Clinton has several VP options: Fiery liberals, Hispanics and white guys

sanantone · Jul 23, 2016

Neuhaus said: ↑

Julian Castro didn't run San Antonio. The city manager did. Sarah Palin ran Alaska (or, according to some accounts, Todd Palin did, but that's another story). There was no "State Manager" running the day-to-day. The mayor of NYC may not "run" NYC but he (based upon the incumbent) manages the people who run it in a similar manner to the way the president "runs" the federal government.

Different cities have different government structures. If you're the mayor of a city like New York or Chicago I'd say you have the sort of experience that, if you jumped to the White House directly, it isn't that far of a leap in terms of the size of your administration and the scope of your duties.

Many other cities are just too small to justify very complex government structures.

Even still, the only viable presidential candidate who ever tried to make the leap directly from the Mayor's office to the White House was Rudy Giuliani. And, even then, he didn't really have a real shot at it. Had the primaries been held within a year after 9/11 maybe he would have been able to ride the whole standing at Ground Zero wearing a baseball cap imagery a little further. But, as time dragged on and Bernard Kerik kept getting convicted of crimes, his fame tapered off. Still, the mayor of NYC has one of the largest police departments and one with an international intelligence program.

I'm not saying Castro is "unheard of" but there is a difference between being known and having the sort of experience that one would consider adequate prep to being the Vice President.

If Castro held a cabinet post of even slightly more prestige that might make a difference. But he doesn't. He's the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. A job he's only had for two years.

If Julian Castro was Jerry Carlin, a white anglo-saxon protestant, the exact same resume would be a fine start to a political career. But no one would be tapping him for a VP run in the next election. Quite possibly because no politician would benefit from a young white protestant guy on their ticket. The minority candidate will add the obligatory old white guy and the old white guy will add the obligatory minority. The fictional Jerry Carlin will have to likely bake in Congress for a few decades before anyone takes him seriously.

First, I agree. The content of what she said was her greatest downfall. However a lot of people pointed to her lack of "experience."

Where I will disagree is that the population of a state versus San Antonio doesn't really matter in this context. The role and responsibility of the governor versus the mayor does matter. One actually operated an administration which oversaw infrastructure and public policy. The other is largely a figurehead.

So Julian Castro doesn't compare to Governors or even mayors who actually oversee an administration. His nearest metro comparison is that he was sort of like a Borough President in NYC. That's fine but that, plus two years in a lower tier cabinet position, would never land him on the ticket as a VP candidate unless they were just trying to grab the hispanic vote.

We can pretend that isn't the case, of course. We can act like Julian Castro is actually "qualified" for the job despite his only having two years of federal administrative experience and very low level (in terms of responsibility) municipal service. And he may very well be known in Democratic circles. But Hillary isn't choosing him because she's seen his work and knows his skills. If she picks him it will be because the analysts told her that a young hispanic male would be the wisest choice and he was on the list she was given.
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I think you missed the point of my posts even though I only quoted the part of your first post where you asked if anyone has ever heard of Castro. My second post was in reference to you saying that San Antonio is not a major city. I'm not arguing that Julian Castro being the former mayor of San Antonio qualifies him for the vice presidency. I clearly said that I wasn't, so I don't understand the point of this long-winded post about his qualifications. You're really just arguing with yourself on that. I'm arguing that he is more known than you have implied.

sanantone · Jul 23, 2016

Clinton chose Tim Kaine. The pundits believe she chose him because he's a white, male moderate who speaks Spanish. He can potentially help her win Virginia and attract white men, disenchanted Republicans, and independents.

Neuhaus · Jul 23, 2016

Two things:

1. Saanantone, I'm sorry if I missed the original intent of your post. Part of the misunderstanding was my own poor choice of words. My comments about "hearing" of Julian Castro were in the context of presidential and vice presidential discussions. Julian Castro is known. I'd say he's definitely a DNC "rising star" but he just doesn't have enough of a track record to really be in the running for this level of office, in my opinion. Now, if we start talking about Clinton picks for higher tier cabinet positions like Secretary of Energy, Health and Human Services etc, I think that's a name that should absolutely come up. We have rising stars like Julian Castro in New York (city and state) as well. Many of them are very well known in our quarters of the Democratic Party. But I'd bet you never heard of them. That's why those intermediate steps, from state/local to federal service, are important.

2. Kaine seems like a solid pick even if he's not so "daring." This guy can probably deliver Virginia and states like Virginia. And I can see him being able to win over a lot of the people who are turned off by Hillary. One of the things I dig about Kaine is the fact that his wife is currently the Secretary of Education in Virginia. Im liking this fairly modern tradition of a first spouse not just being well dressed arm candy.

sanantone · Jul 23, 2016

His son is also in the Marines, so when he talked about Trump insulting POWs, it held more weight. He's a rather boring choice, but I understand his strategic purpose.

Abner · Jul 23, 2016

sanantone said: ↑

His son is also in the Marines, so when he talked about Trump insulting POWs, it held more weight. He's a rather boring choice, but I understand his strategic purpose.
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Yeah, I saw him speak today. Pretty dynamic, though kind of mellow at the same time. I guess he can be described as being nice, but having a strong back bone at the same time.

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Clinton has several VP options: Fiery liberals, Hispanics and white guys

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Clinton has several VP options: Fiery liberals, Hispanics and white guys

sanantone Well-Known Member

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