Vice President

Is Bill Bradley on Barack Obama's short list for Vice President?: Getty Images Photo
Politifax’s Nick Acocella reports this week that former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley is a top contender to become Barack Obama’s veep pick.

Acocella wrote that a former Democratic governor from another state told him “that the former Hall of Fame basketball player, the former Senator, the former presidential candidate, and the current post-politics intellectual is not only very high on Barack Obamas vice presidential short list but also the preferred choice of master strategist David Axelrod.”

While the bulk of the state’s prominent politicos came out for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, Bradley endorsed Obama in January.

Bradley sought the Democratic presidential nomination against Al Gore in 2000.

Will Bob Menendez make a play for a spot on the national ticket?

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez doesn’t seem to be gunning for vice president. But he won’t completely rule out the prospect either.

“I am just focused on two things: standing up for the families of New Jersey in the Senate, just as we’re doing with the stimulus package where we got higher rates for the rebates, and secondly making sure Hillary has a big win on Super Tuesday and beyond and becomes the candidate of the party,” he said. “Everything else beyond that is so speculative. I appreciate the flattering comments.”

Menendez’s name was first floated by Clinton National Finance Co-Chair John F.X. Graham, who called him the “most intriguing choice.”

Gov. Jon Corzine likes the idea of Bob Menendez running for Vice President
Gov. Jon Corzine said that he’s not involved with Hillary Clinton’s potential choices for Vice President. But he thinks Bob Menendez would be a good one.

“First of all, it would be a great choice, but I have no idea. I’m not involved in that,” said Corzine before boarding a train that whisked him down to Washington, DC for the Chamber of Commerce’s Walk on Washington. “Clearly Bob has played a meaningful role in the national campaign because of his leadership of Hispanics for Mrs. Clinton, and he’s an able spokesperson on any of the issues he speaks out about.”

New Jersey Democrats keep talking about Bob Menendez for Vice President: Getty Images Photo

Hillary Clinton should pick Bob Menendez as her running mate, says Rep. Rob Andrews.  "I think Bob Menendez would be great for the job and I would love to see it happen for New Jersey and for him," said Andrews, a ten-term Congressman and Clinton supporter. 

The Menendez for Vice President campaign was launched last week by John F.X. Graham, a New Jersey Democratic fundraiser and Clinton’s national finance co-chairman.  Several key state Democrats have signed on as supporters of Menendez for a slot on the national ticket, and on Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that the New Jersey Senator would make a strong vice presidential candidate.   

Representative Donald Payne doesn’t think that "Vice President Bob Menendez" sounds too absurd.

“If he became vice president, I would think that some of our issues could certainly be heard more in the executive branch of government, so I certainly think it would be a very big plus for New Jersey,” said Payne.

Payne endorsed Hillary Clinton early this month, and served with Menendez for 13 years in the House of Representatives. In Menendez, Payne sees a politician like himself, who worked him self up from the lower rungs of local government to a prominent position at the federal level.

Chalk up another prominent New Jersey politician who thinks Bob Menendez would be a fine vice-presidential pick in the extremely improbable event that Hillary Clinton chooses him as a running mate.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg.

Weinberg, who supports Barack Obama, praised Menendez for his recent work on causes like Iraq, the economy and health care. 

“I think that the more time he spends on that as opposed to other areas, I think the better US Senator he’s become, and I think that people in New Jersey should be very proud of him,” said Weinberg. 

Weinberg said that the U.S. Attorney’s investigation into Menendez in 2006 should not hurt his prospects.

Bill Clinton and Bob Menendez in 2006. Hillary Clinton's National Finance Co-Chairman thinks Menendez should run for VP
Former President Bill Clinton will appear in South Jersey tomorrow to campaign for his wife.

Clinton will attend a rally at the Papiano Gymnasium at Camden County College in Blackwood. The rally is scheduled from 10:15am to 12:15pm

The campaign stop comes less than a week Hillary Clinton attended two rallies and a fundraiser in northern New Jersey last week, and two and a half months after Bill Clinton headlined a fundraiser in New Brunswick.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says Bob Menendez for Vice President is "not without some degree of rationality.”: Getty Images Photo
The Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives says that U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez would make a good vice presidential candidate.

“He and I were good friends from his first day in the Congress many years ago, so I’m not objective on that,” Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told PolitickerNJ.com during a campaign swing through New Jersey today on behalf of Democratic congressional candidates. “But I think he brings a lot of unique attributes to that possibility. Now whether that’s going to happen or not, I don’t know. It’s not without some degree of rationality.”

Hillary Clinton’s National Finance Co-Chairman, John F.X. Graham, said yesterday that Clinton should pick Menendez for Vice President.

A top Clinton campaign fundraiser says Bob Menendez would make an ideal candidate for Vice President: Getty Images Photo
Vice President Bob Menendez?

John F.X. Graham, one of Hillary Clinton's National Finance Co-Chairs, thinks that the New Jersey Senator would make a great choice if Clinton wins the Democratic primary.

Graham fired off an email this morning to Clinton Campaign Manager Terry McAuliffe listing politicians who would make good vice presidential material, including the choices most often brought up: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, John Edwards and Joe Biden. But Menendez, a Clinton campaign national co-chair, would be the "most intriguing" choice, Graham wrote.

Graham said that, like Richardson, Menendez can appeal to the increasingly important Latino voting bloc, but has universal appeal as well. And Mendendez's Cuban heritage makes him well received in Florida's predominantly Republican Cuban-American community.

"The name Richardson does not exactly sound Latino," wrote Graham. "The Latino voting block is becoming the most influential in this election, especially with the immigration and other economic issues confronting our prosperity. For a lack of a better term, he is the Latino Barack Obama with the experience."