The New York Post published a piece yesterday saying President Obama was going to dump Joe Biden in favor of popular NY governor Andrew Cuomo for 2012 running mate. Apparently "a prominent Republican" had joined "a prominent Democrat" in predicting Cuomo would join Obama as running mate in 2012. The White House has since denied the rumors.
But could Cuomo be an asset to the Obama campaign next year? Joe Biden doesn't exactly add a whole lot to the ticket, and the Obama campaign will likely face an uphill battle if the economy does not improve in the next six months. Cuomo is also very popular among NY independents (and even NY Republicans), while Obama's approval rating among independents has been on the decline since he took office. Perhaps a little mix-up might be in order?
But then again, why would a Democrat as successful as Cuomo want to risk losing in 2012 alongside President Obama? The New York Post reported that Cuomo has not denied interest in higher office, but he is only two years into his term, which ends just before the 2016 presidential election.
And don't forget: these sort of rumors go around nearly every election cycle when an incumbent faces re-election. In 2004, rumors about Bush replacing Cheney proved untrue, even considering Cheney's poor health. Indeed, the last multi-term president to switch running mates was FDR in 1941 (yes, yes...Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973, but he was facing criminal charges.)