Keeping up with the Joneses...

Posted: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:18 AM by Mark Murray

From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro
So you think you know who's on Obama's veep short list? Well, think again. According to sources on the Hill, Obama veep vetters -- specifically Jim Johnson and Eric Holder -- have been asking Dem members of Congress this week their input about potential running mates. The conversations are free-flowing but one name the vetters are inserting in the conversations is one that is not a household name... Ret. Gen. James Jones, the former Marine-turned-NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel discusses the search for Sen. Barack Obama's running mate.

Jones, a Vietnam vet born in Kansas City, MO (swing state alert!), was a career military officer rising to one of the highest posts possible. Now retired, Jones has been critical of the number of troops currently in Afghanistan. He's been appointed to independent posts by both the Democratic Congress and the Republican-run State Department

Jones currently is the president and CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, which is an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, not exactly the type of organization a typical Democrat gets involved with. Potentially problematic is that he's on Chevron's board. He also serves on the boards of Boeing and Invacare, a manufacturer and distributor of medical equipment. (Invacare’s slogan, ironically, is: “Yes, you can.”)

Being the least known potential veep, it shouldn't be surprising that the vetters have to spend more time on him in their various conversations on the Hill. But the fact that he's being, um, added to the very long short list, is an interesting development.

Besides Jones, the other names on the list bandied about with congressional Dems include (and not in any order): Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, Kathleen Sebelius, Ted Strickland, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jim Webb, Bill Nelson, Jack Reed, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Tom Daschle, and Sam Nunn. You'll notice a few names NOT on this list (that's not my exclusion -- hint hint). Besides Jones, I'm told the two other names that invited extended discussion were Biden and Strickland.

Take this chatter for what it is -- chatter. But the addition of Jones to your semi-official veep short list is truly a fascinating development.

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Comments

Eric Holder, I remember him. He's the guy that worked for Clinton and told Bill to pardon Marc Rich. You know, a very major contributor to the Clinton Machine. Nice to see he's now on Team Obama. But I thought Obama was all about Change?

Frankie Wheeler, Portland ME (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:24 AM)

John Edwards needs to come out of retirement and claim his VP spot!

He would be the best candidate!!!!

** For discounts on Barack Obama products $8.99 & Up. Use this coupon at this Obama Store http://www.MyObamaStore.com
Coupon - Obama-X2Y9-10 (10% OFF)

Obama For President!! (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:26 AM)

It doesn't matter who Obama picks. With an idiot at the top of the ticket, the Democrats have no chance.

Luc Longley, Bethesda MD (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:26 AM)

My First Pick: Jim Webb
My Second Pick: Tom Daschle
My Third Pick: Sam Nunn

It's just so nice that we've gotten to the point in this election season where we can now concentrate on the # 2 spot.

To all - if Senator Obama does get elected, think about going to his inaugeration in January with your children. What a gift you would be giving them. Something they would treasure the rest of their lives.

It should be really something.

Pat, Boston, MA (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:30 AM)

Does it occur to anyone else that the entire short list of democratic vice presidential candidates is better qualified than either the current president or the republican nominee?

But let's see some REAL change.

Obama/Webb 08

Anna Molly (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:31 AM)

Luc,

You're really dumb for your comments, check your education record and then check his.....Now, how really sound dumb!!!!

The Real Truth!!! (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:31 AM)

Can you add Jones to veepstakes.msnbc.com, please? Thanks!

Arabella, Vermont (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:32 AM)

With an idiot at the top of the ticket, the Democrats have no chance.
Luc Longley, Bethesda MD
------------------------------------------------------
Why? We've had an idiot in the White House for the past 7 years and another one running for the Repubs this year! You are going to be disappointed come November, "my friend"!

Diane from Illinois (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:32 AM)

Our house is burning and collapsing but all the republicans are doing is fighting over what color to paint the kitchen.

Enough of personal attacks and offer some solutions to problems for a change!

Obama has been proposing solutions, if you must criticize offer something better. And don't just shoot down every idea.

End Game (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:32 AM)

=== ** For discounts on Barack Obama products $8.99 & Up. Use this coupon ===

Don't bother, just wait until November, and Obama's stuff will be sold for cheap on Clearance just like Hillary's junk.

KMart Blue Light (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:33 AM)

OBAMA SHOULD ONLY PICK HIS VEEP "AFTER" THE G.O.P. CONVENTION!

TOM TYSKIEWICZ, FOREST HILLS, PA (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:34 AM)

Yawn.....anyone with intelligence should turn obama down....steer clear of the November wreckage.

FedUpDem, Washington, DC (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:34 AM)

Interesting...

I caught the last part of Tucker's segment on "Morning Joe" today - did anyone else see that?

They were talking about Hillary becoming VP - and all the stuff that would possibly come out about Bill if that happened.

Before you Clinton supporters go off on me - I am NOT attacking Mrs. Clinton. However, the fact remains that Bill would come along with her and apparently he is fairly explosive in oh so many ways. Mainly things will come out that supposedly Washington insiders know that the media (hello First Read?) did not follow up on.

Now, I realize that Tucker is a conservative, self describe Libertarian. Joe was agreeing with him , though, and Hill was his "girlfriend".

This makes me wonder, though, why they did not talk about this during the race...hmmm?

MI Chick (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:35 AM)

Hey Luc - I think you are in for a shock come November. Enjoy the Obama presidency!

p.s. You sucked in the NBA.

Michael B (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:36 AM)

Scrap Hillary and Ted Strickland. Mark Warner is my personal choice, but I am fine with Edwards and Biden. I notice Bill Richardson is not on the list.

Lyn, MD (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:36 AM)

I think it would be a good idea to have a military officer as his VP. It would help against McCain's argument about lack of military experience and the whole commander in chief test.
Whomever it is, however, better not have made any military decisions that Obama objected to.

Angie for Obama (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:37 AM)

I can't imagine how the democrats could lose with any of these VP candidates.

Whatever happened to those town hall meetings, anyway? Wouldn't you like to see Mitt Romney debate General Jones? Or how about Condoleezza Rice?

Like candy from a baby. Sweet.

Obama 08/12

Amy Andersen, Eden Prairie, MN (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:38 AM)

Luc - whats your education? I bet Obama's is stronger...and November will be a long month for Republicans brother...check the polls and the record turnouts for Obama, EVERYWHERE!

Will (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:39 AM)

Luccccccc
Watch your language!

cdavis, Ft. Benning GA (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:39 AM)

Luc Longley, Please put substance to your words. What exactly qualifies as an idiot?? I think much of the electorate disagrees with you. All bark and no bite. While your at it... is it too high above your IQ level to spell the name of your city right?

Sarah (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:40 AM)

It's the economy stupid!

Obama's veep should be a govenor. Come Nov. everyone will agree we're in a recession. Gas will be $4.75-$5.00, unemployment 6%, food prices sky high, housing market hurting, high foreclosure rate, etc.

Mark, Salem,CT (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:41 AM)

tO Luc Longley, Bethesda MD - Did you hear McCain speak again today? He sounds DUMBER then a box of bricks......He is going to get creamed....He's an OLD, ANGRY WAR/FEAR Monger who is nothing more then a 3rd term of BUSH

tr (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:41 AM)

CHANGE is just a catch phrase to fool naive citizens. Obama will need a VP with old-politics background to train him. Nice!

Boboy, WI (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:41 AM)

++++ Does it occur to anyone else that the entire short list of democratic vice presidential candidates is better qualified than either the current president or the republican nominee? ++++

No. Apparently it only occurs to you.

Tree Rollins (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:41 AM)

This is so exciting! I'd never heard of James Jones. I think Obama will choose a highly qualified VP who is "outside the box." I am so looking forward to the wave of new faces running our government.

Amy B Portland, ME (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:41 AM)

In terms of VP, Joe Biden has the charisma to compliment Senator Obama, and the foreign policy experience and quit wit to make a true winning ticket, not just someone chosed to fill a demographic or geographic niche.

Obama/Biden '08/'12

P.S. I am still getting used to the fact that Senator Obama is the offical nominee of the Democratic Party! It feels so good to be campaigning against one opponent instead of 3-5! :)

Nashville_fan (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:42 AM)

Frankly speaking I am not for Hillary on his ticket. I believe her strengths would be better served in a position that allows her room for promoting health care and women’s rights. It is all well and good to win an election but you must consider that after the election is won the real work commence in governance and this is where the synergistic values kick in. Obama will need someone who is compatible, complementary and supplemental to his policy of change. Someone who shares his beliefs with as much or even more passion than he. In this regard Hillary would be a square peg in a round hole, and in order to fit in, would need to reshape her thinking and do a complete make over for four years! Don’t do this to her, don’t do this to Obama and most of all don’t do this to the country.

Neither the DNC nor Obama will bow to blackmail, coercion or any form of pressure whatsoever. It makes no sense vetting the vetters. They are not in contention for the position and Johnson happens to be only one of three. It takes an ‘old style politician’ to know an ‘old style politician’ and proceed to eliminate from the list of potentials. Jones or no Jones, we need to cut the vetting team some slack and allow them to get the job done.

McBush has been floating around for three months, how come no one seems to be sniffing around his short list? Lack of interest? The republicans are truly on shaky ground.

spicegirl Md (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:42 AM)

TOM TYSKIEWICZ -

Obama can't wait until after the GOP Convention. The DEM convention comes first.

Tim R., GR, MI (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:43 AM)

I was climbing aboard the Jones love fest, until you mentioned Chevron.

However, if we have him on tape, with his hand on his hip, and shaking his finger in their greedy faces, he sounds like a real winner!

donna (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:43 AM)

KMart Blue Light - McSame's will be the donated stuff come November, he was going to donate to the Senior Homes, but realized, they already had his stuff, they were the only ones bying it

MCCain=BUSH (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:44 AM)

Biden, please. Dignified, qualified, vetted and a foreign policy strength. He can make it work on the Hill.

Obama Grandma

Virginia Jacobs, Belpre, OH (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:45 AM)

What about Al Gore for Obama's VP pick? He would close up Florida and Tennessee, bring Obama the experience he needs on the ticket and Dems would be so excited to give him another chance at the White House! Much more so than Hillary!

Barbara Fishback, Olney, MD (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:45 AM)

New Senate polls have been released today too and they find some good news for Republicans who could make it a tight race in NJ. Full roundup: http://www.campaigndiaries.com/2008/06/senate-ensign-raises-possibility-of.html

Daniel, NY (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:46 AM)

Ted Strickland---not! I can't get that picture of him standing behind a shrill and angry Hillary Clinton in Ohio yelling, " Barack Obama, you ought to be ashamed!" Go with one of your own supporters, Barack! As my grandma used to say, " Dance with the one(s) who "brung" you!

Cindi in Louisiana (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:47 AM)

My choices: Joe Biden
2. Jim Webb

Pam OC,CA (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:47 AM)

Ya Luc, if a Magna Cum Laude Harvard graduate and a President of the Harvard Law Review is an idiot, I wonder what I should call you?

Testoni (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:48 AM)

One name not seen is Retired General Wesley Clark. He is my choice. GENERAL clark would ADD AN EXPERIENCED MILITARY MIND AND WITH HIS NATO EXPERIENCE FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE.

Dean M Bauer, Panama City Beach, Fl (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:50 AM)

I trust Obama's judgment with whomever he chooses, but I really like Jim Webb's tenacity and he has done a lot of good work since he entered the Senate.

Hknight, hattiesburg, MS (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:50 AM)

What about Bob Casey from Pennsylvania or Robert Wexler from Florida?? Both men played critical roles during the process and they seem to be in accordance with Obama's more youthful and energetic persona. More importantly, they hail from BIG swing states. Am puzzled that I have not heard their names mentioned.

Cindi in Louisiana (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:50 AM)

You may not want to vote for him, yet he get closer everyday to the White. If he handled all that Hillary and Bill passed his way, surely you don't believe that McCain can't run that distance. He will get much from the "Fear Freaks" of the Repugs. I will read their cards before they send them out. They will call him a "Terrorist and a Marxist". They will spread new terms around the Repug community because they have nothing else to go on. Most said he would not get to this point. Whether you like him or not.....History will be made and this country will be in better shape...GET USED TO IT!!!

The Real Truth!! (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:51 AM)

First I am a republican mostly because I am a fiscal conservative, but the Dem race this year has been too interesting to not get involved in.

I actually voted for Hillary in the primaries and if she were the Dem candidate I would have a tough choice in Nov. With Obama at the top for the Dems in Nov. my choice is now easier. Not because Obama is and idiot, quite the contrary, but because he does not have the experience to hold the most powerful position in the world. Change can be good, but it is very important that the person in charge of the change really understands the full impact of what his proposals will do.

Mr. Obama spent only 1 year in the US Senate before he hit the campaign trail. People please...most professional jobs require at least 2 years experience before they will look at your resume. Just look in the employment section of your local paper. This is done for a reason! Generally a good reason. Give Barack some time in the senate before you cantipult him to a job he is not ready for.

Diane, Akron Ohio (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:51 AM)

Now that's there is a contrast between the two candidates, Hillary was just as stupid as Obama, we'll start to see that Obama is as dumb as he looks. He doesn't have a clue what he is talking about when it comes to foreign affairs or the economy. He has multiple associations with corrupt people in Chicago. And now that he's up against a True American Hero, the cracks are starting to show. With all the friendly press he's had for the last year, he still behind in the electoral projections for this election! How can that be? Wait until the press starts treating him even the least bit hostile. The man will crumble before our eyes.

Saint Ralph (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:51 AM)

Amen Luc. Looks like you hit the nerve of most BO followers here (BO = Bad Odor). Basically, it will a village idiot accompanied by a fool that is aspiring to lead our great nation.

Joe Vidden (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:52 AM)

I am not sure what all of you Obamicans are so excited about... for a guy who claims "bi-partisan" abilities.. its odd he is the most liberal senator. For a guy who talks about his judgement... I am wondering which version of his Iran policy we should base him on. He wants to end "attack politics" but purposely and repeatedly spins McCain's 100 years comment.

Is that "change"?? Its the same thing we have been experiencing since Nixon. He is a good orator, so he tells you things, and you believe them. Sadly, you arent doing your own research if you think Obama is moderate, able to bring change, or has great judgement. By the way, his war speech was given at an anti-war rally, and since he has had a say in the matter he has voted the same as McCain... yeah... thats change!!!! (Note, I havent touched on well documented lies he told about rezko or how he brought his kids to see Rev. Wright... I respect the Reverend's right to say what he pleases. That being said, dont tell me its a good enviornment for young, impressionable kids. I dont even have kids and I know that.)

Anyone rational can see the only change Obama will bring is the party affiliation of the White House. We have an extereme right wing president with poor judgement, no experience, stubbornness on his views, and is incredibly divisive. Can you show me any instance that would lead you to believe B.O. isnt a left wing GW Bush?? We need moderation people, not more extremes.

Sincerely,

A Republican who REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to voted democrat.

Neil Chandler, New York, NY (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:52 AM)

I don't like Hillary, but I like winning. So, if picking Hillary means Obama will win in November (because I'm not so sure her 18 million will vote blue) then pick her. The Republicans are terrible at governing but great at winning elections. The Democrats are terrible at winning election but far superior in governing. This year, let's make winning a priority

Paddy, Philly (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:52 AM)

There are going to be some real unhappy liberals in November. But, they're always unhappy anyway, so what's the difference?

Sam Rivers, Lincolnwood, TN (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:53 AM)

"OBAMA SHOULD ONLY PICK HIS VEEP "AFTER" THE G.O.P. CONVENTION!"
-- TOM TYSKIEWICZ, FOREST HILLS, PA

But the Democratic Convention comes before the Republican Convention? Are you suggesting that the convention come and go without a vice presidential nominee? I feel that waiting until after the Republican Convention would make it seem as though the Democrats are reactionary instead of proactive and committed to change.

Tim, Wake Forest, NC (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:53 AM)

Gov. Richardson, Gov. Bredesen, Sen. Webb or how about a firebrand like Denis Kucinich for VP. I just e-mailed my representative to support his resolution of impeachment against Bush that was made this morning. I urge you all to do the same.

bill, okla (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:53 AM)

Uhhhhh.....
Maybe not
Let's get real...

Sam Nunn tooooooo OLD
Too tied to the military-industrial complex
If something were to happen to Obama, would Nunn be the 'Change we can beleive in' ?

Hillary Clinton - NO
John Kerry - Probably not
John Edwards - BINGO
Evan Bayh - NO, a business Democrat
Kathleen Sebelius - maybe
Ted Strickland - maybe, what's his record ?
Mark Warner - Why not ?
Tim Kaine - a good one, too
Jim Webb - Bingo
Bill Nelson - What are his views ?
Jack Reed - looks good, what are his views ?
Joe Biden - BINGO
Chris Dodd - BINGO
Tom Daschle - age ?
Sam Nunn - NO, NO, NO

And forget Bloomberg, a hawk
Hagel, a good man but anti-choice, Sec State ?

MSierra, SF (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:53 AM)

Obama-Richardson
or
Obama-Edwards

NO HILLARY!

We will not be pressured into choosing Clinton as V.P. just because some of her supporters have run out of prozac.

Bob Williams (Sent Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:54 AM)

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