Hillary Clinton could be Biden’s ‘Dick Cheney’

Illustration+by+Alex+Hanks

Illustration by Alex Hanks

Taylor Edwards, Contributing Writer

As of April 8, Bernie Sanders is officially out of the presidential race, and the path to power for Joe Biden has never been more clear. Only two things exist that can prevent a future President Biden: Donald Trump and Joe Biden himself. Goof after gaff, Biden tends to stumble through speeches and debates, getting praise from the media for a “good” performance after the bare minimum has been achieved. He has become, sadly, the definition of low expectations. Biden’s White House will be exactly like his campaign — unclear, unsatisfactory and unacceptable. If ever there existed a time when a vice president could make a meaningful impact on policy, it is now. Who Biden chooses to be his vice president may very well be the person who runs this country. Much like Bush in 2000, Biden needs his own Dick Cheney, and who better in the Democratic Party to play the role than Hillary Rodham Clinton?

Now, before you groan or stop reading, hear me out: Hillary Clinton is the most experienced candidate to run for president in the last 50 years. She championed civil rights, women’s rights, healthcare reform and even common-sense gun legislation. As Secretary of State, she visited 112 countries, making her the most hands-on individual in that position at the time. Her experience is not just time spent in an office; it is the knowledge that she has acquired that can shape the future.

But, of course, you don’t care about her experience. You care about the “important” aspects of having Clinton on the ticket: Is she electable? Is she likable? Will she put Trump back in office? I am going to let you in on a secret — no one cares about vice presidents. Even those who spend their lives studying the constitution and the American government system will tell you that vice presidents simply do not matter. They make very little measurable change in any given election, and they are even more negligible in their contribution to their president’s administration. Of course, there are rare outliers like Dick Cheney, but even he impacted policy alone, not the electability of his president. Hillary has the potential to be Biden’s Dick Cheney, but that would occur only after the election.

To answer the concerns of many, if Donald Trump becomes the next president of the United States, it won’t be because of who Biden chose as his VP, even if it is Clinton. No other individual exists who would do better as Biden’s VP than she would. No one can convince “Bernie Bros” to show up for Biden, and no one can convince Trump supporters to change their vote for Biden. So, ask yourself: Why not Hillary? Hillary Clinton may not be your top choice for VP, but choose her, put her before the electorate and give voters another chance. In an age of uncertainty, we need consistency now more than ever, and what is more consistent than a Clinton on the ballot?