGrath, decision-making expert and founder of Decide Better!, has assigned a grade to how well each candidate fared in this important decision-making exercise. He has assigned a "B+" overall to Senator Obama's selection of Delaware Senator Joseph Biden, and a "C-" to Senator McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
On June 13th, Michael E. McGrath, founder of Decide Better! sent a memo to the campaigns of Democratic Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama and Republician Presidential nominee Senator John McCain outlining the five critical factors involved in making this decision. How the nominee decides to weigh each of these factors will ultimately determine his selection decision (the weighting that Michael suggests and that is used for this assessment is listed next to each factor below).
1. Suitability to be the President of the United States (30%)
2. Suitablility to be the Vice President of the United States (15%)
3. Chemistry with the Presidential Nominee (15%)
4. Electability and Assistance with Electoral College Strategy (25%)
5. Grooming to be the Next President of the United States (15%)
Click here for the full text of the memo
To see the press releases describing each choice and the grading assigned by Michael, please use the following links:
Breakdown of Obama's "B+" Decision to Choose Joe Biden:
Suitability to be President (30%) Grade: A
Biden, with more than 35 years of experience in the Senate, and who currently serves as Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee in the U.S. Senate, would be able to successfully jump in and serve as President, should it be necessary.
Suitability to be Vice President (15%) Grade: A -
Biden, as a six term senior statesman of the Senate, is extremely familiar with bipartisan Washington politics. He would have little trouble assuming the role of Senate President and working with the establishment to get bills passed into law. He has also represented the United States on the world stage and has relationships with many foreign dignitaries. He does on occasion, however, have a tendency to mis-state things which could lead to uncomfortable moments.
Chemistry with Nominee (15%) Grade: B
Biden ran against Senator Obama in the Democratic primary and has previously spoken out with concerns that Obama is too inexperienced to serve as President, which could be seen as a sign that the two are not exactly best friends. Since those early days of the campaign, however, Biden has toned down his language and has strongly spoke in favor of Obama's nominaation. Biden, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, may also have trouble serving as number two under a politician who can be considered much less experienced.
Electability/Assistance with Electoral College (25%) Grade: B
Biden is unlikely to assist with the electoral college as he represents Delaware in the United States Senate, a democratic stronghold state with only three electoral votes.That being said, Biden hopes to tout his Pennsylvania roots (he was born and raised in Scranton) as PA is a hotly contested state that could go to either the Democrats or the Republicians in the general election. Biden, a Catholic, is thought to appeal to middle class voters and he is willling to act as an "attack dog" to go after Senator McCain. Additionally, Biden has a sympathetic life story as his first wife and two sons were killed in a car accident during his first term in the Senate. Biden has previously run for the Democratic nomination for President, first in 1988 when he dropped out after charges of plagarism related to a campaign speech, and then 20 years later in 2008.
Grooming to be the Next President of the United States (15%) Grade: C
If Senator Obama wins the Presidency and serves for 8 years, there is only a very small chance that BIden will run in 2012. As he will be 72 years old, there is probably also an equal chance that he would chose not to run.
Breakdown of McCain's "B-" Decision to Choose Sarah Palin:
Suitability to be President (30%) Grade: F
Sarah Palin was elected as Governor of Alaska in 2006. Prior to serving in this role she held a variety of elected and appointed posts in local Alaskan politics, the most senior of which was Mayor of Wasilla, population of 5,470 (in 2000). Her relative inexperience in the national politican realm with only two years in an excecutive role does not give her the necessary experience to step in as president during a crisis. There are thousands of people more qualified to do this.
Suitability to be Vice President (15%) Grade: F
Palin has limited experience shaping and working to pass policy on a national level. Unlike other potential choices, Palin has not worked with Washington and critics might question whether she is prepared to serve as President of the United States Senate and whether she has the background needed to work in a bipartisan manner with the other branches of government. With no national of global experience, it could be difficult for her to represent the U.S. to other countries.
Chemistry with Nominee (15%) Grade: C
The media reports that McCain had only met Palin one time prior to making his decision, so it's difficult to determine the chemistry and that doesn't seem like it was considered to be a factor in the decision.
Electability/Assistance with Electoral College (25%) Grade: B-
Palin, as Governor of Alaska, will not provide much assistance with the electoral college as Alaska only has three votes. Palin does, however, appeal to the conservative Republician base as she is pro-life and a life-long member of the National Rifle Association. Additionally, McCain hopes that Palin will be able to woo some of the disenfranchised Hillary Clinton supporters from Senator Obama, as she would be the first female Vice President. While this appears to be the primary basis for the decision, it has a lot of risk associated with it.
Grooming to be the Next President of the United States (15%) Grade: B-
While Palin is young enough to be groomed to be a presidential candidate, she has little experience. Simply being VP may not be enough for her to become a strong republican candidate for president in the future.
