McCain's VP Pick
There is talk that McCain might pick his VP in the next two weeks, before the Olympics. I think that timing is fine -- it's probably better timing than doing it right before the RNC convention in September.
But honestly -- I can't see McCain getting a big bounce from any of his potential picks. Romney is a phony and a flip-flopper who isn't really loved by anyone. His ludicrous statements during the primary (double Gitmo!) will come back to haunt him, and he isn't going to deliver his home state of Massachusetts.
Huckabee would be a strong pick, at least for the Christian crowd, but it would be electoral suicide for McCain to pick him. A creepy man with a creepy background (pardoning a rapist/killer, for example). Plus, fiscal conservatives don't like him.
Bobby Jindall is too young, his exorcist past would make for endless jokes, and his abortion stance is too extreme.
Tim Pawlenty seems like the safest choice, but that's also a problem -- he's boring as hell. Still, I'd guess that he's the fav no matter how much hype Romney is getting.
Gov. Sarah Palin would have been a very intriguing choice, but she's currently dealing with a big time scandal in Alaska. Cross her out.
Carly Fiorina? Give me a break. With folks losing their jobs, why pick a disgraced former CEO who botched her last job and walked away with a golden parachute? You might as well pick Phil Gramm.
Rob Portman is Bush's former budget director, so he helped take us from record surpluses to record deficits. Nope, not gonna work.
Chuck Hagel would be McCain's strongest choice, but he's an Obama guy now. Sorry.
As far as timing, I don't think it really matters. It will be good for Obama if McCain chooses first, as that allows him to decide who would make a better contrast. This is McCain's last chance, outside of the debates, to make a big splash so it's better to get it over with. If McCain really thinks he'll get much attention on the Friday after Obama's big Denver speech, he's dreaming. And with George W. Bush giving the opening night speech at the RNC convention, any positive news from the VP pick will simply be drowned out by the subsequent bad press.
If I was Obama, I'd pick my VP in the middle of August, during the Olympics, or at the start of the convention. If the last two Olympics is any guide, it's not gonna be all-consuming. Plus there is a huge time zone difference, preventing any Olympics news from jumping over his story. I don't think Obama has any home run VP prospects, but he has some good ones and some bad ones. Hopefully he picks a good one.
Good ones: Kaine, Sebelius, McCaskill, Biden, Edwards (if love-child story can be proven false), Patty Murray, Richardson.
Bad ones: Nunn, Webb, Veneman, Clinton, Hagel, Bayh.
But honestly -- I can't see McCain getting a big bounce from any of his potential picks. Romney is a phony and a flip-flopper who isn't really loved by anyone. His ludicrous statements during the primary (double Gitmo!) will come back to haunt him, and he isn't going to deliver his home state of Massachusetts.
Huckabee would be a strong pick, at least for the Christian crowd, but it would be electoral suicide for McCain to pick him. A creepy man with a creepy background (pardoning a rapist/killer, for example). Plus, fiscal conservatives don't like him.
Bobby Jindall is too young, his exorcist past would make for endless jokes, and his abortion stance is too extreme.
Tim Pawlenty seems like the safest choice, but that's also a problem -- he's boring as hell. Still, I'd guess that he's the fav no matter how much hype Romney is getting.
Gov. Sarah Palin would have been a very intriguing choice, but she's currently dealing with a big time scandal in Alaska. Cross her out.
Carly Fiorina? Give me a break. With folks losing their jobs, why pick a disgraced former CEO who botched her last job and walked away with a golden parachute? You might as well pick Phil Gramm.
Rob Portman is Bush's former budget director, so he helped take us from record surpluses to record deficits. Nope, not gonna work.
Chuck Hagel would be McCain's strongest choice, but he's an Obama guy now. Sorry.
As far as timing, I don't think it really matters. It will be good for Obama if McCain chooses first, as that allows him to decide who would make a better contrast. This is McCain's last chance, outside of the debates, to make a big splash so it's better to get it over with. If McCain really thinks he'll get much attention on the Friday after Obama's big Denver speech, he's dreaming. And with George W. Bush giving the opening night speech at the RNC convention, any positive news from the VP pick will simply be drowned out by the subsequent bad press.
If I was Obama, I'd pick my VP in the middle of August, during the Olympics, or at the start of the convention. If the last two Olympics is any guide, it's not gonna be all-consuming. Plus there is a huge time zone difference, preventing any Olympics news from jumping over his story. I don't think Obama has any home run VP prospects, but he has some good ones and some bad ones. Hopefully he picks a good one.
Good ones: Kaine, Sebelius, McCaskill, Biden, Edwards (if love-child story can be proven false), Patty Murray, Richardson.
Bad ones: Nunn, Webb, Veneman, Clinton, Hagel, Bayh.
posted by Existenz | 8:14 PM
2 Comments:
I certainly understand why you would simply like to "cross out" Sarah Palin. "Big time" scandal, gimme a break (compared to what Tony Rezko, Reverand Wright -- get real)
Too bad for your side that McCain's Veep WILL LIKELY BE Sarah Palin (we know she is your greatest fear).
Hi Ted,
Thanks for visiting. Sarah Palin fired somebody because he wouldn't retaliate against her sister's ex-husband. Maybe nothing happened, but it is just slimy enough that Palin won't be getting any serious consideration. Why would McCain want to deal with an ongoing scandal when he can get somebody scandal-free like Romney or Pawlenty?
Palin was my greatest fear -- until this scandal broke. Now I think she'd be a major drag on McCain, so I hope he picks her.
As far as Rezko and Rev. Wright, try to come up with something more original. That stuff is old news my friend.
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