McCain picks a vice president

I'd bet against Rice. She's pro-choice-- and McCain is already having a hard time shoring up the Conservative vote. Look for a domestic-issues candidate.

Romney is another rich white guy. Rice is a possible stop-the-bleeding measure but it will only work for a little while. The RP will implode come November whomever McCain picks.

None of the picks inspires. But Rice would be a disaster. Even many conservative Republicans say she is one of the worst NSAs or Sec. of State's in recent memory... to say nothing of the daily visible proof for Democrats that McCain is just a Bush third term.

Sarah Palin is by far the best choice for VP!

www.palinforamerica.com

Rice would be a horrible pick! Rice has never run for office. She is a bureaucrat, not a politician. Her nomination as VP would cement the Dems' claims that to vote for McCain is to vote for a third Bush term. McCain needs to find a way to separate himself from Bush.

Rice could also been seen as a token black pick. McCain would deny he picked her because of her race, much like GHWBush denied he picked Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall because of his race.

What about Huckabee? I'm not a huge Huck fan, but we need someone from the South. (Florida is not a Southern state.)

In the end, I think electoral math will push it towards Pawlenty or Crist (if they're not afraid of the gay rumors).
Posted by: CJ | August 28, 2008 9:17 AM

They get those rumors with Condi also. Google "Randy Bean".

Frank Keating.

He handled the Oklahoma bombing with Giuliani-like aplomb. He resigned from the bishops' committee monitoring the pederasty reforms and compared the bishops to the mafia:

"To act like La Cosa Nostra and hide and suppress, I think, is very unhealthy. ... To resist grand jury subpoenas, to suppress the names of offending clerics, to deny, to obfuscate, to explain away; that is the model of a criminal organization, not my church."

He ought to know: FBI agent, federal prosecutor, governor. Stellar credentials.

The VP debate would be priceless.

Powell is pro-choice and is supportive of affirmative action. He's also supposedly going to endorse Obama.

It's a motley crew to choose from. There was some rumor about Brownback, who is intriguing for a lot of reasons. He'd scare the hell out of independents, but would definitely solidify the social conservatives who appear to believe they have veto-power over the pick.

Pawlenty is the safest pick, but very dull. Palin is a window-dressing candidate with zero leadership credentials. Maybe it will be one of the female CEOs. It would be bold, but very very risky. And are they pro-life?

Having lived in New Jersey during her tenure as governor, I'd love to see McCain pick Christie Todd Whitman. He won't, I'm sure (she's pro-choice and had was an early critic of the Bush administration when they started jerking her around at EPA), but it would make me slightly less terrified of the thought of him in the White House.

How many houses does Romney have?

I don't know, but I bet it's enough to show that he has been successful and competent in his professional life. The fact that Biden is thought to have a negative personal cash-flow is not a good thing in my book.

BTW, how many houses could the Obamas afford on their half-million per year household income? Is that a strike against them? How about the Clintons? How many could they buy after a week of speech making by Bill? How many does Kerry have? Gore?

The little-guy populist rhetoric would be a little easier to stomach if the Dems and the media held the same standards for themselves.

John E: McCain/Keating, that rings a bell - but not in a way that McCain wants.

You're right. But McCain was exonerated -- though the Dems are sure to raise the issue anyway. Might as well face it sooner rather than later.

Palin would be a genius pick for McCain, and about the only way conservative, pro-life voters will get on board with him in a massive way.

She did not abort her own down syndrome baby, in spite of a pre-natal diagnosis, a story that will produce near religious fervor for her in the pro-life base. Her nomination will put her in line to be the next nominee, again bringing the base on board in a big way. She has the reputation as a reformer cleaning up corrupt Republican politics in Alaska. Thus she could help McCain distance himself from those problems in Washington. She is attractive, young and new, bringing some of the Obama romance, and appealing beyond the base for all these reasons.

Compared to Obama's dull, boring pick with Biden, Palin would electrify the convention and give McCain a much larger convention bounce than Obama is likely to get. I know I will vote for him only if he picks Palin, otherwise--like many pro-life conservatives--I'm sitting this one out.

I'd like to see Condi... (I was formerly of the "lets stick Condi up against Hillary and have a two woman race for the presidency" camp) - but will she be willing to be VP? She was so outspokenly against the idea of her running for President - is VP not still a little too close to that for her liking?

I personally would like to see Lieberman - not because I agree with him, but because he seems like a real person and not just a politician - there's very few politicians that I think come across as likeable - and Lieberman is one of them... Not that likeability is a good way to make one's decision of who to vote for...

I'd like to see Condi... (I was formerly of the "lets stick Condi up against Hillary and have a two woman race for the presidency" camp) - but will she be willing to be VP? She was so outspokenly against the idea of her running for President - is VP not still a little too close to that for her liking?

I personally would like to see Lieberman - not because I agree with him, but because he seems like a real person and not just a politician - there's very few politicians that I think come across as likeable - and Lieberman is one of them... Not that likeability is a good way to make one's decision of who to vote for...

Sarah Palin is the most popular governor in America, and she's already got more executive experience than either Obama or Biden. But admittedly, a Palin pick would blur the experience contrast McCain is painting. And with a newborn disabled child, there's little chance she'd do it anyway.

Kay Bailey Hutchinson would be an intriguing choice. She's rhetorically pro choice but has a fairly consistent pro life legislative record and is considered reliable on judges. That makes her sort of the flip side of the nominally "pro-life" Democrats like Harry Reid and Bob Casey, Jr., whose actions run directly counter to their supposed position on abortion. I suspect many pro-lifers would rule out someone like KBH a priori, but they shouldn't.

In the end, I think it will be Romney, which is a mistake. Romney can be counted on to do reasonably well in the debate with Biden, but so what? He brings nothing else to the ticket, and his grass roots following doesn't extend far beyond Kathryn Jean Lopez's cubicle at NRO. Something about the guy just rubs people the wrong way -- and no, it's not his Mormonism.

"And Alaska stacks up pretty well against Clinton's Arkansas."

Arkansas is substantially bigger than Alaska in population and Clinton was governor for 12 years. Palin ran a town smaller then some apartment complexes in New York.

"Think before you write."

Physician heal thyself.

Released after Obama's speech? Really?

I called it: McCain's campaign is run by idiots. They had a chance to steal the media focus, and they didn't. They could have all the talking heads talking about McCain during Obama's speech.

I guess they could be worried that Obama would trash their choice in his speech, which is possible. OTOH, he's already having so much fun talking about McCain.

And that only works if it's one of the obvious people that he's already done research on, so I think we can safely assume it actually is. If it was some completely unexpected, McCain really should have stuck them out there before the speech. (Although I think he should have done it anyway.)

I don't know what you Rice people are smoking, but I want some of that.

Look, if Rice wants to be a politician--which she is not--then let her settle down in a prime state and run for senate or governor or something. If she can put together a campaign team and be a leader in office, then she can take a shot at the presidency.

BTW, after being SoS, wouldn't the Veep slot technically be a demotion?

As far as Kay Bailey Hutchison, I find her to be incredibly dull and generally a cold fish. She would put the convention to sleep.

A Republican political operative friend of mine expects it to be Mitt, and if this is the case, I will be deeply disappointed.

However, if McCain picks Rice he will win this election. The Democrats will react with over-the-top, racially tinged (they won't be able to help themselves, especially the black liberals) attacks on Rice's person. This will alienate McCain's target: Hillary women, still angered at how Obama's personality cult treated them during the primary.

Rice herself passes the commander-in-chief test the way Mitt does, without Mitt's flipping around and Massachussetts liberalism. She also doesn't have a record of commercials bashing McCain, either. She's the only "outside the box" pick that makes sense.

This is why my dark horse hunch goes to Condi. Obama opened up the door for McCain to make this pick, and he can walk right through.

Mitt Romney is clearly the best pick. His resume is stellar and he will get things done as a VP and he will be a strong support to McCain. I am sure a lot of Democrates are shaking in their shoes at the thought of Romney getting the nod. I am also sure that a lot of government employees are worried about Mitt because he will help cut all the waste from Washington. Go Mitt!!

I think it'll be Pawlenty, and he's probably McCain's best pick, because he's the only Republican who can speak credibly to people worried about economic issues, and there's nothing about him to tick off any groups in the base. He's strongly pro-life (and his wife is big in the pro-life movement in MN), so social conservatives should be happy. He addresses lunch bucket issues, but isn't too populist (he's less than I'd like). He's smart enough so that he should be able to handle the foreign policy issues once he's getting briefings regularly, assuming he isn't too surrounded by neocons.

I think Cantor would be an intriguing pick.

I think Romney would be a horrible pick, given his relationship with McCain in the primaries, his robotness, and his flip-floppiness (which will be a major attack point on McCain this fall, just like [inherited] personal wealth), and his lack of any foreign policy experience. Biden should have an easier time with him than with Pawlenty.

I don't have a particular person in mind, but if McCain doesn't pick minority or woman, he's going to kiss this goodbye. An all "old white dude" ticket against Obama just seems like a loser.

Rice is incompetent with few managerial skills. Little ability to deal with interpersoanl conflict. Read anything by the military guys who have had to deal with her.

Steve

"Plus nobody can doubt that she'd [Rice] be ready to assume command if McCain were to die or resign."

Just WHERE do you get these ideas!?!

Think for a bit why you'd want to run for President.

If you're GOP, then you are gauranteed to live out the rest of your life as the target of an unending campaign of hate and personal destruction.

At most, you can be president for 8 years. Long after his death, the Democrats are still campaigning HATE at Reagan.

Why would ANY decent man want to subject himself to that?

Apparently, a working strategy, though. The great conservatives of character don't find being president all that attractive. I hope you liberals are proud of your "poison the well" strategy of political conquest.

Just WHERE do you get these ideas!?!

Dick Morris?

At most, you can be president for 8 years. Long after his death, the Democrats are still campaigning HATE at Reagan.

In all fairness, the politics of personal destruction works about the same on both sides. Every now and then I still meet a grass roots conservative who's convinced that the Clintons had Vince Foster murdered.

Mostly this is the unavoidable result of having two broadly ideological parties emerge, a process that began during the New Deal and wasn't complete until the 1970s and 1980s.
Before that, both parties containes large conservative and liberal blocks, which forced everyone to be a lot more civil and collegial. You might find some Senator's views odious, but if he was your fellow Democrat or fellow Republican, you'd be more cautious in your criticisms. And if you were a politician, you'd be forced to talk with them regularly, and normally you'd develop real friendships with politicians of different viewpoints. Conversely, you couldn't demonize the other party, because it included lots of people whose opinions were broadly similar to your own.

Today if you're liberal you're almost always a Democrat, and if conservative a Republican. No need to work with the other side, or even get to know them personally. The other side is obviously Evil or the Worst President in History, etc., so they have to be destroyed.

This doesn't bode well for the future of our representative institutions.

Condi Rice - really the only choice for McCain if he wants to win!

"Arkansas is substantially bigger than Alaska in population and Clinton was governor for 12 years. Palin ran a town smaller then some apartment complexes in New York."

TR: Alaska's population has grown a fair amount. Besides which we're talking VP not President. Palin would not be a good nominee for President, but I like her for VP.

Still she might not have enough experience and seems to be having some trouble with her brother-in-law or something.

"Kay Bailey Hutchinson would be an intriguing choice. She's rhetorically pro choice but has a fairly consistent pro life legislative record and is considered reliable on judges." Simon

TR: I'd find her acceptable. If she'll be for issues I care about I guess she doesn't have to be a true believer. It'd be nice if she were, but with politics you have to make compromises sometimes.

"As far as Kay Bailey Hutchison, I find her to be incredibly dull and generally a cold fish." Kirk

TR: I'm not overly enthusiastic about her, but the VP doesn't have to be exciting or huggable. If she can get older woman and be effective in zinging Obama/Biden this is sufficient.

"Trish, Jindal is a convert to Catholicism." RD

TR: Rod, she said Hindi. Hindi is a language and ethnicity, it's not the religion of Hinduism. (Although for all I know Jindal is actually Telugu or something)

Obama passing on Hillary who ran the closest nomination race in the Primary-selection era gives an impression of insecurity. It looks like he was afraid of being overshadowed by the Clintons. Reagan was secure enough to select Bush Sr even though he didn't ever appear to like him much.

If McCain picks Romney it will show that he is secure with himself. And, I really don't think owning a few houses will hurt Mitt at all. He will balence out the ticket by bringing in someone with real business experience at the highest level to present a ticket that demonstrates compentence as its defining character.

The contrast with the thin resume Obama and the life-long, politician Biden couldn't be stronger.

McCain, and the entire Republican Party in the long run, has one shot at this and her name is Condolezza Rice. No disrespect to all those other names in his hat, but if hers isn't the name he announces tomorrow morning (I hear) to be his VP, we're toast.

Condi has unquestionably better foreign policy credentials than Biden. She'll give the disenfranchised female vote, including the hard-core Hillary malcontents , somewhere to go. She'll split the Black vote (which is currently about 94% for Hussein Obama) She'd make Mrs. Obama look like an underachiever. She'd give McCain about a 15 point bump overnight. And, she'd reinvigorate the base of the Republican Party from one end of the country to the other.

Nobody else out there can bring anything close to all of that to the table as Senator McCain's running mate.

Oh, and it would really put egg all over the faces of those holier-than-thou Democrat Condi-haters when she becomes the highest ranking (So sorry, Mrs. "I never had sex with that woman" Clinton) as well as first female and Black Vice President of the United States of America.

(And, that won't depend upon what the definition of the word "IS" is.)

Condi Rice will not split the black vote. The "black vote" won't back a Republican. Naming her to the ticket would have the effect of losing more of the white vote than you would gain from the black vote, for a net loss.

"She'll give the disenfranchised female vote, including the hard-core Hillary malcontents , somewhere to go." Gary L. N.

Maybe. Well if we mean only the conservative Democratic women who voted for Hillary.

"She'll split the Black vote" CR

I doubt it. She actually does have respect in parts of the black community for her life experiences, but I don't think that's enough. If Edwards had been the Democratic nominee against a McCain-Rice ticket I could see it. Polls indicated Edwards had rather soft-support in the black community. However that's not what happened. I don't see any indication black women are dissatisfied with Obama. Possibly she could add a couple percent among blacks as some black Republicans seem set to vote for Obama, but I think she'd lose some too and be a net wash.