Given the same players, how would changing the presidential tickets influence your vote? For starters, consider swapping the president and vice-president seats. A Biden/Obama ticket probably wouldn’t change my overall view of the ticket. That is, there are some things I like and dislike about Obama and some things I like and dislike about Biden, but on balance, I think they’d average out to no net change. A Palin/McCain ticket is another story. I simply cannot imagine Palin in the top spot in the real world. Her anti-intellectual streak just makes me shudder. It would definitely make me think even less of the pair.
The really interesting switch would be McCain/Biden versus Obama/Palin. Who would you vote for? On the one hand I could hope McCain became unable to hold the office (perhaps through some form of scandal) and Biden would take over, and on the other hand, I could hope that Palin could be shuffled off into a dark corner somewhere and not heard from, and nothing prevents Obama from filling out the term. But if I knew both pairs would fill the term completely and both members would be actively engaged in the administration, that would be a real mind bender. At this point, I honestly don’t know what I’d do. Fortunately, it’s not something I have to worry about this coming Tuesday. What about you?