“I would hate to see Herman Cain wasted as a VP. He is much more qualified than to have him cooling his heels in a do-nothing job.”
That would all depend on what role the President carves out for the V.P. There is nothing that prevents a President from having the VP preside over the Senate, break the rare tie vote AND do all sorts of other stuff. Make him lead of the council of economic advisors. Prop him up and use him as a real partner in running things. To do otherwise with Herman Cain would, I agree, be a waste of talent.
The problem is that the conventional wisdom in picking a VP candidate has been for short term political gain. Usually the front runner picking the runner up or picking someone with a different geographic appeal. I think Dick Cheney was the first VP in recent times who was picked contrary to that logic. He was picked to be a partner for Pres. Bush. And to his (very little) credit, that’s what I think motivated barky in picking the gaffe-master as VP.
As usual, I would expect Sarah Palin to flip conventional wisdom on it’s head. Try this one on for fun: when President Palin fires ben bernanke at the end of his term, why not have VP Cain as chairman of the fed as well? I don’t believe there is any legal reason why she couldn’t do that. And he just happens to be incredibly qualified for the job.
I like it, and I agree Sarah can and probably will create a new role for her VP, should she get the chance.
I would rather see Allen West as her VP, but that's just me. That would be a badass ticket!