Is Julian Castro ready to be president on day one?**

[Suburbia]

With all these incidents going on in the world, I think that Hillary Clinton or whoever the Democratic nominee will have to pick someone with some experience to be president on any given day. I don't know if Castro or someone else like him can be president on day one. Kaine, Bayh, etc., may have to be picked. The "excitement" factor thing will have to wear off for a while. Thoughts?

[Lyin' Steve]

He's not and Tim Kaine is.  Dead simple.

Julian Castro's experience was as a city council member from 2001-2009, a largely powerless mayor from 2009-2014 (he wasn't exactly Giuliani, folks), and a poor minor cabinet secretary since 2014.  He's also an overrated speaker.  Sounds too rehearsed.  His DNC speech didn't even make the news at the time, it's only now that the Latino vote is so important that people are going back to that speech and saying he's an amazing speaker, for lack of anything better to say.  He ain't Obama.  He ain't Rubio.  People don't even know who this guy is or what any of his ideas or political positions are beyond assuming he's a run-of-the-mill Democrat, and they're suggesting he should be ready to lead the country on day one?  If it's Clinton/Castro vs. Rubio/Portman then Castro's going to look really pathetic next to Rubio, who has five years in the Senate under his belt in addition to his considerable state-wide experience in Florida.  Remember, Castro doesn't even have state-level experience.  He's a city politician who got elevated to a minor cabinet post.  That's all he is.

Kaine, on the other hand, has a first-rate political pedigree, excellent retail skills, no scandals, tremendous intelligence and ability, and was the runner-up to be Obama's VP in 2008.  The man has been ready to be president on day one for years and he's a star for the Democrats.  Cut the identity politics and give the man his damn VP slot already.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Julian Castro is definitely overrated.

[I support Sanders]

No, he's not. You're thinking of Lindsey Graham.

He's not and Tim Kaine is.  Dead simple.

Julian Castro's experience was as a city council member from 2001-2009, a largely powerless mayor from 2009-2014 (he wasn't exactly Giuliani, folks), and a poor minor cabinet secretary since 2014.  He's also an overrated speaker.  Sounds too rehearsed.  His DNC speech didn't even make the news at the time, it's only now that the Latino vote is so important that people are going back to that speech and saying he's an amazing speaker, for lack of anything better to say.  He ain't Obama.  He ain't Rubio.  People don't even know who this guy is or what any of his ideas or political positions are beyond assuming he's a run-of-the-mill Democrat, and they're suggesting he should be ready to lead the country on day one?  If it's Clinton/Castro vs. Rubio/Portman then Castro's going to look really pathetic next to Rubio, who has five years in the Senate under his belt in addition to his considerable state-wide experience in Florida.  Remember, Castro doesn't even have state-level experience.  He's a city politician who got elevated to a minor cabinet post.  That's all he is.

Kaine, on the other hand, has a first-rate political pedigree, excellent retail skills, no scandals, tremendous intelligence and ability, and was the runner-up to be Obama's VP in 2008.  The man has been ready to be president on day one for years and he's a star for the Democrats.  Cut the identity politics and give the man his damn VP slot already.

Hillary is already having trouble winning over the progressive base of the Democratic Party, particularly Bernie Sanders supporters. If she chooses Kaine, she is even less likely to bring these people out to vote, and will lose to Republicans......especially if the GOP chooses a strong candidate and the election is low turnout.

[Penelope]

He's no Joe Biden, but he certainly ain't Sarah Palin either. Castro is smart and comes across as both personable and intelligent. Every interview I have seen him in, he clearly knew what he was talking about. Is he ready to be President? Who knows. Out of the Vice Presidents who have ascended to the Presidency, I think only two of them (Johnson, perhaps Ford) would've been universally recognized as being "ready for the job." It's kind of a bogus question to ask, unfortunately.

We will never truly know who is ready and who is not until they take the oath of office. Well, unless you're Sarah Palin. That said I don't think Castro is a great VP pick, but I don't think he is bad either. He's a fairly middle-of-the-road option assuming the vetting process doesn't turn up any massive scandals.

[Suburbia]

No, he's not. You're thinking of Lindsey Graham.

He's not and Tim Kaine is.  Dead simple.

Julian Castro's experience was as a city council member from 2001-2009, a largely powerless mayor from 2009-2014 (he wasn't exactly Giuliani, folks), and a poor minor cabinet secretary since 2014.  He's also an overrated speaker.  Sounds too rehearsed.  His DNC speech didn't even make the news at the time, it's only now that the Latino vote is so important that people are going back to that speech and saying he's an amazing speaker, for lack of anything better to say.  He ain't Obama.  He ain't Rubio.  People don't even know who this guy is or what any of his ideas or political positions are beyond assuming he's a run-of-the-mill Democrat, and they're suggesting he should be ready to lead the country on day one?  If it's Clinton/Castro vs. Rubio/Portman then Castro's going to look really pathetic next to Rubio, who has five years in the Senate under his belt in addition to his considerable state-wide experience in Florida.  Remember, Castro doesn't even have state-level experience.  He's a city politician who got elevated to a minor cabinet post.  That's all he is.

Kaine, on the other hand, has a first-rate political pedigree, excellent retail skills, no scandals, tremendous intelligence and ability, and was the runner-up to be Obama's VP in 2008.  The man has been ready to be president on day one for years and he's a star for the Democrats.  Cut the identity politics and give the man his damn VP slot already.

Hillary is already having trouble winning over the progressive base of the Democratic Party, particularly Bernie Sanders supporters. If she chooses Kaine, she is even less likely to bring these people out to vote, and will lose to Republicans......especially if the GOP chooses a strong candidate and the election is low turnout.

Progressives are gonna have to deal with it. Experience matters. Enough with the identity politics sometimes. This is why people laugh at some of the progressive voters as low information voters. They think that they only care about identity and not experience and knowledge. Kaine may be the one.

[Asian Nazi]

He's no Joe Biden, but he certainly ain't Sarah Palin either. Castro is smart and comes across as both personable and intelligent. Every interview I have seen him in, he clearly knew what he was talking about. Is he ready to be President? Who knows. Out of the Vice Presidents who have ascended to the Presidency, I think only two of them (Johnson, perhaps Ford) would've been universally recognized as being "ready for the job." It's kind of a bogus question to ask, unfortunately.

We will never truly know who is ready and who is not until they take the oath of office. Well, unless you're Sarah Palin. That said I don't think Castro is a great VP pick, but I don't think he is bad either. He's a fairly middle-of-the-road option assuming the vetting process doesn't turn up any massive scandals.

This, minus the sexist teenager Palin bashing.

[Penelope]

He's no Joe Biden, but he certainly ain't Sarah Palin either. Castro is smart and comes across as both personable and intelligent. Every interview I have seen him in, he clearly knew what he was talking about. Is he ready to be President? Who knows. Out of the Vice Presidents who have ascended to the Presidency, I think only two of them (Johnson, perhaps Ford) would've been universally recognized as being "ready for the job." It's kind of a bogus question to ask, unfortunately.

We will never truly know who is ready and who is not until they take the oath of office. Well, unless you're Sarah Palin. That said I don't think Castro is a great VP pick, but I don't think he is bad either. He's a fairly middle-of-the-road option assuming the vetting process doesn't turn up any massive scandals.

This, minus the sexist teenager Palin bashing.

I usually agree with you on this stuff, but I honestly don't see the sexism in saying that Sarah Palin was clearly not ready for prime-time in a way that Julian Castro (or, for instance, Kirsten Gillibrand or Carly Fiorina) are. Perhaps I am wrong, though. Sarah Palin proved many times throughout the 2008 campaign that her grasp of critical issues and political ability on the national scale was lacking. It's not "Palin bashing" to reference this fact, is it?

[Asian Nazi]

He's no Joe Biden, but he certainly ain't Sarah Palin either. Castro is smart and comes across as both personable and intelligent. Every interview I have seen him in, he clearly knew what he was talking about. Is he ready to be President? Who knows. Out of the Vice Presidents who have ascended to the Presidency, I think only two of them (Johnson, perhaps Ford) would've been universally recognized as being "ready for the job." It's kind of a bogus question to ask, unfortunately.

We will never truly know who is ready and who is not until they take the oath of office. Well, unless you're Sarah Palin. That said I don't think Castro is a great VP pick, but I don't think he is bad either. He's a fairly middle-of-the-road option assuming the vetting process doesn't turn up any massive scandals.

This, minus the sexist teenager Palin bashing.

I usually agree with you on this stuff, but I honestly don't see the sexism in saying that Sarah Palin was clearly not ready for prime-time in a way that Julian Castro (or, for instance, Kirsten Gillibrand or Carly Fiorina) are. Perhaps I am wrong, though. Sarah Palin proved many times throughout the 2008 campaign that her grasp of critical issues and political ability on the national scale was lacking. It's not "Palin bashing" to reference this fact, is it?

I'm joking.    

I actually don't think Palin would've been nearly as incompetent as some people think, much like Castro, but honestly who knows.  I'm sure the Clinton campaign will intensely vet Castro before they decide whether they're going to him on the ticket or not, though.  Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if they already were.

Palin, on the other hand, was a total Hail Mary.  McCain's campaign had barely vetted her before they picked her, largely because they were polling so poorly.  Clinton is in a much better position.

[Bakersfield Uber Alles]

Xavier Becerra would be a much better pick than Julian or even Joaquin Castro. Neither are from competitive states, so that's a draw there. I think that Becerra can speak Spanish, which is a plus (he spent a year studying in Spain, at least). I think that Becerra would be ready to take over. Julian Castro, not as much. I don't think that Joaquin Castro would be ready either, but he might be better than his brother in terms of experience.

[Frodo]

No, but Hilda Solis certainly would be, having served in the California State Assembly, Congress, as Labor Secretary during President Obama's first term, and now as a Los Angeles county supervisor.  She has deep ties to the environmental, labor, and immigrant rights movements.  

She is also someone that Hillary Clinton could trust, having been a strong supporter of hers during the 2008 primaries, up until Hillary finally threw down the towel and conceded to Barack Obama.

[Famous Mortimer]

Bayh will never be nominated for anything by the Democrats ever again.

There are other substantive people who aren't de facto Republicans.

[Lyin' Steve]

He's no Joe Biden, but he certainly ain't Sarah Palin either. Castro is smart and comes across as both personable and intelligent. Every interview I have seen him in, he clearly knew what he was talking about. Is he ready to be President? Who knows. Out of the Vice Presidents who have ascended to the Presidency, I think only two of them (Johnson, perhaps Ford) would've been universally recognized as being "ready for the job." It's kind of a bogus question to ask, unfortunately.

We will never truly know who is ready and who is not until they take the oath of office. Well, unless you're Sarah Palin. That said I don't think Castro is a great VP pick, but I don't think he is bad either. He's a fairly middle-of-the-road option assuming the vetting process doesn't turn up any massive scandals.

This, minus the sexist teenager Palin bashing.

It's fast becoming a running gag around these parts, if it wasn't already, that anyone who speaks ill of various widely disliked political women (Fiorina, Palin, DWS, Hillary) is a sexist teenager.

[badgate]

Yes, he is.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

No, but Hilda Solis certainly would be, having served in the California State Assembly, Congress, as Labor Secretary during President Obama's first term, and now as a Los Angeles county supervisor.  She has deep ties to the environmental, labor, and immigrant rights movements.  

She is also someone that Hillary Clinton could trust, having been a strong supporter of hers during the 2008 primaries, up until Hillary finally threw down the towel and conceded to Barack Obama.

True, she has some actual progressive credentials.

[Ogre Mage]

It is a shame the Ohio Governor is a Republican because Sherrod Brown is someone who could satisfy both the liberal base and the Democratic Establishment.  Plus he comes from an extremely critical swing state and I think he'd handle the "attack dog" aspect of the running mate well.  But with Kasich there surrendering a Senate Seat in Ohio is too costly.

[bobloblaw]

Julian and Juaquine Castro are absolute jokes. Worse than Palin or Quayle.

[Blair]

There's a tendency on this forum, to basically overblow the revisionist stuff-yes the media like the Castros, yes they're overrated but comparing them to Palin is bullsh**t. They'd be a decent VP choice-remember guys Bush won despite Quayle being bitch slapped in the 1988 debate.

VP choices don't matter, with the exception of LBJ there isn't a single election that has been swung by the VP choice since WW2

[Kaiser K]

I think Castro's ready myself, he seems like an intelligent and well-spoken guy who'd do a good job as VP; and we will never know who's ready to be President until they take an oath of office.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Yeah he is, and he probably will be chosen as VP anyways, due to the Senate factor and Republican gov scenario. In IL. CA, FL, NJ, NV, NM & CO, Latinos make up a huge electorate, and they are fast becoming a large factors in unions. Whereas, except auto unions, whites are decling in numbers.

[Lyin' Steve]

I challenge anyone to make an actual case for why Julian Castro is ready to be president on day one or what a Castro presidency would look like.  The only argument that's been made in this thread so far is that he's smart, well-spoken, and knows what he's talking about.  None of that speaks to his leadership abilities, his crisis-management skills, his judgment, his ability to project strength on the world stage, his ability to craft an agenda and push it through congress, or any of the other skills needed to actually do the damn job.

[Frodo]

No, but Hilda Solis certainly would be, having served in the California State Assembly, Congress, as Labor Secretary during President Obama's first term, and now as a Los Angeles county supervisor.  She has deep ties to the environmental, labor, and immigrant rights movements.  

She is also someone that Hillary Clinton could trust, having been a strong supporter of hers during the 2008 primaries, up until Hillary finally threw down the towel and conceded to Barack Obama.

True, she has some actual progressive credentials.

Hillary Clinton/Hilda Solis would be a solid ticket.  Far more so than some of the others being thrown about...   

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

I doubt Clinton will put two women on ticket. But, refugee problem doubled under Dubya's term, because as Romney pointed out to Gov Perry, 60 percent of illegals come from TX, under Govs Dubya & Perry.

It will come down to Kaine or Castro.

[Frodo]

I doubt Clinton will put two women on ticket.

It will come down to Kaine or Castro.

Given the lackluster Republican field, she is favored enough in the general election that she can afford to take a risk with having another woman on the ticket. And the Clintons prize loyalty, so that gives the advantage to Hilda Solis right there.  

As to your favored candidates, Castro is unfit for such a high office.  In fact, it would bring up comparisons to John McCain picking Sarah Palin, however unfair you may think them.  I don't see Hillary wanting to deal with that.  

And why would she endanger a Senate seat in a swing state?  Even if Gov. McAuliffe appoints a Democrat to take Tim Kaine's place, we have no way of knowing if that replacement will survive the 2018 midterms.  

[RI]

Picking Castro would be pure, blatant tokenism, nothing more. Almost as bad as the Palin pick ex ante. I don't know if people remember, but Palin was a pretty popular, moderate, and seemingly intelligent governor prior to her selection, albeit one completely unqualified for the office of VP.