A consequential pick

HISTORIANS and political scientists continue to debate whether the selection of a vice-presidential candidate has made a difference when it comes to the general election. Do voters really care who the presidential candidate chooses as his or her running mate?

The short answer is that voters do not care a lot about that decision, which was traditionally made in order to achieve a regional balance in the ticket - so if the presidential candidate was from the North-east, the candidate for vice-president (VP) had tended to come from the Midwest or the South. Hence, it is difficult to point to any American presidential election in which the VP nominee helped a political party win the White House.

In fact, US vice-presidents have had almost no role to play in any administration, with the exception of giving speeches and attending state funerals. That was the case at least until recently, when, starting with Jimmy Carter, presidents started delegating some policy responsibilities to the second-highest officer in the executive branch and provided him with an official residence.