Do Vice Presidents matter?

[ellsworth81]

Ok, now that Kerry has brought on Edwards ... it begs the question .... does it matter, based upon past VP behavir/conduct and actual privileges and powers afforded to the VP?

Some real commentary in this thread would be appreciated!

[VV o n g B a]

one name comes to mind... cheney. he's had one of the most powerful vice presidencies ever.

but no matter ur nominal position in the white house, u can have significant power in areas that are not in ur stated purview. jfk's brother robert had a significant role in foreign policy if the movie 13 days is to be believed and he was attorney general. there have been secretaries of state in US history that have tried to be de facto prime ministers. hillary was an important factor in the first clinton presidency until the public reaction to her medical plan caused her stock to nosedive. i think it really depends upon the individual. his intelligence, his relationship w/ others in the white house and his ambition are the real limiting factors.

w/ kerry and edwards in particular... prolly not so much. edwards is prolly ambitious but kerry supposedly doesn't like edwards all that much so he's not gonna let too much go to edwards.

[lethal]

As far as the election is concerned, a Vice President has not single handedly delivered his home state for the winner since LBJ in 1960. Thankfully, VP's are now picked more on qualifications than they are due to their geographic positioning.

If the Senate is ever split again, the VP casts the tiebreaking vote, which is important because the Senate is that close to being split 50-50 again.

[ism]

Mondale's choice of Geraldine Ferraro helped sink his ship faster. I don't think America's ready for the possibility of a woman in charge until 2012 at a minimum. Which is kinda sad when you look at other countries...

[kasia]

John Edwards For President!

[kimpossible]

Sure they matter. Consider the impact Dan Quayle had. His legacy...

[ChinaLama]

Sure they matter. Consider the impact Dan Quayle had. His legacy...

Family values, man, Family values.

John Edwards For President!

I wonder how many Democrats think they should've changed their vote during the primary.

[Danny]

If Edwards were running for Pres, I would hands down vote for him. Kerry just makes me want to strangle him everytime I see him.

[Yeahman]

Edwards is just a young more energetic Kerry with a worse trade policy.