Heineman: What about Nelson for Cabinet spot?

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By DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star

MINNEAPOLIS — Not me, Gov. Dave Heineman says.

But a Cabinet slot in an Obama administration for Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson would be a good fit, he suggested during an interview aboard a yacht gliding down the Mississippi River on a dinner cruise with the Nebraska delegation to the Republican National Convention.

“Senator Nelson was an early supporter of Senator Obama and it would make sense to have an experienced senator in the cabinet” if Democrats win the presidency this November, the governor said.

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U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

“It just makes good sense for a president to look for friends and those they respect. If Obama wins, I think it’s likely he’ll be offered a position in the Cabinet.”

That, of course, would work out quite well for Nebraska Republicans.

A Nelson appointment would create a vacancy that Heineman would fill by appointment, thus allowing Republicans to pick up a Senate seat and have an incumbent ready to defend it in 2012.

Heineman’s comments followed speculation in the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, that Nelson might be considered as a Democratic appointment in an administration governed by Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

Earlier in the week, the governor found his own name on a speculative list for secretary of agriculture in a McCain administration.

“I appreciate it,” he said, “but I’m not interested. I have the best job in America and I want to keep it.”

Heineman is on course for a re-election bid in 2010 that could extend his governorship to 10 years, making him the longest-serving governor in Nebraska history.

After that, who knows?

“I don’t have much interest in being in Congress,” he said.

Heineman is a political animal — or, more politely stated, a political expert — who has demonstrated both strategic and tactical skills in a career that has included party officer, congressional aide and elected officeholder.

On the day Tom Osborne announced his candidacy for the 2006 Republican gubernatorial nomination, the governor could be found in the breakfast nook of the Governor’s Mansion studying a map of Nebraska with county-by-county election statistics and beginning to craft what would be a successful primary campaign.

He keeps a sharp eye on this year’s presidential race, reading newspapers like The Washington Post and the New York Times online each day, checking political Web sites like Real Clear Politics, studying poll results, talking with fellow governors.

So, let’s see what he thinks.

The Gallup Poll and other national surveys are “not really as important as statewide results in key states,” he said, “and in another week or so it will be time to take a close look at polls in those states.”

Remember, this is a contest of electoral votes, not the national popular vote.

Heineman believes “the key determining states” will be Virginia, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and New Hampshire.

Keep an eye on Colorado, the governor said. In a tight race, he said, “Colorado could decide who’s the next president.”

And if the contest is dead-even, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District “could be a deciding factor.”

Heineman admires the organizational skill of the Obama campaign.

“Give them credit,” he said. “They have been very effective in caucus states and in Republican states.”

If they’re going to be effective in registering new voters in the metropolitan Omaha district and successful in getting Obama supporters to vote, the governor said, “the McCain people need to make some strong organizational efforts in Nebraska.”

“It’s a possibility” Obama could swipe one electoral vote from Nebraska, Heineman said, “but I rate it somewhat unlikely.”

Nebraska splits its presidential electoral votes, awarding two to the statewide victor and one to the winner of each of the state’s three congressional districts.

Nationally, Heineman sees the possibility of Obama winning the popular vote, buttressed by “fairly significant margins” in big states like California and New York, but losing the electoral vote — and thus the presidency — to McCain.

OK, Governor, if you had to bet?

“I don’t think I’d want to bet yet. It’s too close. But Obama should have a bigger lead than he does now because of external factors that should benefit him.”

An unpopular Republican president, Heineman said, “a war that most Americans want out of responsibly, and most states with an economy in or near recession.”

It’s clear that Americans have “some genuine concerns about Senator Obama’s experience,” the governor said. “If they get comfortable with him, he will have the edge.”

McCain has “a significant advantage on experience,” Heineman said, and Obama holds the advantage on change.

“But I don’t think the people want change in the form of higher taxes and more government spending,” he said.

Whoever wins has an obligation to “drop the partisanship” after the election and get to work resolving the tough issues that have gone unaddressed, he said.

Economic challenges, energy, immigration reform, national security issues in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

“The American people are “fed up with partisanship,” Heineman said, and want Washington to “find common ground and resolve the difficult issues” when the election is done.

Oh, and about that Senate appointment?

“That’s all highly speculative, of course, but I’d look at all the possibilities, talk to each one, make the best call you can. I’ll handle it if it comes.”

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.