Law Professor is Veep Virtuoso
Most days you can find SLU's Joel K. Goldstein, J.D., teaching constitutional law and admiralty law, guest lecturing at universities, and writing books as well as numerous chapters and articles for a variety of prestigious legal journals. But every four years, when the presidential race rolls around and the height of the running-mate season hits its peak, Goldstein becomes the most sought-after man in political journalism.
Man of the Hour
Goldstein, the Vincent C. Immel Professor of Law at SLU, is the most widely renowned scholar on the United States vice presidency. So far in the 2016 election, he has already lent his expertise to nearly 80 different political journals, blogs, and news outlets around the globe, including USA Today, The New York Times, CSPAN, The Jerusalem Post, the Swiss broadcasting station SRF, and ABC Australia.
Goldstein's popularity during the “Veepstakes” is nothing new. During the 2012 election cycle, he was interviewed by dozens of national and international news sources regarding the vice presidency. He was even featured in an article by The New York Times, which called him the every four years “Man of the Hour.”
And right now, that man of the hour is right in the middle of his quadrennial stardom in 2016 with a presidential election that America has never seen before.
As the leading expert on the topic, the many interviews and conversations that Goldstein has given to news outlets around the globe provides an inside look as to what both Clinton and Trump were looking for in a running mate, who those running mates are, and the strengths and weaknesses of each of them.
Picking a No. 2
Goldstein says that there are three patterns that tend to recur when candidates select a running mate:
- The first is that running mates are not chosen based on the size or competitiveness of their home state, a variable that presidential candidates have paid little attention to however in the last one-half century.
- The second is that political outsiders, which prior to this election meant governors, always choose political insiders as their running mates.
- And the third is that candidates have the tendency of selecting experienced running mates, either as senators, in high national executive positions, as governors, or as members of the House of Representatives.
“First-time running mates since 1976 have averaged about 14.4 years of experience in those positions when chosen,” Goldstein said in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Even though a vice president with nearly 15 years of experience would be ideal, that is not always the case in some of the top choices in each election cycle, including the current one in 2016. Some possible VP candidates bring other pros and cons to the table.
The Path to Significance
With all the hype in recent weeks about the possible running mates for each of the candidates, some might question whether the job of the vice president is of actual importance, and not just there to help his or her president get elected.
Does it really matter whom Clinton or Trump chooses if either of them is elected office?
Goldstein says yes.
In his recent book, "The White House Vice Presidency: The Path to Significance, Mondale to Biden," Goldstein shows that the second in command has become “highly consequential” since Vice President Walter Mondale reshaped the office 40 years ago.
According to what Goldstein told the Minnesota Post, Mondale was the first to participate in a wide range of issues while in office. He became a member of the administration who could level with Carter, and really came up with the mission of the office, as both the general advisor and the trouble shooter
“President Jimmy Carter brought Mr. Mondale into the White House and his inner circle, made him a senior, across-the-board advisor and troubleshooter on significant matters, and gave him the access, information and support to perform those roles.”
Goldstein wrote in an op-ed to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, “Mr. Mondale’s five successors, from both parties, followed his example and functioned as integral White House players. The principal purpose of these vice presidents has been helping their presidents succeed.”
An Important Choice
Goldstein explains that this increasing access to the Oval Office enables the vice president to do things that nobody else can do, such as break bad news or suggest a different approach directly to the president.
"The last six vice presidents got a lot of face-time with the president," He said to Mic.com, "Somebody who is spending a lot of time with the president, that person has a chance of making a difference."
With the political climate of today, the question of who could end up with that chance as second in command is an important one.
"If one of the presidential candidates' picks somebody who is not ready for prime time it can make a difference at the margins," Goldstein said in Deutsche Welle, a German media outlet.
In the end, though, there is no silver bullet to picking the right running mate.
“Candidates have multiple needs,” Goldstein told The Christian Science Monitor, “and there’s no one running-mate option that can respond to every one of them.”