Opinion: Not them either

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An overwhelming majority of Americans are not running for the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket. Not that we remember asking, but now Connecticut’s Chris Dodd and New Mexico’s Bill Richardson have added themselves to the list of non-vice presidential candidates.

Both men, of course, are currently seeking the top spot on the 2008 Democratic ticket and not doing very well at it, lagging far behind in polls and money to the frontrunners, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Richardson, whose resume includes congressman, ambassador and cabinet secretary, says he already has the best job in the world, governor of New Mexico. This doesn’t explain his multi-million dollar drive to not be governor of New Mexico anymore and become president. But who expects consistency in a presidential race?

Americans in modern times have shown a definite proclivity to choose executives as president over senators. The last eight presidents have come most directly from a governor’s or vice president’s office. John F. Kennedy, a sitting senator, was the lone legislator exception since World War II. And he was preceeded by Dwight Eisenhower, a general, and Harry Truman, another vice president. Many of the losers in those contests were senators; Bob Dole, Walter Mondale, Al Gore and Hubert Humphrey come to mind.

So on the surface things look tough for Senator Dodd. He told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer the other day that he would rather keep his current job as Connecticut senator.

‘I don’t know anybody who wants to be vice president anymore,’ Blitzer commented.

Dodd replied, ‘Dick Cheney has ruined the job.’

Of course, that’s now. Come next summer when the Democratic nominee is pondering a running mate, things could look a whole lot different. If memory serves, during the 2004 political season a senator named John Edwards proclaimed his distinct disinterest in the vice presidential slot, that is until he joined the Kerry ticket as No. 2.

--Andrew Malcolm