Chris Christie?...Newt Gingrich?...Ben Carson?...Sarah Palin?...Scott Brown?...Bob Corker?...Mike Pence?...Jeff Sessions?...Tom Cotton?...Mary Fallin?...Joni Ernst?...(and several other people you've never heard of, and will never hear of again)...
Nearly everything Trump has done this election has been unpredictable. Often the unpredictability has been accompanied with the generation of outrage - outrage not just by his opponents but often also by his own Republican Party. So, with that in mind, as I try to do the impossible and predict Donald Trump's future pick for running mate, I find myself focused on picking someone who fits the following five points of criteria:
1. Who is garnering almost zero attention by the media on the topic (and thus would be perceived as a complete unexpected surprise)?
2. Who would fit the criteria Trump himself has outlined regarding Washington and/or Military experience? (In conjunction with this, Trump has also indicated that he likes the idea of picking someone who has previously run/shown interest for the presidency)
3. Who has Trump not previously attacked (and/or attacked their family) - and likewise not attacked Trump back - so that the person could in reality be a viable option?
4. Who would actually accept the job if Trump offered it? (This eliminates a ton of people)?
5. Who would totally piss off the Republican establishment and grassroots activists? (Think John McCain wanting to pick Joe Lieberman in 2008)
When I try and fit all 5 things into one person, I am left with one candidate: Fmr. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)
If for no other reason(s), items 1 and 5 would be addressed by the fact that Webb is technically a Democrat (and once again, countless Republicans would lose their effing minds).
Item 2 is addressed by his professional experience as Sec. of the Navy in the 1980s under Reagan (back when Webb was a Republican) and then as a US Senator from Virginia last decade (note: Webb switched parties and ran for office in response to his opposition to the Bush Administration and the Iraq War -- Tim Kaine ultimately took over his seat).
Webb briefly ran in the Democratic Primary this election cycle and also previously lobbied for the opportunity 8 years ago to be picked by Obama as his veep (conventional wisdom is that amongst several issues, Webb failed to make Obama's short list mostly because he would've proved very problematic with women voters ... something tells me Trump would be unfazed by that). There was also a lot of chatter following Webb's withdrawal from this election primary that he would leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent third party (that ultimately did not happen of course). Lastly, Webb has since publicly voiced harsh opposition/criticism of Hillary while simultaneously making sure to be very moderate/cautious in his public comments about Trump.
Trump/Webb '16 ... it's hard to imagine ... and for that very reason I think it has a better chance to actually happen than perhaps any of those names I typed out at the beginning of this.
**FYI - Larry David as Bernie got all the attention, but Alec Baldwin is hilarious as Webb in the skit too!**
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