DR. POLITICS

Peter Bergerson is a professor of public affairs at Florida Gulf Coast University. Before coming to Southwest Florida in 2002, he spent 34 years at Southeast Missouri State University, 17 as the Chair of the Political Science Department. If you have questions or responses to Dr. Politics columns, please contact Peter Bergerson at pbergers@fgcu.edu. Users can find the complete archive of the Dr. Politics columns here.

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What will be the next major decision by the presidential candidates?

At this point, the two major political parties seem to have settled on who they will nominate for the U.S. presidency later this summer.

The next significant decision by U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Republican nominee, and U.S. Sen. Barak Obama (D-Ill.), who everyone believes will be the Democratic nominee, will be the selection of a vice presidential running mate.

The office of vice president has come a long way since Franklin Roosevelt’s first vice president, John “Cactus Jack” Garner, compared the position to a “bucket of warm spit.” In the past 25 years vice presidents have played critical policy roles in presidential campaigns and administrations, with none more central than current Vice President Dick Cheney.

Thus, we will shortly be exposed to the vice presidential sweepstakes including, political posturing, pundit analysis, political gamesmanship and considerable public exposure given to the individuals selected.

Research suggests that only three to five percent of voters make a decision of which candidate to vote for based on who is the vice presidential candidate. Yet, in a close election as predicted this coming November, the selection of a running mate can have an important impact. Past vice presidential selection processes reveal at least five important issues to look for when presidential candidates select a running mate.

* First is a politician who will make a difference in one or more of the states that are critical to winning the 270 Electoral College votes need to win the presidency. This includes states such as Florida for Republicans and Ohio for the Democrats.

* Second, the president and vice president must be personally and politically compatible -- they must be a comfortable team.

* Third, the vice presidential selection must be one who will unite the party, an individual who can connect with a particular ideological segment of their party or voters in a particular geographical section of the country. The vice president is often seen as an emissary to a portion of the party’s base voters.

* Fourth, the president’s running mate must be an effective campaigner with a positive television presence. Furthermore, state party officials want a candidate with “coattails from the White House to the court house”. In addition this individual must have the ability to raise money and a lot of it.

* Finally, the vice presidential candidate must have a positive political legacy and area of policy expertise. The experience and background the vice president candidate will bring additional creditability and legitimacy to the Presidential candidate as a leader.

With the two presidential nominees all but certain, who the vice presidential candidates will be are the next important decisions on the road to the presidency.

Will Florida’s governor Charlie Crist be the Republican’s choice?