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  Obama's departure ticket for two: Obama's Veep?
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ContributorGerald Farinas 
Last EditedGerald Farinas  Dec 12, 2007 12:45am
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News DateWednesday, December 12, 2007 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionRoger Simon, Politico
December 11, 2007

Sure, the press is making a big fuss over Barack Obama’s rising poll numbers, palpable momentum and huge campaign weekend with Oprah. But you’ll know the press is really taking Obama seriously when it starts speculating on whom he wants for his vice president.

How about a Republican on the ticket? As near as I can determine, we haven’t had a major ticket made up of two different parties since Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, ran with Andrew Johnson, a War Democrat, under the National Union Party banner in 1864.

Such a two-party ticket not only would be dramatic but it would be in keeping with Obama’s statement made at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, last month: "I don’t want to pit Red America against Blue America; I want to be the president of the United States of America."

Chuck Hagel? Placing Hagel, a Republican senator from Nebraska, on the ticket would be a way for Obama to reach out to anti-war Republicans. Hagel, like Obama, also supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. And there are other things they agree on.

Others to consider... Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Former Vice President Al Gore.

Oprah? She would have to switch her residence from Illinois, since that is where Obama also resides, but what state would not welcome Oprah? There is one barrier, however: In Des Moines last weekend, somebody in the crowd shouted out that Obama should put Oprah on the ticket. "You want Oprah as vice president?" Obama replied. "That would be a demotion."
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