Don't do it, Joe

There's been a flurry of speculation lately that Joe Biden may pick Sen. Elizabeth Warren as his running mate.

Don't do it, Joe.

Running against probably the greatest confabulator in American political history is a unique situation. That Joe Biden himself has been known to tell a whopper or two diminishes the edge in credibility it should naturally give. But to add a woman famous for making an essentially bogus claim to Native American ancestry and well-known for... um... exaggerating probably would negate whatever advantage Mr. Trump's almost compulsive lack of truthfulness might still give to the Democratic ticket.

Supposedly surveys show that a Biden-Warren ticket would have the best chance of bringing the younger voters and "progressives" who supported Bernie Sanders in the primaries back into the fold. Very frankly, anyone on the left who would even consider staying home on Election Day when the choice is between Joe Biden and Donald Trump would have to be pretty "out there." I suspect that numbers of such people are greatly exaggerated despite the grumbling and sore loserhood of some of the more extreme leftists in the party.

But nominating someone as extreme as Warren- particularly given the likelihood that Biden would serve only one term- would rob the Democratic ticket of the ability to present itself as a moderate alternative to Trump's craziness and risk alienating the very centrist voters who will probably decide the election. They, and not disgruntled Sanders supporters, are the folks Joe Biden needs to worry about the most. States like Michigan and Pennsylvania and Florida are more likely to be drawn back into the Democratic fold by the prospect of a safe haven from the tinfoil hatters and the conspiracy theorists and a return to responsible, intelligent, thoughtful government than by signals that the Democrats, too, are playing to the extremes.

I would probably still vote for Biden even if he does pick Warren. But I would do so without even the level of enthusiasm I have for merely getting rid of Mr. Trump. After the insane four years we've just gone through, we don't need a wild-eyed ideological crusade or even a gesture in that direction. We need an administration of seasoned, sober grown-ups.

Elizabeth Warren would send exactly the wrong signal to the American voter at a time when normality and responsibility and above all competence are the qualities we need the most.

I'm pulling for Klobucar. Harris would be OK. But not Elizabeth Warren.