Where is Podesta?
March 11, 2020
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/the-competing-strategies-of-bidens-vp-pick
Hillary Clinton, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, met with eight or nine possibilities to fill her vice-presidential slot. Some of the options were ideologically bold (Elizabeth Warren); some were demographically appealing (Julián Castro). Instead Clinton went with probably the safest choice, Virginia senator Tim Kaine. “His whole experience in politics was built around quality and character and achievement, which was in high contrast to where Donald Trump was coming from,” says John Podesta, who was Clinton’s campaign chairman. “Kaine was also someone who didn’t command the spotlight after the first introduction. We fell short, so you could question that judgment.”
On the long list of reasons for Clinton’s defeat the choice of Kaine ranks pretty low: He helped deliver his home state of Virginia and, probably more important, he didn’t say or do anything to overshadow or embarrass Clinton during the campaign. The bar won’t be quite so low in 2020, however, and the lesson from 2016 is one reason why. Yes, voters overwhelmingly make their decisions based on the presidential candidate, not the V.P., and that’s likely to be even more true with Trump on the ballot again, providing motivation to both sides. But Clinton’s electoral college loss turned on so few votes, and the same six crucial states are likely to be so close again this November, that Joe Biden’s team will be looking for any marginal edge. “Don’t underestimate the calculation in the candidate’s head: ‘Who helps me get the big prize?’” Podesta says.