Politics & Power Quote by Susan Estrich

Estrich’s line lands like a cold glass of water on the fever dreams of campaign season, when operatives insist the running mate is destiny. It’s a journalist’s corrective: a blunt reminder that most voters aren’t shopping a ticket like a combo meal. They’re choosing a single character to star in the country’s long-running political drama, and the vice president is usually supporting cast.

The intent is partly strategic, partly skeptical. Strategically, it warns parties not to over-invest in “VP as vote-magnet” fantasies - the idea that a beloved governor will deliver Ohio, or a demographic match will unlock a constituency. Skeptically, it punctures a media narrative that treats veepstakes like a high-stakes draft. Estrich’s subtext is about attention: in a presidency-centered political culture, everything else is downstream. Even when voters say they care about governing experience or readiness, the emotional purchase is the top of the ticket: trust, fear, charisma, steadiness.

Context matters because the exception proves the rule. In moments of presidential age, scandal, or perceived fragility, the vice president suddenly stops being ornamental and starts looking like an insurance policy. That’s why the line has bite: it’s mostly true, but it’s also a warning about complacency. Campaigns can treat the VP pick as symbolism, but governing reality (succession, agenda-setting, crisis management) doesn’t. Estrich isn’t romanticizing voter behavior; she’s diagnosing it - and nudging the political class to stop confusing cable-news obsession with electoral math.