As Denver Post political writer Christa Marshall reports at Politics West:
Sen. Hillary Clinton’s high negative ratings in the West could put Sen. Ken Salazar on the short list of her vice-presidential picks, two political analysts said Monday.
Referring to a Los Angeles Times story about the nervousness of Rocky Mountain Democrats towards Clinton, Chuck Todd and Mark Murray of MSNBC wrote, “One unintended consequence of Clinton’s supposed Rocky Mountain electoral problem? Look for (Montana Gov. Brian) Schweitzer and (Sen. Ken) Salazar and other Westerners to dominate the VP short list.”
Salazar has been touted as a vice-presidential choice before, but the recent focus on Clinton’s poll numbers in the West have upped the speculation a notch.
When asked about the issue in May, Salazar said, “you don’t get approached” about a spot on the ticket and you “don’t run for the office.”
The Colorado Democat also said he intended to complete his current Senate term, which ends in 2010, but said he would “never say never” to an offer to be a vice-presidential nominee…
A poll follows.
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Hillary, not so much. In any case a Dem winnig Colorado is a tall order even now. Bill Clinton couldn’t have done without Perot and didn’t do it the second time around in spite of his popularity.
In terms of a “Western strategy,” the nominee would be much smarter to tap Bill Richardson. They would be able to fold an actual presidential campaign organization directly into theirs. Ken Salazar would be starting from scratch, and it’s not like his own base is going to help him bring a lot to the table.
Or so we’ve heard
Even if that amounted to much, what matters most is what the nominee wants, and what the pressures and needs of the national campaign are. A popular Western governor with balls who is a solid Democrat and has cut taxes, who just happens to be have millions of dollars in fundraising capacity and an existing campaign organization in key battleground states — versus a relative unknown outside of his own state who has base problems at home because of an unhealthy habit of rolling over for George Bush?
The 2008 election will be about flushing the Bush era down the tubes. A Bush accommodationist won’t play as well nationally or in the West as some here would like to think.
There is baggage there that is problematic for a Clinton campaign. Too many parallels to Bill’s problem.
Ken Salazar is squeaky clean and can help in the intermountain west, and obviously with Hispanics.
While Hispanics have traditionally been alighned with the Democratic party, they have poor turnout/registration numbers. As Ken proved in both his AG campaign and particularly his Senate campaign, his presence on the ticket boosted the Hispanic vote.
It could make the difference in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
Richardson’s biggest problem is not so much the “baggage” as the vague perception of baggage.
And when it comes to a successful Hispanic politician, one who is able to bring in an existing presidential campaign operation, and inroads already made with the national Hispanic community, Bill Richardson outweighs anything Ken Salazar can bring to the table.
Not just parallels but Richardson actually crossed paths with Bill and Monica.
When the feces struck the oscillator back in ’98 and the White House was doing some job placement work for Monica to get her out of town, they tried to get Richardson to give her a position at the U.N. mission!
if Salazar can deliver Colorado (a big “if”), HRC gets nine.
Dream ticket of the DLC maybe, but the west is a whole lot more liberal and smarter than most want to believe. Ken Salazar is done, stick a fork in him. Hillary may have to show here aces early, she’s in trouble and she knows it, the laugh knows, knowwhatimsayin? Obama is not going away and she may have to reveal that Wes Clark is her choice for VP. Won’t matter though, Obama is and will continue to spank her hard in Iowa and everywhere real Democrats can be found. There may be the biggest floor fight in history at the Denver DNC.
What do you mean that Salazar is done?
A Republican could change his name to Salazar and still see a 5 point bump at the polls.
“Dream ticket of the DLC maybe, but the west is a whole lot more liberal and smarter than most want to believe,” but lost me at “Ken Salazar is done, stick a fork in him.” If by done you mean as a VP candidate then I agree, but as a senator, I must disagree.
I like Obama, but I do not think he is ready, but I like Edwards so take that for what it is worth.
………he’ll have a choice in 2010, change parties or run in a primary. He won’t get a challenge from the CO DLC, he’ll get a challenge from a real Democrat. Salazar is alienated in the Senate, obvious by the company he keeps. Not only are his attempts for bi-partisanship futile, they are pathetic. (Right, Wrong and Compromise) His ability to shine as a defender of the Constitution was for all intents and purposes supposed to be his forte, I am sure that I would NOT want him to argue a case before the Supreme Court, nor would I want him as AG on a state or Federal level. Salazar is too wrong about too many things, Colorado can do better, much better, by the time he runs again, Colorado Democrats should be strong enough to elect the most qualified person available. Obama is ready, alright and Hillary is going to fade fast. There is going to be a floor fight to remember at the Pepsi Center in ’08.
At the risk of sounding like D.D.H.G.L.Q., the west is not what I would call liberal at all. It has certain libertarian and populist traditions as well as some environmental concerns, but this part of the country is not “liberal” in the context of what as that term is generally understood to mean in this day and age.
………as being right, think of conservative as wrong and moderate as a little bit pregnant
as the road to eventual socialism…………
its the critical state
I don’t see Salazar helping Clinton anywhere she’ll need it. The “Hispanic vote” won’t be a problem, and it’ll feel like a weird, clumsy sop if a Colorado senator gets the nod while the convention is held in Colorado. That’ll do more to rally mountain state Dems than a place on the ticket.
Also, it’s been almost 50 years since two sitting U.S. senators have won the White House. And, correct me if I’m wrong (I don’t want to look it up), but it hasn’t happened another time in the last 100 years.
A caveat, though: anyone looking for Hillary to perform classic ticket balancing should remember what Bill did. It’s a lesson Gore forgot he learned. She’ll pick someone who intensifies the perception of her campaign, not someone who dilutes it.
I’ve been saying this for the past three years.