Bob Collins
We’ve been amused over the years by the dynamic by which Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s name gets floated for high-profile gigs in Washington but there it is in black and white, thanks to the hacking of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s e-mail with the first cut-down of potential running mates.
The hacked email said the potential mates were listed in several “food groups” although the name of Klobuchar’s group — as is the case with all the others — wasn’t revealed. It’s obvious, though, that it consists of female U.S. senators. It also includes Tammy Baldwin, the junior senator from Wisconsin.
The Washington Post had, on its own, whittled down the list to 5. Klobuchar was on the list. So was Tim Kaine, who got the job.
The release should kick off a premature round of speculation on who ends up in Clinton’s cabinet if she’s elected next month, but if you make her list of potential vice presidents, it seems a sure bet that you’re on her list of potential cabinet members.
Assuming — and it’s obviously still a big assumption — Klobuchar takes a job in the White House, Gov. Mark Dayton would appoint someone to take her unexpired term in the Senate. That seat would be up for election in 2017, a year before it otherwise would have been. Who gets that plum?
A shot at a full term should be an attractive gig for a number of the usual political suspects in Minnesota, who would be faced with deciding whether to go for an open gubernatorial seat in 2018, or make a play for the Senate gig. Or both.
