Could Michelle Obama be our next Vice President?

In an interview with KDKA’s Jon Delano, presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden claimed he would take Michelle Obama as his pick for Vice President "in a heartbeat." Though he added that the former first lady has no desire to live anywhere near the White House any time soon, this did raise questions about whether Biden was considering her as his running mate, CNN reports. After eight long years beside her husband former President Barack Obama, perhaps she will need some time to think about returning to the White House. However, the United States could really use some of her leadership right now.

"I’d take her in a heartbeat," Biden stated. "She’s brilliant. She knows the way around. She is a really fine woman. The Obamas are great friends." He did concede, nonetheless, that Obama has no real intention of being part of another Presidential campaign. He shared, "I don’t think she has any desire to live near the White House again." But Americans are now curious. Could Obama be our next Vice President? After all, she would not only be the first woman in our history to assume the role, but also the first black woman to do so. The case for her to be Biden's pick for the position is formidable, to say the least.

Obama was voted the most admired woman in America in both 2018 and 2019 and her bestselling memoir Becoming has sold over 10 million copies across the world. Furthermore, even though she may not be actively involved in government at the moment, she has established the non-partisan outreach group When We All Vote. The organization is currently working on increasing voter registration and making early voting and vote-by-mail the standard in states across the country. As we grapple with an ongoing public health crisis, Obama wants to ensure that elections are still fair and free to all American citizens.

For all these reasons, there is no doubt that Obama would make an excellent pick for VP. As Chris Cillizza writing for CNN affirmed, "In short: There is no single person in America Biden could pick as his VP that would increase his chances of victory more than Michelle Obama. Period." Nevertheless, we must respect her wishes - explicitly outlined in Becoming. She wrote, "I'll say it here directly: I have no intention of running for office, ever." Then, in an interview with Conan O'Brien for his podcast, she reinstated that she would not be running for office. All this, however, doesn't mean that a Biden-Obama ticket (a different kind than in 2008 and 2012, of course) is a complete impossibility.

If Biden were to tell Obama that the only way to defeat another four years of incumbent President Donald Trump was to have her name on the ticket, perhaps she would reconsider her strong stand against entering politics. Obama did tell Gayle King in 2019, "What saddens me is what it's doing to the country as a whole. What we have to be really conscientious of is what kind of country we're leaving for our children or grandchildren." While the Democrats may not speak for all of America, there is no doubt that a country molded by Obama's tenacity, compassion, and courage is one that our grandchildren would be proud of.

While we wait for Biden's official announcement of who will be joining him on the 2020 Presidential ticket, he has revealed that he is keen on choosing a woman. "I’ll commit to that be a woman because it is very important that my administration look like the public, look like the nation," he said. "And there will be... A woman of color on the Supreme Court, that doesn’t mean there won’t be a Vice President, as well." So, chin up, fellow Obama fans. We may just see a Vice President in our forever first lady.