Janice R. Andrews
As Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, screens possible running mates, consider the candidates going through what one former participant describes as “a colonoscopy performed with a telescope.”
Have you ever paid for sex?
Do you have any experience paying for abortions?
Do you have any experience with homosexuals?
These are only a few of the many inquiries made throughout the rigorous screening process for prior US vice presidential candidates. Until they are even partially considered, any candidates to run alongside Ms. Harris on the Democratic ticket in November will have to respond to as many as 200 questions.
The vetters, who are attorneys and campaign officials volunteering billable hours for the prestige and networking opportunities, often have a month to uncover every scrap of information. There is not much time left for the Harris campaign to select a running mate because of an impending paperwork deadline. The vice president has been evaluating around a dozen candidates; Senator Mark Kelly and Governor Josh Shapiro are two of those being praised. She herself went through the procedure just four years ago.
This week, Pete Buttigieg—another one of the speculated candidates—was questioned about whether or not potential running mates know they are being investigated. “Yeah, you know,” he grinned.
Because the FBI does not do background investigations on vice presidents, as it does on cabinet nominees, the entire endeavor is particularly difficult. The candidates’ medical records and tax filings will be thoroughly examined by the vetters. They could access his or her personal social media profiles. They will go over his or her kids’ social media posts. even those of the grandkids.
Any hint of extramarital affairs or any other unresolved matter will be thoroughly examined. Every word the possible candidate has ever written or spoken will be examined.
Democratic attorney Jim Hamilton, who assessed Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry as possible running mates, told the BBC that after the procedure, process notes are burned in order to maintain “a strict, strict veil of confidentiality.” He was in charge of nearly 200 attorneys who were assigned to locate Mrs. Clinton’s running partner, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.
Mr. Hamilton stated, “Everyone has something from their past they’d just sooner not talk about.” “However, you’d be surprised at how honest people are in their responses once they commit to the process.”
2008 contender for Barack Obama’s running mate, Evan Bayh, recalls the process as “like having a colonoscopy performed with a telescope” and how long it took.
“An accountant, a lawyer, a physician, you know, there was a whole team assigned to me,” the former governor and senator of Indiana said to the BBC. “They spoke with both my father and my wife.”
Before long, television teams had set up outside his Washington, DC, home. Mr. Bayh remembers being shocked to hear an MSNBC anchor comment that the senator’s bowl of yogurt and granola “sure looks tasty” one morning as he sat down to breakfast with the television on.
One day, the leader of the vetting team called to inquire about a fake online rumor claiming that Mr. Bayh had once undergone mental therapy. I said, “No, that isn’t true. But it may be true if you people don’t move quickly to make a choice,” he recalled, laughing.
A list of twenty names was eliminated. In the end, Mr. Bayh claims, it came down to him and Joe Biden, a senator from Delaware at the time. He remembers how, in August of that year, he was flown out “very clandestinely” to St. Louis, Missouri, to meet in the future president’s hotel room. They had a three-hour conversation.
He remembers that there was a stack of documents there that was approximately three feet high. “I’ve read all the reports on you, and nothing in there bothers me,” Mr. Obama remarked, gesturing to the stack.
“However, you should notify me right away if there is anything that our team missed because it will be revealed,” he stated.
“Well, your people did do a very thorough job,” I said. However, I should have mentioned two or three things to you. I also did.
“And he gave me a look and asked, ‘Is that all?'” And I responded, “Yes, that’s all.” “Well, you haven’t led very much of a life, have you?” he said.
Mr. Bayh only clarified to the BBC that the things he had revealed to Mr. Obama in the hotel room were personal affairs. In the end, Mr. Biden was successful. President Obama was later cited by campaign manager David Plouffe as stating that it was a “coin toss” between the two.
Even if it doesn’t disqualify, a vetter may occasionally ask a question that no one else considered, exposing a possible red flag. 1992 Clinton campaign staffer Gary Ginsberg told the BBC that he could still see Al Gore being at a loss for words when asked whether he had any friends at the time. The taciturn senator from Tennessee snapped. However, when being questioned, he was only able to mention his brother-in-law and two congressman. One senior campaign staffer was troubled by Mr. Gore’s lack of social circle.
Despite a lengthy list of fifty candidates, he was chosen to be running mate. They prevailed. However, Mr. Gore would find it difficult to overcome his poor personal likability scores.
In the past, the screening procedure was mostly informal and somewhat less intrusive, as it was considered impolite to inquire about personal concerns from a senator or governor. All that was permanently altered by two disastrous selections.
