Choosing a VP for Hillary

Now that Hillary Clinton has formally declared her candidacy for president -- and is in Iowa doing retail politics, stopping at gas stations, family businesses, restaurants to meet and talk with people -- it's not too early to start thinking about balancing the ticket.

Hillary is a woman, 72 years old, currently a resident of New York, and thought of as somewhat centrist within the Democratic party.   She is suspect of being too close to Wall Street and too quick to think of military solutions to suit the more progressive wing of the party -- although early indications are that she is starting out her campaign from a more populist, people-oriented stance.

My first choice for the perfect running mate for Hillary would be:  a young man, preferably Hispanic from a Southern state, someone the progressives could feel good about, and someone who has personal charm and warmth.    Here he is:    Julian Castro, 40, former three-term mayor of San Antonio, Texas;  now Obama's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the hit keynote speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.  (Both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama first came to national attention when giving the keynote address at the DNC).   Julien's identical twin brother Joaquin is a congressman from Texas.  Both are graduates of Stanford University and Harvard Law School.   Obviously a high achieving family.   He is married to a former school teacher, and they have two children.

Julien and Joaquin were born in San Antonio and raised by their single mother after the parents split when the twins were 8.   The grandmother had come from Mexico as an orphaned young girl, taken in by relatives, and never went beyond the fourth grade in school.   Julien's mother got a college education, later ran unsuccessfully for city council, and was an activist in the Chicano political party, instilling in her sons the idea that activism can bring change in people's lives for the better.

Besides having the requisite smarts and charm, Julien is very articulate, delivers one hell of a stump speech.  This theme from his 2013 DNC speech perfecftly captures the theme of Hillary's 2016 campaign: 

My family’s story isn’t special. What’s special is the America that makes our story possible. . . .  America didn’t become the land of opportunity by accident. My grandmother’s generation and generations before always saw beyond the horizons of their own lives and their own circumstances. They believed that opportunity created today would lead to prosperity tomorrow. That’s the country they envisioned, and that’s the country they helped build. The roads and bridges they built, the schools and universities they created, the rights they fought for and won — these opened the doors to a decent job, a secure retirement, the chance for your children to do better than you did.

 And that’s the middle class– the engine of our economic growth. With hard work, everybody ought to be able to get there. And with hard work, everybody ought to be able to stay there — and go beyond. . . .   [But hard work is not enough;  there also has to be opportunity.]

Twenty years ago, Joaquin and I left home for college and then for law school. In those classrooms, we met some of the brightest folks in the world. But at the end of our days there, I couldn’t help but to think back to my classmates at Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio. They had the same talent, the same brains, the same dreams as the folks we sat with at Stanford and Harvard. I realized the difference wasn’t one of intelligence or drive. The difference was opportunity.

We all understand that freedom isn’t free. What Romney and Ryan don’t understand is that neither is opportunity. We have to invest in it. . . .   

In the end, the American dream is not a sprint, or even a marathon, but a relay. Our families don’t always cross the finish line in the span of one generation. But each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor. My grandmother never owned a house. She cleaned other people’s houses so she could afford to rent her own. But she saw her daughter become the first in her family to graduate from college. And my mother fought hard for civil rights so that instead of a mop, I could hold this microphone.

And he brings perfect balance for Hillary:   Male, young, Hispanic from Texas, top notch education, very personable with an adorable family, and engaged in a favorite progressive activity -- dealing with housing for poor, inner city people.    Further, if either Marco Rubio or Jeb Bush (with his Mexican wife) is the GOP nominee, Julien Castro easily cancels out any advantage they might have in the Hispanic vote.

So put Julien Castro (or his brother) high up on the list of VP possibilities.   I can't think of a better balance for the ticket.    He could even put Texas into play. 

Ralph