A VP can make or break a campaign

[@equalopportunityoffender1816]

"A tight race like 2008" Are y'all in the same universe as us?

[@Grungelover98]

Yeah that was a blowout I think it would have been closer with ridge or pawlettey on the ticket

[@ER1CwC]

There is some political science that indicates that it was only a big win, and not a landslide, because of Obama’s race.

[@chrisn7986]

Yh there was 1000% percent going to be a Democrat in the white house that year

[@Arbitar117]

At the beginning of the general election, before the 2008 financial recession, YES. The election was super close based on polling (mid August to beginning of September).

[@TaftAvenue]

@@Arbitar117 Agreed. Though Obama was usually ahead of McCain in the opinion polls, it was really close up until the final weeks of the campaign (mid-September onwards). It did become an electoral college blowout/landslide (in modern-day standards) but it could have been a lot closer.

[@ericj3331]

Palin lost McCann votes but 2008 wasn't gonna be a tight race against obama after a financial meltdown and a super unpopular president. Would have lost with or without her imo

[@ji8044]

Quite correct, this video is thoroughly wrong.

[@Yhsprs711]

Palin was a hail mary pick, just like how Mondale picked Ferraro. Both had negative impacts on their campaigns, but they wouldve lost anyway.

[@fytos13]

Thats correct ,nobody expected McCain to win after 8 years of Bush administration ,with a financial crisis that had just exploded , and with an opponent so charismatic like Obama. Palin may cost McCain votes but certainly not the chance to win

[@ErinWalker-je4vw]

Sarah Palin salvaged John McCain from losing in the double digits. Sarah Palin bought conservatives to the polls in places where they otherwise would have stayed home.

[@The_king567]

Palin didn’t hurt McCain

[@terrywestbrook-lienert2296]

What happened to Thomas Eagleton was shameful. Those dealing with mental illness were demonized back then. 😢

[@joshrandolph7718]

They still are today, just a lesser extent

[@MrHam-sk3kr]

"a tight race like 2008" INDIANA WENT BLUE! nothing about this race was tight

[@felezeros4556]

THAT'S THEIR POOOOOOOIIIIIINNNNNNNTTTTTT!!! In the beginning, this election was close, but things like the wrong VP pick made this election anything but close.

[@MrHam-sk3kr]

@@felezeros4556 looking back at old polling numbers, obama was leading in basically every poll since even before August by and average of like 4 points. Sure Palin probably gave him a wider margin but the race was never going to be close

[@felezeros4556]

@@MrHam-sk3kr Democrats need to have 4 points or more to win the electoral college. This was close.

[@abcdefg5459]

Compared to the 20th century, 2008 was very tight.

[@ChristopherDell-mq2ct]

2008 was never close. Close to normal, maybe. Aside from Palin...

[@AidanJohnson-lm7mw]

I don't feel the conclusion isn't well supported by the points made in the video. Palin probably did cost McCain a few votes in 2008, which may have made a difference had the election been close, but it wasn't. That's why she was picked in the first place. The 2008 election is described as a "tight race" but every other election this century was significantly closer. The VP pick is definitely a factor in the election but not a "make or break" factor I don't think.

[@cdjhyoung]

I think you under play the negative impact Palin had from her first speech on in the McCain campaign. Obama was a relatively unknown candidate before the primaries. McCain was well known and respected by most people that follow politics. Palin never showed herself to have the knowledge to lead any organization, and her foolish answers and statement were something she couldn't out run. If McCain had ever had a chance int eh election, he gave it up nominating Palin as VP.

[@Yourordinaryuser_]

@@cdjhyoung McCain wasn't exactly loved by the GOP base. Palin was beloved by the GOP, which 100% helped McCain.

[@Blackskye211]

I’d never thought we’d see someone worse than palin but along came Vance.

[@JasperBaron-z1d]

Pence was a worse running mate

[@somefella6989]

​@@JasperBaron-z1d Pence had demographic appeal; he was a reassurance that Christians could vote for this casino-running divorcee who embodied lust. He has far more traditional logic behind him than Vance, who is more of a Gore-type personal pick; we know both that Trump Jr. vouched for Vance hard when Sr. was about to pick Burghum, and that Trump's main consideration was this: If I try J6 again, will you stand by me? Will you aid me in stealing an election, by refusing to certify votes for an opponent?

[@eggselent9814]

@@JasperBaron-z1d Pence was actually a pretty good running mate in terms of being a running mate. He was a more classical conservative in comparison to Trump, but still not really part of the "Swamp" that Trump criticized in his 2016 campaign. And Pence did very well in the debates, especially against Tim Kaine

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@JasperBaron-z1dPence was an excellent running mate. He really showed that Evangelicals could vote for a morally bankrupt candidate. And he did ultimately save democracy.

[@JasperBaron-z1d]

@@thomasffrench3639 but he eluded to believing that ECT was a cure for homosexuality and supports a national abortion ban! Trump(compared to most Republicans) is moderate on abortion and he's the ONLY Republican president to say he's fine with Same sex marriage while still president. Pence had no choice but to certify the election -ANYONE would have been put in that sort of danger if they were VP! I refuse to fawn over him!

[@MikeCee7]

Surprising, no mention of Dan Quayle. He certainly didn’t “help” the ticket. George HW should’ve gone with someone else 1992.

[@munimathbypeterfelton6251]

I think Bush knew he didn’t have another four years in him. He was already 68 years old by then and had served in the White House for 12 years as Vice President-turned-President. So he didn’t campaign very hard and essentially surrendered to Clinton by looking at his (Bush’s) watch during one of the 1992 Presidential Debates.

[@MikeCee7]

@@munimathbypeterfelton6251 That’s way too much of generational, just because he looked at his watch, doesn’t mean he really didn’t want to win the election and be president. If you are of age at that time in 1992, you would’ve known that Bush was pretty shocked & (not thrilled)(for lack of using another phrase) that he lost the election. it was a mistake he made at the debate to look at his watch, (just like others candidates who lost the first debate, and won the 2nd debate) You can’t say Obama “didn’t want to win” when he did so poorly in the first debate against Romney in 2008. - You can pretty much say thanks to Ross Perot, that took away a lot of would be votes for Bush. Ross Perot got 19% of the popular vote, which is incredible. And it’s pretty well known that if it wasn’t for Perot, the results of the election would’ve been different.

[@munimathbypeterfelton6251]

@@MikeCee7 I was alive in 1992 believe it or not! And I saw that whole election cycle play out from beginning to end! Of course, no American President or presidential candidate is happy that they lost an election. But when you’re out of steam the way Bush was in ‘92 and the way Biden was earlier this year, it becomes evident that the end of the road is near. And I said that Bush didn’t campaign very diligently. I didn’t say he wanted to lose. There is a difference. And Ross Perot can’t be blamed for Bush’s failure to win re-election. The American people wanted and needed a change in leadership. The Republicans had ruled the White House for 12 straight years and the average Joe in this country was suffering severely due to Reaganomics and the economy tanking from the Gulf War under Daddy Bush. Had Bush gotten re-elected, the economy would have tanked even further and the country would have become more like what it is today economically. Heck, Reaganomics is still very much in effect!

[@munimathbypeterfelton6251]

@@MikeCee7 Also to touch upon Quayle: Daddy Bush believed in Quayle right from the beginning. And since Bush won in ‘88 with Quayle as his running mate (and Quayle was loathed by everybody of all political parties back then as well), he didn’t feel the need to drop him from the ticket. The American people who voted did just that though!!

[@fortyfourandgore9787]

Fond memories of a time when the biggest VP controversies were when someone couldn't spell potato and exaggerated about what they could see from their backyard. 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@Master_WannaBe_]

I don’t think the argument is well supported. Sure, a VP candidate can possibly have an effect on the presidential candidate’s chances, but in each one of the examples listed, the outcomes were simply due to the circumstances of the time. In 2008, no republican candidate was gonna win because of the 2008 recession and the unpopular war in Iraq all happened under the W Bush administration. All the Democratic Party had to do was just present a candidate. In 1972, the Nixon administration was at its most popular because the US was beginning to gradually ends its role in Vietnam, the economy was strong, and Americans felt he had delivered on his promise of “law and order” in 1968. Speaking of 1968, that was one of the most chaotic years for Americans in the 20th century. Between the climax of the Vietnam War with the Tet Offensive, multiple high profile assassinations, and the 1968 DNC and race riots, the Johnson Administration was at its most unpopular that he decided to not run for reelection and positioned Humphrey as his successor. Of course, everyone saw Humphrey as an extension of Johnson, and don’t even get me started on the split southern vote with Wallace. Nixon positioning himself as the Law and Order candidate paved a clear path for him to the White House. And the 1992 Clinton victory can be summed in four words, “Its the economy, stupid!”

[@brodynwilson4589]

Actually 1992 can be summed up in only three words “No New Taxes” Narrator: However, there were in fact new taxes. Bush really screwed himself over by saying that in 88 even if it took 4 years to come back to haunt him.

[@darkchocolate3390]

From Clinton's memoir on why he choose Gore: "In the end, I decided to ask Al Gore. At first, I didn’t think I would. On our previous encounters, the chemistry between us had been correct but not warm. His selection defied the conventional wisdom that the vice-presidential candidate should provide political and geographic balance: We were from neighboring states. He was even younger than I was. A he, too, was identified with the New Democrat wing of the party. I believed his selection would work precisely because it didn’t have the traditional kind of balance. It would present America with a new generation of leadership and prove I was serious about taking the party and the country in a different direction. I also thought his selection would be good politics in Tennessee, the South, and other swing states. Moreover, Al would provide balance in a far more important way: He knew things I didn’t. I knew a lot about economics, agriculture, crime, welfare, education, and health care, and had a good grasp of the major foreign policy issues. Al was an expert on national security, arm control, information technology, energy, and the environment. He was one of ten Senate Democrats to support President Bush in the first Gulf War. He had attended the global biodiversity conference in Rio de Janeiro, and strongly disagreed with President Bush’s decision not to support the treaty that came out of it. He had recently written a best-selling book,Earth in the Balance, arguing that problems like global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer, and the destruction of rain forests required a radical reorientation of our relationship to the environment. He had given me an autographed copy of the book the previous April. I read it, learned a lot, and agreed with his argument. Besides knowing more about subjects that we’d have to deal with if elected, Al understood Congress and the Washington culture far better than I did. Most important, I thought he would be a good President if something happened to me, and I thought he’d have an excellent chance to be elected after I finished." They may have been similar in age, geography and policy, but they complimented each other really well.

[@ak6188]

Thanks for info

[@marketads1]

So basically, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

[@PolIdeas-2024]

Actuarial tables show that the average 78 year old has only a 75% chance of making it to 82. VP pick should be even more important if you are considering Trump.

[@ryleynadhir4685]

There's a good amount of 78 year olds living in poverty. Trump is clearly not an average 78 year old and his odds would probably be about 95%, especially if elected president, cause the healthcare he'd receive would be top class

[@RudieObias]

Ah yes, back when "lack of preparedness" was an unelectable flaw...

[@milhouse14]

JD Vance is certainly not helping Trump. He even has a lower favorability rating than Trump. 😂

[@wham-shirt-trimmer]

Vance dressings in drag in college sure isn't helping.

[@bobblueford]

Wow! Quite an accomplishment.

[@no_name4796]

Jd vance is certainly not helping trump, he doesn't give trump a swing state, nor is he popular On the other side, tim walz is by far the most popular put of the 4 candidates, and he can actually help kamala get more votes Yeah, i really strongly believe VP picks are what will decide this close election

[@kylegoodreau2170]

​@Hiljaa_ lol 😂 you're hilarious if you believe that for even a second 🤣

[@somecallmesean_]

@@Hiljaa_like how harris destroyed trump

[@kingace6186]

I think Tim Walz is the best surprise running mate in US History. Dude is America's dad.

[@therealcaesar3157]

I was surprised that the Democrats made a good campaign for once

[@Warriorcats64]

Which is exactly what everyone said about Tim Kaine. Then he couldn't hold up against Mike Pence.

[@therealcaesar3157]

@Warriorcats64 Mike Pence was a decent VP pick by Trump, though. Vance is unappealing even when he isn't being challeged to a debate

[@derpidius6306]

​@@therealcaesar3157the donut shop incident 💀

[@therealcaesar3157]

@@derpidius6306 "A WHOLE LOTTA GLAZE, SOME SPRINKLE STUFF, WHATEVER MAKES SENSE"🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️🔥🔥🔥

[@snaplash]

I was undecided in 2008, but after hearing Palin speak a few times, I went with Obama, which turned out to be a very good choice. Been voting blue ever since then.

[@BilleteZtudiosOficial]

The guy was actually thinking about supporting a boomer warmonger like McCain and only stopped supporting him because of a woman's comments 💀💀💀💀

[@orome9793]

@@BilleteZtudiosOficial Probably voting for Harris now that she's got Dick Cheney's endorsement. Liz Cheney is even campaigning with Harris LMAO. Meanwhile the likes of Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr went the other direction.

[@Qatari2007]

@@orome9793and her own BROTHER!

[@tsb7911]

Clinton picking Gore was brilliant. Clinton already had the NE and Pacific coast, he needed another Southerner. Also veto pick is highly underrated.

[@VenomSnakeMGS]

VP pick is so over overstated in it's impact. I'd argue the last time it really mattered was 1960.

[@baumsteiger8918]

Dan Quayle must be an anomaly.

[@munimathbypeterfelton6251]

The only reason the Bush/Quayle ticket won in 1988 was because of the response to the opening question in the second presidential debate that year imposed onto Michael Dukakis by Bush’s best buddy Bernard Shaw.

[@JasperBaron-z1d]

@@baumsteiger8918 Reagan was already widely supported though

[@Gabriel-ll2iv]

It broke John McCain. The story is when Hilary lost the nomination all the women who voted for Hilary Clinton said they wouldn’t support Obama so to sweeten the deal John McCain chose a female VP.

[@jennymacallan9071]

That story is indeed a story. Whoever floated that one doesn't know women Democrats very well.

[@tudorjason]

2:00 - Electroshock Therapy usage has sharply declined, and awareness of mental health prevalence has sharply increased. Therefore, this kind of scandal wouldn't happen again.

[@aznsensation44]

Sorry but VPs have historically been unimpactful on any campaign. People vote for - and remember - the president, not the vice president. The 2008 and 1972 elections were landslides and its ridiculous to blame that landslide loss on the VP pick 😂

[@kingace6186]

McCain was a great man but his party was too stained thanks to Bush 43, and Palin was doing him no favors. IDK, maybe he should have chose a Democrat or Independent to be his running mate.

[@munimathbypeterfelton6251]

The only other option for a Republican running mate in 2008 was former primary candidate Mitt Romney.

[@mypdshp9309]

He originally did wanted to get Joe Lieberman, but his staff convinced him otherwise

[@ashtviceland]

2:19 LBJ v Goldwater was a bigger landslide

[@allthingssports4957]

That was 486-52. Nixon won 1972 521-17

[@ashtviceland]

@@allthingssports4957 I was talkin popular vote

[@SamWinchester000]

It was the largest popular vote landslide in history.

[@aaronTGP_3756]

By popular vote, but not electoral vote.

[@jancelabobo8238]

2024: Trump chooses a yapping chihuahua. Harris chooses a protective but lovable Labrador.

[@Brandon-c6f]

Vance honestly a better politician he is great at explaining things unlike that Marxist walz

[@andersnelson]

😂 Maybe you're right 👍

[@ryleynadhir4685]

Both are evil

[@aaronTGP_3756]

@@ryleynadhir4685 Vance is. Walz has flaws like the rest of us.

[@slaqasdq8787]

These were all big moves but they were in no way making or breaking ANY of these campaigns.

[@oliversherman2414]

"A tight race like 2008" I'm sorry, what? 😂

[@jgonascar]

Al Gore would be President if he selected Jeanne Shaheen instead of Joe Lieberman.

[@honeycomblord9384]

I mostly know Lieberman as one of the dorks who was against "vIoLenT ViDEo GaMes" (and also wanting to do a strike on Iran in more recent times). Somehow Cheney was worse, though

[@conqueringthelabyrinth]

Palin was the reason I first voted democrat. So 60 years ago mental health issues were enough to get someone off a ticket? 🤔

[@jennymacallan9071]

But being an idiot wasn't, apparently.

[@dhenderson1810]

What about Spiro Agnew? He was VP under Richard Nixon. He got fired and replaced as VP by Gerald Ford.

[@blakekaveny]

No he didn’t get fired. Agnew resigned. Like the president the VP is an elected official and can’t get fired.

[@sa3270]

Sarah Palin would be a stellar Vice President.

[@dylanking9738]

Eagleton being anti abortion as a democrat feels like it could have been a major butterfly effect for American politics. Nixon would have likely won either way, but eagleton might have shifted party orthodoxy in a way where the pro life movement would have had very different political ties.

[@TylerA52903]

Who’s here after the VP Debate?

[@al1enzz]

“Tight race like 2008” ru fr?

[@Pacman398]

The premise of this is simply wrong. Very rarely does the VP pick make a speck of difference. People vote for or against presidential candidates, not VP. Plus, 2008 was not a tight race. Had John McCain picked another candidate in 2008 he still would have lost by a wide margin due to the unpopularity of George W Bush and the economic collapse that happened just before the election. Palin certainly was a weak candidate, but it did not make that much difference in the end. Bush Senior's VP Dan Quayle was a laughing stock and Bush still won big. Does anyone know anyone who chose to vote for or against Hillary because Tim Kaine was her VP choice? Most people, outside of political obsessives (a few who id do see in this comments page), could not even name this year's VP candidates. If you love Trump you are going to vote for him. If you hate him, no Veep will convince you otherwise. Now, to disagree with myself briefly I do think picking the governor of Pennsylvania may have helped Harris in that state which is extremely tight and potentially pivotal. .But the governor is Jewish and we all know that's a nonstarter in the Democratic Party of 2024.

[@apostateunion]

No one in this comments section watched the VP Debate.

[@ericveneto1593]

The Clinton/Gore ticket is the youngest in history.

[@beaufoxworth1940]

Sounds like a video written by somebody who was not even in American and can't even read the Wikipedia article on the 2008 election

[@igorschmidlapp6987]

LBJ... made one... Palin... broke one...

[@platonically]

Real

[@ER1CwC]

Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

[@ji8044]

This is not at all true. No VP has ever lost a presidential race, not even the current idiot who talks about kidnapping pets.

[@no_name4796]

Yes, but also this year we have the least popular and most crazy vp on one side, who isn't even able to talk to people, and the modt popular and normal vp pick on the other side That's definitely helping kamala chances

[@Yhsprs711]

I'd say Lieberman cost Gore the 2000 election

[@ji8044]

@@Yhsprs711 Having Jeb Bush as governor of Florida cost Gore the election.

[@ji8044]

@@no_name4796 He has said some insane things, but it only registers when Trump picks it up and repeats it, like at the debate. That was wonderful moment.

[@no_name4796]

@@Yhsprs711 Gore actually won the 2000 election. Election fraud is what won Bush the 2000 election

[@jordanb8712]

Sarah palin saved jon McCain from a Walter Mondale defeat, period.

[@Arbitar117]

as much as i hate to admitted, I think so too. Sarah Palin was the only thing keeping conservative animated. Had John McCain chosen Liberman, a BETTER candidate for COUNTRY FIRST, i believe conservative would had stay home.

[@HereForTheComments]

Giuliani should've won in 2008. Imagine where we'd be now.

[@daviddempsay4930]

In 2008 the country was slogging through the housing crisis--largely due to the mostly Republican led removal of restraints on banking practice and policy. The U.S. economy was then also faltering due to the national debt having ballooned to a level much higher than ever before due to the combination of Dubya's tax cuts and the charging of two wars to the national "credit card". Subsequently, there was very little chance that any Republican was going to get into the White House.

[@chafouaube985]

2024: trump/ vance😂😂😂😂😂

[@krisshnapeswanipeswani3190]

Now he is a hatfull conspiracy theorist. Oh and his tarrifs will deaths the economy like the smoot hawaley tarrif act of 1930