When Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar dropped out of contention to be Joe Biden’s running mate, it removed the last relative centrist from the pool of likely choices.
Though an unabashed liberal, during her presidential campaign, Klobuchar resisted the more extreme demands of the Left. Her experience and the boost she gave Biden in Minnesota by endorsing him made her a strong candidate to be his running mate, particularly as she’d fulfill the Democratic nominee’s pledge to pick a woman.
But Klobuchar’s candidacy to be vice president was fatally wounded by George Floyd’s death in her state of Minnesota. Fair or not, it led to stories about her reluctance to prosecute police officers during her time there as Hennepin County District Attorney. In bowing out, Klobuchar advised Biden to choose a woman of color to be his running mate.
Biden’s choice for vice president is perhaps more important than any in history. Were he to win, he’d be 78 at his swearing-in. That would make him older than President Ronald Reagan was when he left office, and it would mean that he’d be turning 80 midway through his first term.
As things stand, Biden seems to struggle to get through television interviews without stumbling. And that’s while conducting affairs mainly from his basement. It’s difficult to imagine what happens once he’s forced to endure the stress and rigors of the presidency, which has been known to rapidly age even those much younger.
Thus, Biden would probably have to lean on his vice president more than most. Biden’s age also makes it less likely that he’ll be in a position to seek a second term, giving his running mate a leg up on the competition to be the next Democratic presidential nominee.
If the Trump presidency has taught us anything, it’s that in any administration, policy is ultimately influenced by the coalition of activist groups and factions within a given party. As much as President Trump’s bombastic personality and populist rhetoric were a break with his party’s norm, he more or less pursued traditional Republican policies that have been pushed by donors and activists for decades — on abortion, judges, taxes, and regulatory policy, among others.
Biden, likewise, is going to be backed into supporting policies being pushed by his activist base. Though he owes his nomination to Democrats who were concerned about the radicalism of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a combination of the coronavirus crisis and the Floyd protests have Biden speaking in much more transformational terms than he had been when campaigning for the nomination.
Two of his leading candidates for vice president are California Sen. Kamala Harris and Susan Rice. During her own failed presidential campaign, Harris signed onto some of the most extreme policies of the Left, including calling for the end of private insurance and the Green New Deal. She also promised sweeping unilateral actions on guns, immigration, and healthcare.
Rice was deeply involved in the Obama-era scandals, including the Benghazi fiasco and the unmasking of Michael Flynn. She also helped drive the administration’s hostile stance toward Israel.
The big question facing a Biden presidency is whether he will be too feeble to control the more radical elements within his own party. The first big test will be who he chooses as his No. 2. With Klobuchar out, one reasonable liberal has been taken off of the board.
