Two criteria help determine who will be VP: the front-runner’s orbit, and vote-getting
On its face, the vice presidency doesn’t sound like such a great gig. The Constitution limits its power to replacing the president and presiding over the Senate to cast tie-breaking votes. The very first VP, John Adams, described the position to his wife Abigail as follows: “My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived, or his imagination conceived.”
Adams wasn’t complaining when the platform enabled him to succeed George Washington as the nation’s second president. In all, 15 VPs went from “the most insignificant office” to the most powerful. It can be a valuable prize.
But that’s only if you win. Being vice president on a losing ticket is a lousy prize. Ask Sarah Palin, Joe Lieberman, and John Edwards how easy it is to grab your party’s nomination after failing as the number-two. Still, the chance to rise higher makes the veep stakes a political gamble worth taking.
Two criteria help determine who will be VP: the front-runner’s orbit, and vote-getting.
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