Joe Biden revealed in his debate with Bernie Sanders this past Sunday night that he would pick a woman to be his running mate. Sanders was less committed in doing so. But this might be because he doesn't stand a chance in hell of winning the nomination short of Biden being infected with Coronavirus.
There's a critical mass of Democratic Party activists who want to have a woman President (as opposed to a President who happens to be a woman) and view Biden as nothing more than an old, white guy. This was the only card Biden could play under the circumstances.
But should this be his course of action, Biden should steer clear of the triumvirate of Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris. Warren is just toxic with her propensity for lying be it about her heritage, claiming she was fired for being pregnant or claiming Sanders told her a woman couldn't be elected when he tried to get her to run for President in 2016. Warren isn't exactly eager to endorse Biden even though he has endorsed her bankruptcy plan. Aside from that, Warren hails from Massachusetts. Biden needs someone from a conservative state.
Klobuchar does get marks for endorsing Biden clearing the way for him to win Minnesota on Super Tuesday. While Klobuchar brags about getting red state votes, Minnesota isn't a red state. The only thing red about Klobuchar is her temper. Given Biden's own propensity to get into shouting matches he needs someone with a more even tempered disposition. Harris, too, endorsed Biden fairly quickly. This would be the same Harris who questioned his commitment to civil rights last summer tying him to segregationists. If Biden picks Harris then Trump will reopen that wound and pick it despite his own questionable commitment to civil rights. If Harris cannot handle Tulsi Gabbard in a debate then how will she fare any better against Mike Pence? Like Warren and Klobuchar, Harris hails from one of the bluest states in the country.
So who should Biden pick?
I'd put Stacey Abrams at the top of the list. She the House Minority leader in Georgia for the better part of the 2010's before running for Governor in a race she lost under dubious circumstances. Despite getting screwed out of being Governor, Abrams has an even keel. If Biden picks her then Georgia and possibly the Carolinas are in play. Abrams would have an impact on the electoral map that Warren, Klobuchar and Harris wouldn't have.
If Biden doesn't pick Abrams then he should probably pick a governor like Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan (a state Biden would need to wrest from Trump) or Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico. Lujan Grisham certainly raised eyebrows when she took President Trump to the woodshed when he told state Governors on a conference call to obtain respirators and other medical equipment in response to the Coronavirus"on their own". She certainly got Pence's attention. I wonder how she would get his attention in a one on one debate.
The only downside to Biden picking either Whitmer or Lujan Grisham is that they are in the midst of their first terms. But the downsides for Biden picking Whitmer, Lujan Grisham or Abrams are far fewer than if he were pick Warren, Klobuchar or Harris. Whoever Biden picks needs to be an asset to his candidacy, not an albatross.
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