Worst Modern VP Picks

Who could believe he was actually that big a scumbag?

(NEWSER) - Andrew Sullivan is really, really sorry for not doggedly pursuing the John Edwards scandal in the same way he went after, say, Sarah Palin. But he has a good reason: “It seemed too awful for me to believe.” Who would imagine that “a husband could do that to his wife then,” when she had terminal cancer? All of us, Sullivan says, obviously excluding the National Enquirer, just “assumed that he wasn't one of the biggest assholes on the planet.” More»

(NEWSER) - A lot of things would have been better in America if Walter Cronkite had been elected vice president in 1972, writes Frank Mankiewicz in the Washington Post, and it could have happened. Mankiewicz was the political director for George McGovern’s campaign, and, “armed with a poll showing Walter Cronkite to be the most trusted man in America, I proposed that the senator put forward Walter Cronkite for vice president.” More»

But is the focus on her look just sexist?

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin: Hockey mom, moose-hunter … trend setter? Marie Claire says Palin's $375 designer glasses are “a style hit,” and opticians have been flooded with inquiries about the Kazuo Kawasaki 704s, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s always been, ‘Men don’t make passes at girls that wear glasses,'" says one fan of the frames. "In seeing her, I think that’s all changed now." More»

1988 Republican VP candidate offers advice: 'Be yourself'

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin’s entrance into the election campaign seems like déjà vu to Dan Quayle, who played that part for the Republicans in 1988. Like Palin, he was supposed to connect an old moderate to the party base and win over the Midwest with small-town charm. And like Palin, he got a face-full of negative press. “It sure sounded familiar,” Quayle told the Los Angeles Times. More»

Real test: can she woo undecideds?

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin earned roars from the primed Republican crowd last night in St. Paul—but it remains to be seen whether she can translate that enthusiasm to undecided voters, writes Adam Nagourney in the New York Times. “It’s more difficult with someone of her background to go on the attack than it would be for Joe Biden” with his years of experience, a former GOP senator tells Nagourney. More»