Despite close friendship with Joe Biden, Susan Rice would be a “lightning rod” for criticism as a running mate.
By Paul Shindman, World Israel News
Joe Biden would make a “costly mistake” if he picked former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice as his running mate, a Washington Post columnist said on Friday.
Despite her impressive credentials and her roles as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and as the top security adviser in the White House, Rice has never held public office and lacks the tact needed at the top level, columnist Dana Milbank wrote.
After a podcast appearance last year in which she used foul language to call Republican Senator Lindsey Graham a “piece of s—,” Milbank said she was unsuited for the job.
“If Biden is actually considering Rice for the job … it would be a costly mistake,” Milbank wrote, speculating that Biden might actually be considering Rice for a different post.
Rice has been mentioned as a potential on the list of vice presidential contenders, with the advantage of a longstanding close friendship with Biden who has said that for him she is a known quantity.
However, Biden’s desire for “familiarity and comfort are luxuries the nation doesn’t have time for in this singular time of crisis,” Milbank wrote.
Last month Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed Rice for her negative comments about the Trump administration, saying she has a history of going on talk shows and lying.
“At a time when Americans have suffered greatly from a famously pugilistic leader with no electoral experience who embraces public profanity and petty insults, Americans want healing and calm. Why would Biden tap as veep (and put a heartbeat from the presidency) a human lightning rod,” Milbank asked rhetorically.
Biden is widely expected to select a woman as his running mate, with the leading candidates all having run for office with years of experience in “how to persuade voters, twist arms, build coalitions.”
“Rice has never experienced the intense vetting” that other potential candidates have, he noted.
“Rice, daughter of a Federal Reserve governor, brings the pedigree of Upper Northwest D.C.’s private school elite to the ticket,” Milbank said.
“Should Biden win, he would be wise to make good use of Rice’s great brain in his administration. But not as vice president,” Milbank concluded.