ELIZABETH WARREN OR JULIAN CASTRO WILL BE HILLARY'S 2016 RUNNING MATE (CHRISTIE)

ELIZABETH WARREN OR JULIAN CASTRO WILL BE HILLARY'S 2016 RUNNING MATE:

DONALD TRUMP SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER CHRIS CHRISTIE.

Sources:  Vox, Chicago Tribune, NJ.com, YouTube 

****** Hillary Clinton’s VP shortlist has leaked. Here are the pros and cons of each

On last Thursday, the Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler and Colleen McCain Nelson broke the news that Hillary Clinton is vetting Elizabeth Warren for the vice presidency — but not vetting Bernie Sanders. In the process, they provided a shortlist of candidates that Clinton is considering:

Beyond the Massachusetts senator, other prospective candidates include Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro; Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Cory Booker of New Jersey; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Reps. Xavier Becerra of California and Tim Ryan of Ohio, several Democrats said.

Now, this isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list, and Meckler and Nelson note that the vetting is still in early stages, using publicly available information rather than asking candidates to submit tax returns and the like.

Nonetheless, this list is the best information we've gotten about who Clinton is considering, and it includes some names that haven’t popped up in prior media speculation. All of these candidates have obvious strengths that have put them on this list, but of course, they each have their weaknesses as well. 

1) Elizabeth Warren

The case for picking her: Vox’s Andrew Prokop ably summarized the pros and cons of picking Warren here, but suffice it to say she’s one of the most famous and popular Democratic politicians in the country, with a huge social media following and passionate fans among the Democratic base.

She’s proven to be an excellent anti–Donald Trump attack dog already this cycle, and her anti–Wall Street credentials and populist approach to economic issues would help shore up Sanders supporters who might be skeptical of Clinton’s ties to the financial sector. She would attract considerable media coverage, preventing Trump from dominating the news cycle, and her reputation for fighting against corruption and corporate influence helps rebut Trump’s "Crooked Hillary" attack line.

Picking Warren would be massively important as a step for women’s political representation. Some have speculated that Clinton could easily appoint an all-woman Cabinet — Secretary of State Wendy Sherman (or Susan Rice or Samantha Power), Secretary of Treasury Lael Brainard, Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy, etc. — and having a female running mate would be a great start.

Finally, Warren’s research as a law professor gave her considerable insight into the working of the administrative state, especially as it relates to the economic conditions of middle-class families. That could translate into a skill at exploiting the federal bureaucracy for progressive ends, a skill that is more useful when in the executive branch than the Senate.

The case against picking her: Let’s start with the fact that Warren has accused Clinton of flip-flopping on bankruptcy legislation due to donations and pressure from the financial industry:

Warren was not planning on becoming a politician at this point, which helps explain her candor, but all the same it would be jarring for Clinton to pick someone who's accused her of being bought and paid for — and it's not a stretch to imagine Clinton would find it hard to work with someone who at least once thought so little of her.

Even if Clinton doesn’t find that disqualifying, Warren's independent profile suggests she might try to maintain an individual identity and avoid hewing too closely to Clinton’s message. That could prove aggravating to the would-be president, especially if Warren uses her command of the press to try to push the administration leftward.

An all-woman ticket would be a statement, but it also might be too much for the American people to handle, and the 2008 race suggested that Clinton is pretty small-c conservative about that kind of thing. Her VP shortlist then was then-Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH), then-Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), former Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA), and Joe Biden: all boring, safe white dudes.

Clinton could also be wary of pissing off financial sector donors, and it bears mentioning that rich people all over America hate Elizabeth Warren and regard her as a dangerous economically illiterate charlatan. "The prospect of a Warren vice presidency could well drive the 1 percent straight into Trump’s arms, help the billionaire solve his fundraising problems, and make for a closer race in the end," Prokop notes.

Last but not least, Massachusetts has a Republican governor, meaning that electing Warren would give Republicans an extra Senate seat for at least a little bit. There'd be a special election shortly thereafter, thanks to a 2004 change in the law meant to limit then-Gov. Mitt Romney’s ability to replace John Kerry should he have won the presidency, but Democrats should not be overly confident about their ability to win Senate special elections in the state after what happened in 2010.

TRUMP CHOOSES CHRISTIE AS VP PICK, NO MORE POLITICAL GIMMICKS

TRUMP CHOOSES CHRISTIE AS VP PICK, NO MORE POLITICAL GIMMICKS

I HAVE NO PROBLEM VOTING FOR TWO WHITE MEN.

I'M TIRED OF RACE & GENDER BEING USED TO ATTRACT BLACK VOTERS.

Sources: The Hill, Fox News, Youtube

The best choice Donald J Trump could make for his VP pick would be none other than no nonsense  New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

Since Christie has already endorsed Trump, this would be a great fit.

I'm tired of Political parties using Race and Gender as Voting Gimmicks to attract Black voters.

Yes I would cast my ballot for the Trump-Christie ticket.

****** Trump: Christie could have ‘a place’ on my ticket (Circa Nov 2015)

Donald Trump said Wednesday that would have room for Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) in his presidential administration.

“[He is] a very good guy,” Trump said when asked about the fellow presidential candidate, according to NBC News.

There could certainly be a place for him,” he added when a questioner floated Christie as Trump’s potential running mate in 2016.

Trump was appearing in Manchester, N.H.. for one of the Granite State’s Politics & Eggs events. NBC News said Wednesday that the business mogul addressed a wide range of policy issues.

Among the topics he discussed were education, immigration and even the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA).

“Nothing [is] more important than higher education and education in general,” Trump said. "It’s so important to our economy.

“It’s great,” he said of NASA. “You know, in the old days, it was great.

“Right now we have bigger problems,” the real estate tycoon added. "We’ve got to fix our potholes.”

Christie and Trump both spent Tuesday night in Milwaukee for the fourth GOP presidential debate.

The two men were separated into different portions of the contest, however. Christie appeared in the undercard event because he did not meet Fox Business Network’s minimum polling threshold for the main stage.

The New Jersey governor made the most of his spot by fiercely criticizing Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.

“I saw the most disgraceful thing of the campaign a few weeks ago,” Christie said. "Hillary Clinton was asked the enemy she was most proud of and she said, ‘Republicans.’

“In the world where we have al Qaeda and [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria], the mullahs in Iran and [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, the woman who asks to run and represent all of the United States says her greatest enemies are people like you in this audience and us here,” he added, citing Clinton’s remarks during the first Democratic presidential debate on Oct. 13 in Las Vegas.

Trump, meanwhile, took center stage during the Republican contest’s main card in Milwaukee. He earned approximately 24 percent of the event’s Twitter traffic, edging out the seven other competitors on stage.

Meghan Stapleton, Palin's Top Aide Has Resigned

Top Aide To Sarah Palin Resigns


Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s senior adviser and spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton, has resigned, POLITICO has learned.

Stapleton has been a Palin confidante since December 2006 and one of the governor’s most trusted aides since she was vaulted onto the national political scene by being picked as GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s running mate.

Stapleton said she resigned to spend more time with her husband and 2-year-old daughter, Isabella.

“While it has been an honor to help Gov. Palin and her family over the last few years, I am also honored to have this incredible opportunity to stay home with my precious miracle, Isabella,” Stapleton told POLITICO. "[She is] 2 years old, [and] I have missed significant moments in her life, but I look forward with great happiness to celebrating milestones as well as mundane moments with her as I refocus my priorities. I also look forward to seeing my saint of a husband again, too!”

Since the end of the presidential campaign, Stapleton has been one of only a handful of aides and trusted contacts maintained by Palin through her transition from governor, to national political figure, to author, to Fox News contributor and one of the unofficial leaders of the tea party movement.

In that time, Stapleton was a key strategic adviser and the pipeline for anyone seeking Palin’s attention, including Republican officials and reporters.

“Meg has been deeply involved in all things Palin and instrumental in Sarah's many successes,” Fred Malek, a prominent Republican fundraiser and Palin friend, told POLITICO. “It’s hard to replace anyone so loyal, tireless and effective, but the Palin phenomenon will continue. Meg has surely earned the privilege to devote more time to her 2-year-old daughter, but I expect she will continue to render advice to her good friend on key issues.”

Prior to working for the former governor, Stapleton was director of scheduling and advance for Republican National Committee Co-Chairwoman Jeanie Austin, an assistant for Malek at Thayer Capital Partners and a local television news reporter in New York, Pennsylvania and Alaska.

Palin and her now ex-aide have been talking about her stepping down for some time, and it became official on Wednesday — Stapleton’s birthday.

Stapleton has been employed by Palin’s PAC since helping to launch it in January 2009. In an e-mail to the staff last week, she wrote: “Earlier this week, I handed Governor Palin my resignation, effective the end of this month.”

“While I had hoped to work together on so many more projects, time with my precious 2-year-old has been further minimized with the whirlwind commitments of all things Palin,” she told the SarahPAC staff. “I have done my best to scale back, but Isabella is now resorting to hiding my BlackBerry, and she shouldn't grow up begging for a mother to start acting like a mother.”



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Sources: Politico, Google Maps

Palin: "VP Nod Didn't Come As A Huge Shock"

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Sources: MSNBC