When it comes to choosing a vice president,
Joe Biden has different reasons for selecting each contender.
Biden likes Sen.
Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) ideas and proposals. He admires Sen.
Kamala Harris’s (D-Calif.) lawyerly straightforwardness and moxie. Susan Rice, President Obama’s former national security adviser, worked alongside him in the White House and Biden has seen her work ethic up close.
But Sen.
Tammy Duckworth represents something close to Biden’s heart: She’s an American hero.
The Illinois Democrat, a veteran who lost both legs in the Iraq War and received the Purple Heart, is on Biden's shortlist. And some in Biden World who know the former vice president will say Duckworth is exactly the kind of partner who is well-suited to the former vice president.
“Anyone who knows him well knows what the United States military means to him,” said one confidant. “And the fact of the matter is, she doesn't just check the boxes, she has an incredible story and it represents not only who the vice president is at his core but the narrative he's been talking about since his campaign began.”
“You could very easily see why she’s in contention for this job,” the confidant added.
Sen. dikk Durbin (D), the senior senator from Illinois, said he supports Duckworth being named Biden’s running mate and added that he has told this to Biden’s team.
“She’s an incredible story, life story,” Durbin said in an interview. “Disabled veteran, amazing determination, who’s remade her life and now serves in the Senate. She is a symbol of success for the disability community.
“She has a lot of things going for her,” the senator added. “She carries counties in Illinois that I don’t because people respect her military credentials.”
Durbin, who said he knows Duckworth has “been in the mix for awhile” on Biden’s shortlist, noted that “writers and other political leaders” have touted Duckworth to him.
“A former senator, Democratic senator, contacted me last week and said she’s a great choice,” he added. “She’s a face of the veteran community, disability community, Asian American community. She has a lot of things going for her.”
Biden, who has committed to selecting a woman as his running mate, said this week he would make a decision next week.
On Thursday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) told Yahoo News that he has pushed Biden to pick Duckworth, saying “a war hero would make a terrific vice president of the United States.”
Most qualified?
but couldn't even make it to Super Tuesday? Running for president isn't that hard to do.
