Obama VP? Gen Anthony Zinni - Foreign Policy and Military Guru

News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:10 PM EDT

Article Source: CBS News

politics, obama, iraq, election, president, military, democrat, policy, pennsylvania, general, marine, foreign, vice, italian, zinni

Seeded by cranegirl

GEN ANTHONY ZINNI should be a frontrunner for VP. . I didn't know much about him besides seeing him on TV once in a while so did some research, here's what I found. The seeded video link shows his interview on 60 Minutes. WOW – I think he's a great person to round out the Dem Ticket. Here's why:

MEETS VETTING STANDARDS
1. Not a Senator or Potential US Legislator from critical Red or Swing State - Dems need to maintain big majority in both Houses to pass Agenda
2. Opposed the War BEFORE it was popular to do so 3. Tons of Military AND Foreign Policy Experience
4. No Vetting Issues like Webb on Women and Confederate Flag or Clinton's Library, Donors & Women
5. Not a Woman - can't choose any woman besides HRC for fear of alienating her supporters & women
6. WM Moderate with military background will bring over swing voters, WM from Appalachia & South
7. Italian Catholic from PA - will help with swing states like PA and FL, and with Midwest states w lg Catholic voting blocs; also will help with other demographic groups like Hispanics, rank and file Labor voters
8. Not a person of color - as much as this pains me to write, too many Americans won't vote for two people of color on one Ticket.

See comments below re how his Bio fits the Dems VP Needs

Published to:

cranegirl's Column, All of Newsvine
Groups: none
Regions: none

What's this?

Who's leading the conversation?

This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.

1.3

{"commentId":1957156,"authorDomain":"cranegirl"}

cranegirl

Why Dems Should Consider Gen Zinni for VP:

OPPOSED THE WAR & ITS EXECUTION PLAN
1. Opposed the War - aligned with Obama's position
2. Had courage & Integrity to speak out against War to Congress and media - unlike most retired generals who were paid to be Pro-War
3. Authored Book "Battle Ready", published in 2004, that detailed 10 serious criticisms of the rationale and execution of the war. Testified to Congress re same.
4. Told Bush they needed 300,000+ Troops to Carry Out Bush's Mission to Invade Iraq
5. Said of Bush's War Strategy, "I'm not sure what planet they live on."
6. Had foresight to realize that Military Success is "just the beginning of the beginning."
7. May 2004 on 60 Minutes ... "Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time." ... "heads should roll at the Pentagon... serious derelictions of duty ... criminal negligence." 8. Co-authored Feb 08 letter to Congress opposing torture

TERRORISM EXPERTISE
1. Warned Congress re Bin Laden in MARCH 2000 2. Warned Congress before 9/11 that Afghanistan was harboring Bin Laden -- like Clintonistas
3. Had courage to tell Clinton Cabinet they weren't aggressive enough on terrorism issues

HAS MOST MILITARY & FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE
1. Two Masters Degrees in International Relations and in Management
2. Four-Star General - Marine Corp - 35 years of Active Military Duty
3. Traveled to 70 countries & in nearly every military operation since the 60s
4. Special Envoy on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Effort
5. More Military Experience than McCain
6. More Foreign Policy Experience than McCain
7. Knows More re MidEast than McCain
8. As Ex-Marine, Knows More re Infantry than McCain and Iraq is a groundwar
9. Developed Rapport with Musharref and Somali Warlords to Keep Dialogue Open
10. Called Global Warming a Serious Security Threat
11. Unlike McCain, knows the difference between Shia and Sunni

ECONOMICS
1. Undergrad degree from Villanova in Economics

NO VOTING RECORD TO ATTACK
1. Hasn't served in elected office so no voting record to attack

DEMOGRAPHICS
1. Italian Born in Conshohocken PA & attended Villanove - will help secure PA
2. Italian with military background - since Italians have large presence in Unions - could help secure Labor vote that sometimes swing Red because of gun-toting Republicans
3. Catholic - could help secure swing Catholic vote in upper midwest states
4. Hispanic - because most Hispanics are Catholic, could help secure Hispanic Vote
5. Recently a Commander at Quantico Base in VA and AFB in FL - both swing states
6. Lobbied with Nelson & Graham of FL to keep CENTCOM in Tampa FL instead of Middle East as Rumsfled wanted because big base in middle East would incite more violence - help w FL vote. 7. Military & Veteran Vote wouldn't all go to McCain: Quote from a Marine Blog: "A Marine advising the president would help weed out the BS. Might make me want to actually vote for a Democrat."

INTANGIBLES
1. Son is Captain in the Marines - not like many GOP who vote for war but don't send their own kids.
2. Nicknames - Warrior Diplomat and The Godfather
3. Described as Candid but Eloquent "old hand" at fielding questions - should be great on the stump

FUN BUT IRRELEVANT ITEMS
1. Limbaugh Hates Him -- called anit-war Vets like Zinni the "phony soldiers" 2. Close with Wes Clarke, an HRC supporter
3. And for all those empty-headed war-mongers, he co-authored a book with Tom Clancy. How's that for catering to the gun-toting Appalachian and Southern White Males?

CONS
1. Voted for Bush in 2000 but admitted he was wrong
2. Said he never wants to run for public office
3. Outspoken . . . can he stay on message?
4. Not sure whether he's aligned on other important Dem issues
5. How does he feel re "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?

Curious what other Yellow Dog Dems think of him to round out the Ticket????

{"commentId":1957156,"threadId":"288249","contentId":"1571012","authorDomain":"cranegirl"}

1 vote

#1 - Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:20 PM EDT

{"commentId":2145953,"authorDomain":"michaell-1"}

Calif. Independent for Zinni

Why is Retired Marine Corps. General Tony Zinni not in the Top Five candidates for Democratic VP?

I am one whom you would call a member of "the silent majority." Most of my adult life, I have voted "Republican." But today, I am an "Independent." I cannot tolerate another 4 or 8 years of continuing the failed policies in this Country and the World, as it has been under George W. Bush. This means the Democratic Party must have the very strongest ticket.

I believe a very important Vice Presidential Candidate must be offered to "fill in the gaps" of Senator Obama's shortfalls in experience. These assets include: replacing the tyrant Dick Cheney, et al.; providing knowledgeable advice on assignments of Generals and Admirals; advice on cooperating with diplomatic advisers and voluntary civilian aid and assistance groups; and in bringing a demonstrated policy of inclusion/cooperation into internal U.S. politics and into key areas of the world.

The one person who fills all of these requirements is Anthony Zinni, General, USMC [Ret.] As a "team-builder," Vice President Zinni will be a strong complement in the Obama Administration.

He knows how it's done, and is unafraid to shake up the Washington establishment in the process. His ethics are proven and he has not been afraid to resign a most responsible position, when faced with orders he was unable to ethically perform.

To the Vice President Selection Committee, I suggest they read the following two books to improve their understanding of the need for INCLUSION versus trying to IMPOSE OUR WILLS upon others [as Washington, D.C. has so often tried and failed]: General Zinni knows how to do this....well!

RELEVANT BOOKS:

1. "Battle Ready;" Tom Clancy with General Tony Zinni, USMC [Ret.], and Tony Koltz; PUTNUM HARDCOVER, 2004; ISBN 0399151761

2. "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time;" Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, VIKING BOOKS, 2006; ISBN 0670034827

A California "Independent" Voter

{"commentId":2145953,"threadId":"288249","contentId":"1571012","authorDomain":"michaell-1"}

#2 - Tue Jul 8, 2008 8:15 PM EDT

{"commentId":2178895,"authorDomain":"cranegirl"}

cranegirl

A few wks ago, I asked Chuck Todd what he thought of Zinni as VP. Here's his response about how Tim Russert thought Zinni was in play as well as Chuck's follow-up commentary. Pretty interesting!

Chuck: In last week's blog, you answered a question re Gen. Zinni as Obama's possible VEEP candidate. You thought Zinni's lack of campaign experience would prevent him from being on the short list, but your comments intrigued me more . .

"You should know that the very first person I ever heard from on the idea of Zinni... Tim Russert. Tim thought Zinni was in play long before his name started circulating.

"Tim thought Zinni was in play for a couple of reasons: he's Wes Clark without being as flamboyant; he was a Bush appointee in the Mideast; he was well-respected on both sides of the aisle but was starting to show some interest in becoming an active Democrat. All of those reasons made Tim think (and also report) that Zinni was somebody who was going to be a player in the Veepstakes for either Clinton or Obama. I definitely think Zinni will be a player in an Obama admin... perhaps NSA"

{"commentId":2178895,"threadId":"288249","contentId":"1571012","authorDomain":"cranegirl"}

#3 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 12:20 PM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"288249","isPrivate":false}

CRANEGIRL

Backyard

Obama VP? Gen Anthony Zinni - Foreign Policy and Military Guru

Published to:

FUN STUFF:

COMPANY STUFF:

LEGAL STUFF: