the republicans bore me so much my heart isn't really into this particular guessing game, unlike predicting the democratic running mate... but let's give it a go.oh...and i preface this by admitting i'm not nearly as familiar with some potential republican running mates... so i'm handicapped a 7. (huh...golf lingo. i'm not even sure i know what that means... i wonder if it should be higher? lower?)
looking at the field
mccain's biggest problem is his age. i shit you not... i mean, the guy's what? 101? 102? he's 97 if he's a day... but he also has an ongoing problem with the conservative base... who, for some reason, doesn't see mccain for the hawkish war monger he really is....
so mccain will be looking for a younger, "more conservative" version of himself. much like the democrats, i also think he'll want to find a governor in order to give his ticket some executive bona fides.
charlie criss of florida seems a perfect choice. he'll help carry florida in the general just as he did in the primary... and johnny boy owes him a great debt for that victory. but criss is not overly well-known on the national stage... unlike his predecessor, jeb bush. plus... if you're going for younger... is that too much white hair on the ticket?
i once again offer up the importance of pennsylvania. certain big states will go certain ways. texas to mccain. new york and california to obama. but pennsylvania is becoming a progressively more purple state and it's a big electoral prize.
why not tom ridge? he's an ex-governor of the keystone state AND the first secretary of the homeland security department. that plays directly into mccain's plan to run a campaign heavy on national security. plus...ridge is younger and seems more robust (despite his hearing aid). he worked construction as a young man and is a decorated war hero from vietnam. seems a match made in heaven?
oh, wait... i think i suddenly remember ridge being pro-choice. that could spell disaster for mccain and his already lagging conservative appeal.
some pundits still want to argue ole mitt "flip-flop" romney... he appealed greatly to the conservative base (for some odd reason) and is known for being a smart, fiscal conservative. but fiscal conservatism isn't mccain's weakness... he has more problems with his ideas on immigration... and there were those illegals cutting the lawn at mitt's pink house.
plus... is there any question these two despise each other.....?
i just can't imagine hillbilly huckabee on the ticket.... i'm afraid he'd be more of a distraction than anything else... but his evangelical roots could help court a religious right that remains skeptical of mccain.
some have mentioned condolezza rice... a plan to help cut into obama's stranglehold on the black vote. but i'm not sure having someone tied so tightly to the bush administration and the war in iraq is something mccain wants to add to his ticket. he's hopped into bed with bush on the iraq war but he needs to continue to impress on voters that he is not a third bush term.
so who else is out there?
senator lindsey graham is constantly at mccain's side and he could help snag south carolina away from obama and bring some southern starpower to the ticket. but he is a senator and do they want two senators on the ticket? it worked for kennedy/johnson, yes... but they were democrats and that was a long time ago.
don't even suggest that turncoat joe lieberman to me.... yes, he bailed out mccain on his mideast trip but mccain has enough problems selling himself as a conservative. (again - not sure why? the man's a conservative!)
i guess, finally, i'd like to offer general david petraeus. once again... we know mccain will run a campaign heavy on national security and foreign policy experience... but again - how much does he want to be tied to iraq?
hmmmm......
i'd say my current top five ranking of possible v.p. candidates for mccain is as follows:
1. criss
2. ridge (would be first if not pro-choice)
3. graham
4. romney
5. petraeus
ridge may actually be a no-go...but for now. and huckabee wins miss congeniality.
e.
p.s. someone suggested the newly elected governor of louisiana, bobby jindal. an interesting thought... apparently first suggested by that blowhard, rush limbaugh. i'm just not sure what jindal brings to the ticket except some assurance to other middle-easterners that, maybe, with jindal on the ticket...mccain won't blow the mideast off the map. but i just don't see the benefit of a no-name governor from louisiana helping mccain out. let him address the convention in the fall... try that "inclusion" theme again.
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