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The reputation of US vice presidents has come a long way since Richard Nixon moved into the executive branch<\/a> and filled offices in the White House in 1953. Prior to Nixon\u2019s term, the VEEP held a legislative position presiding over the Senate, with little connection to the President. Fast-forward 60 years and modern-day vice presidents are essential members of the President\u2019s policy team, trusted advisors and often the party\u2019s nominee as successor. George H.W. Bush won the presidency in 1988 after eight years as Vice President, while Hubert Humphrey and Al Gore were nominated by their respective parties, but failed to win presidential elections.<\/p>\n Joe Biden has epitomised that transformation\u2014as a master of Washington\u2019s insider games<\/a>, he\u2019s become President Obama\u2019s confidant and one of the most popular figures<\/a> in US politics. After a horrific few weeks<\/a> for Donald Trump\u2014culminating in the Republican letter<\/a> to cut RNC funding\u2014it might well be left to his vice presidential running mate to pick up the pieces.<\/p>\n After months of whispers, late-night calls and semi-secret job interviews<\/a>, Trump and Hillary Clinton recently locked in their respective vice presidential candidates\u2014Mike Pence and Tim Kaine\u2014with little controversy. Their selections were clear attempts to bring their parties\u2019 base back into the fold, with both men considered<\/a> to be experienced, well-liked and representative of their parties\u2019 core constituencies.<\/p>\n Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Donald Trump\u2019s running mate, has been widely regarded<\/a> as a solid pick from a bunch that also featured the politically-untested General Mike Flynn, baggage-laden New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former House speaker Newt Gingrich. Perhaps his most valuable asset is his ability to reach out the Republican Party establishment, who are increasingly sceptical about uniting around the unpredictable Trump. Pence is considered a trusted colleague<\/a> and a principled conservative by Republican heavyweights Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell; someone they know shares their party\u2019s values and is cautious and to the point\u2014the opposite of Trump.<\/p>\n Pence is also likely to appeal to social and fiscal conservatives; a group Trump has largely failed to engage thus far. Describing himself<\/a> as \u2018a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order\u2019, he\u2019s been on the frontline in the fight to defund Planned Parenthood and is opposed to same-sex marriages and civil unions. He was one of only four governors to receive an \u2018A\u2019 grade in The Cato Institute\u2019s 2014 \u2018Fiscal Policy Report Card on America\u2019s Governors\u2019<\/a>, championing cuts to Indiana\u2019s corporate income tax rate and to business property taxes.<\/p>\n With 12 years in Congress and three-plus years as governor, Pence also provides the political experience that Trump is unmistakably missing. He\u2019s a veteran legislator with a solid understanding of public policy<\/a>, a successful negotiator and an efficient communicator\u2014someone who knows how to get things done. That\u2019s key to Trump\u2019s White House bid, as his campaign manager Paul Manafort told<\/a> The Huffington Post <\/em>in May, Trump \u2018needs an experienced person to do the part of the job he doesn\u2019t want to do\u2019. If Trump wins, it\u2019s likely to be Pence running the US behind the scenes in 2017.<\/p>\n In contrast with Trump\u2019s disastrous past fortnight on the campaign trail, Pence has exceeded expectations, displaying discipline and composure while maintaining his loyalty to the Republican nominee. He\u2019s taken a stance<\/a> on Trump\u2019s comments suggesting Russia hacked Clinton\u2019s emails, and Trump\u2019s criticism of the Khan family<\/a>. He has also endorsed Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain\u2019s reelection campaigns and attempted to explain away<\/a> Trump\u2019s suggestions that gun owners could take action against Clinton. His performance is being rewarded\u2014a Gallup poll<\/a> released on 10 August put Pence\u2019s favourability rating at 36%, ahead of Kaine, Trump and Clinton. Trump\u2019s campaign desperately needs Pence to carry this momentum into the next three months if they have any chance of gaining ground on Clinton.<\/p>\n With the media spotlight clearly on Trump, Clinton\u2019s selection of Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has gone somewhat under the radar. Born in Minnesota, raised in Kansas City and an attendee of a Jesuit boy\u2019s school, Kaine is a solid and safe choice for Clinton. He\u2019s particularly popular among Virginia\u2019s predominantly white-collar urban and suburban areas\u2014a strength that\u2019s underpinned his entire political career.<\/a> Democrats undoubtedly hope that he can bring that popularity to other metropolitan areas throughout the country\u2014particularly other Sunbelt states like Colorado and Nevada, as well as the Rustbelt battlegrounds of Ohio and Iowa. Kaine also has experience winning votes in a deeply-divided state, with Virginia featuring a Republican-controlled state legislature and eight of 11 congressional districts. Understanding how to appeal to a broad range of voters will be a significant advantage in this election campaign.<\/p>\n Kaine\u2019s major challenge will be his ability to convince left-leaning Democrats who jumped aboard Bernie Sanders\u2019 campaign that the Clinton\u2013Kaine team will represent their views in the White House. Those voters have been largely disenfranchised<\/a> by Clinton\u2019s campaign to date, and many see Kaine\u2019s selection as another sign that Clinton isn\u2019t interested in their cause. Those sentiments may have already been alleviated to an extent, with a strong showing of unity during the Democratic National Convention last month, including Clinton\u2019s acknowledgment<\/a> that she\u2019d heard Sanders\u2019 supporters\u2019 calls to focus on economic and social justice issues.<\/p>\n With a Bloomberg Politics<\/em> national poll last week<\/a> giving Clinton a six-point lead, including strong results in the crucial states of Ohio, Iowa and Pennsylvania, some political analysts are beginning to write off Trump\u2019s presidential bid<\/a>. Trump\u2019s campaign team needs to make a concerted effort to turn that around, and Pence will need to be front and centre in the push. The main question now for US politics is whether Pence will be able to transition from merely cleaning up Trump\u2019s collateral to providing the Republican voters with a solid candidate to put their faith in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The reputation of US vice presidents has come a long way since Richard Nixon moved into the executive branch and filled offices in the White House in 1953. Prior to Nixon\u2019s term, the VEEP held …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":468,"featured_media":28182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1428,843,1734,1606],"class_list":["post-28181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-donald-trump","tag-hillary-clinton","tag-populism","tag-presidential-election-2016"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n