May
Does Vice President Selection Matter?
As the major parties’ Presidential primaries are winding down, the talk has turned towards who will each candidate pick for his Vice-Presidential running mate. There has been much speculation, but no candidate has leaked any information about who they may choose. Albert Hunt has a good piece on Bloomberg.com discussing this very fact.
Over the past 50 years, 17 men and one woman have been chosen by the major parties to run for the vice presidency of the U.S. Only one — Lyndon Johnson in 1960 — demonstrably affected the outcome of the presidential race.
This is worth remembering as the nation enters the quadrennial feeding frenzy over completing the tickets. It’s a big decision for Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama and will send important signals; it probably won’t make much difference on Nov. 4.
So, who will each candidate choose, and will it really matter?
