Emails: Clinton VP list divided into 'food groups' by race, gender

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Dem strategist: Special interest politics is a fact of life

Jessica Tarlov responds to latest Wikileaks revelation that a list of possible running mates for Hillary Clinton to choose from was divided into 'food groups' by the candidates' race, gender and other attributes

A list of possible running mates for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to choose from was divided into “food groups” by the candidates’ race, gender and other attributes, according to an email revealed Tuesday by WikiLeaks.

The list of 38 names, including tech leaders like Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, was sent to Clinton by Campaign Chairman John Podesta on March 17. The email was part of a trove of 50,000 purported messages stolen from Podesta’s Gmail account.

The email was sent on the heels of Clinton’s sweep of five primaries – in Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Florida – on March 15. Clinton’s big night followed an upset loss in Michigan to Sen. Bernie Sanders earlier in the month.

“Ok, I can breathe again! Congrats on a fabulous night,” Podesta wrote at the outset of the email. “I am feeling like it’s possible to get back to the longer term again.”

The list of potential veeps was compiled by Podesta and top Clinton aides Cheryl Mills, Robby Mook, Jake Sullivan, Huma Abedin and Jennifer Palmieri.

Podesta wrote that he organized the names “in rough food groups.” The names, though, appeared to be organized by race, gender -- and even wealth.

The groups were:

Rep. Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar -- all Hispanic.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Claire McKaskill, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- all women.

Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Sen. Tim Kaine, Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Sen. Chris Murphy and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack -- all white men.

Columbia, S.C., Mayor Stephen Benjamin, Sen. Cory Booker, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former Gov. Deval Patrick, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx -- all black men.

Gen. John Allen, Adm. William McCraven and Adm. Michael Mullen -- all military leaders.

GM CEO Mary Barra, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, philanthropist Melinda Gates, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent, Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz -- wealthy tech and business leaders.

Sen. Bernie Sanders stood alone in his group.

In the end, Clinton decided on Kaine as her selection.