A client I once worked for, not knowing its proper name, called Cooper Black "the honest typeface."

The only thing I can suggest about doing work for politicians is, get paid in advance.

Cooper Black is nice, maybe a bit dated.

None of those, at least no text faces. Browse here: http://www.fontshop.com/fonts/category/

So much depends on the name.
Some names look harsh, merely through the accident of letter forms (or through being short), while others are naturally soft -- and there is also the sound and meaning of the name to consider -- you may want to counteract or enhance these qualities, at the least they should be negotiated. Get designing, for goodness sake!

Clearface (U&lc) is very friendly, IMO, and compact, which is useful for making the name big in signage.
Choice of serif or sans.

Cooper Black is nice, maybe a bit dated.

I didn't say it was hip: I merely stated what it was perceived to convey by a non-type professional. And I would agree with the other Nick on Clearface...

If this is in preparation for an election, be sure to check out what fonts the competition is using, to avoid a too-similar look.

oldnick: I didn't say it was hip: I merely stated what it was perceived to convey by a non-type professional.

Actually, given the current font environment, Cooper might stand out quite well. Personally, I like Cooper. I don't get the chance to use it very often anymore.

As an alternative to Cooper Black you could look at Gator or Goudy Heavyface.

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/canadatype/gator/
http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/bitstream/goudy-heavyface/

I think Block would be a great choice as well:

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/berthold/block-be/

I've seen Cooper Black around this summer, at least in the places I've been in Europe. I even ended up using it recently in a magazine advert.