Wednesday, August 29, 2007  The Case Against Rendell  Mickey
auditions reasons that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell should
not be the Democratic nominee for Vice President. The best I can
come up with is not a case against Rendell per se, but rather an
argument for others. Specifically, it's not clear to me that
Rendell adds much to the ticket. The only tangible thing is that
he would virtually assure that the Democrats win Pennsylvania.
But it's not as if Pennsylvania is truly a swing state. The last
Republican to win Pennsylvania was George H.W. Bush -- 20 years
ago. Democrats swept the state in 2006, and Arlen Specter
remains the only prominent Republican elected statewide. Rendell
broke 60 percent of the vote against Lynn Swann. Is there a
Republican other than Rudy Giuliani who could force Democrats to
defend Pennsylvania?  Who might be a better selection than
Rendell? Ted Strickland (OH), Mark Warner (VA), Bill Richardson
(NM), Tom Vilsack (IA), Brad Henry (OK), and Phil Bredesen (TN)
all are governor