With Obama back from the world tour, and the TV blackout of the Olympic games just a few weeks away, we’ve entered an open, undefined expanse of airtime, devoid of any major presidential campaign milestones, just waiting to be “won” by the appropriate public relations stunt. To me, that says just one thing: it’s vice president time. If Obama wants to keep his momentum, he’ll decide in the next two weeks and reap the ensuing media frenzy to his campaign’s enduring benefit: another freeze-out could well be fatal to McCain. But if McCain hopes to steal that momentum, he will almost literally get no other chance to do so.
Especially for a campaign in peril – like McCain’s, sleepy and adrift – choosing a vice president is like choosing a message. What messages, then, does McCain have to choose from? What will McCain be telling us with his picks?
- Charlie Crist (Gov.-FL): “I want Florida, and I don’t want to take a risk. Best to go for another guy with white hair.” Aside from speculations as to his, errr, sexual preference, Crist is the safe man’s bet. He’s respectable, white, and popular in Florida. But, if McCain dares to put two white-haired white guys against the young, charismatic Obama, and provided Obama chooses his vice presidential candidate wisely, Crist is a “safe” ticket to nowheresville.
- Mike Huckabee (Fail-AR): “I have nothing left to lose, and no judgment, so I might as well have fun.” Even putting Huckabee in the spotlight is a danger to democracy. But, he’s charismatic, and he’s crazy, and a lot of crazy people like him. A McCain/Huckabee ticket would be the sign of a truly desperate man.
- Bobby Jindal (Gov.-LA): “I need Huckabee to get the religious right, but he’s too openly crazy. Thank God for Indian Huckabee!” Just about says it all. Jindal offers nothing other than fundamentalist/exorcist street cred, and picking the man would be another sign of desperation, proof positive that McCain can’t succeed without the “agents of intolerance.” Luckily, Jindal has already said no.
- Joe Lieberman (Sen.-CT): “My party is a wreck. Time to go left, and grow up with the country.” Crazy, right? No. Lieberman’s public bear hug to John Hagee was a superfluous gesture, unneeded but to shore up his support among the religious right. And why would Lieberman need to do that? Yes, that’s it. However, if McCain chose Lieberman, he’d stand to gain a fairly small group of moderates, while reaping the tenfold wrath of the far right for his betrayal, and appeasing none of the Democrats who vote on the Iraq War issue. Epic fail.
- Sarah Palin (Gov.-AK): “I’m in trouble. Time for a risk.” Sarah Palin is brilliant. She’s popular. She’s a woman. And she kind of looks like the President Roslin from Battlestar Galactica (compare – no?). Up-and-coming Republican members of the Republican intelligentsia adore her as the future of their party… but she has two problems. First, she’s a rising star, likely to eclipse the man she would have to serve behind. And second, she’s a risk: if the Republican party is ever to transition away from being dominated by the religious right, it hasn’t happened yet. If Palin belongs to the Grand New Party, we’re not there yet. We’re still stuck with the Grand Olde Party. If McCain picks her, he’ll nab his best chance to win, but he’ll also be taking a hell of a risk.
- Condoleezza Rice (Sec. State): “I need women voters more than I need to distance myself from Bush.” Frankly, that’s unsurprising. McCain has publicly and doggedly pursued women voters disenchanted with the loss of Hillary Clinton, but what McCain giveth (recognition of the existence of women voters), he taketh away five times over (reproductive rights). But if McCain’s willing to risk tying himself to an otherwise intelligent woman who proved herself to be little more than Bush’s lapdog, he must be desperate for diversity indeed.
- Mitt Romney (Gov.-PA): “Maverick? That’s so 2000.” I’ve said enough about this jerk before. The man oozes slime from his greased hair; he stands for everything in politics that McCain nominally opposes. And McCain hates him… but he is the Republican establishment, and McCain needs that help. If we see a McCain/Romney ticket, we’ll know indeed that Maverick McCain has “sought the Havens,” and passed on into living memory.
A good number of these picks are sheer duds. But, luckily, the GOP seems to be leaning to the biggest dud of them all. Fine by me.
Ames I’m a little disappointed in your reporting. Charlie Crist is not an ‘old man’. At 52 he is only five years older than Obama. It’s easy to make assumptions when people have white hair though I supppose… Makes you wonder what other assumptions might be incorrect.
Palin is the superstar and would be the best pick. It’s okay if she overshadows him because I truly believe he would only serve 4 years and she would be a great successor.
As previously stated, if he picks Romney I probably need to find a new candidate.
Posted by Progressive Conservative | July 29, 2008, 8:13 amYou’re right, I took my poetic license too far, I’ll change it up!
Posted by Ames | July 29, 2008, 9:00 amI’ve been wondering why Palin is not on any of the many “Possible McCain VP articles!” that I’ve seen from “mainstream media” sites.
I just found articles on Washington Post and Times Magazine just now that didn’t mention her. Is she seen as “not good enough”? Not on the short list? Even the NYTimes election guide doesn’t list her.
http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/candidates/vp/index.html
Posted by oneiroi | July 29, 2008, 9:05 amOneiroi’s right – Palin doesn’t get the play that she arguably deserves. I think it’s because she’s a non-continental governor, a woman, and hasn’t played the political game with the mainstream of the party for long enough. Even though she’s the best choice, that may keep her out.
Posted by Ames | July 29, 2008, 9:29 amThere has been some speculation that McCain’s camp has deliberately mis-directed on Palin because they want her to be a relatively fresh face to the American people. Most Americans still have no idea who she is due to lack of scrutiny and so if he walks out with an attractive, well-spoken woman it’s going to generate a lot of buzz among the general populace who isn’t as obsessed with politics as we are.
Posted by Progressive Conservative | July 29, 2008, 9:34 amPC, I’m glad you’d be so disappointed at a McCain/Romney ticket: it shows we’re on the same page :-).
And while you may be right about McCain and Palin hiding her until the time is right, I think that’s too clever by half. While I don’t doubt that that would be a great PR coup, and a way to ensure that McCain/Palin would get more than thirty minutes of network time per week, the fact that he hasn’t even – to my knowledge – publicy met with her to the same level as he has with Jindal/Romney/Crist suggests to me that, if those were decoys indeed for Palin, McCain’s decision would be a ruse of D-Day proportions.
Posted by Ames | July 29, 2008, 9:56 amWhat risk re Palin? There are only positives.
Take this quiz:
1. Which McCain Veep pick is SIMULTANEOUSLY the safest AND boldest?
ANSWER: Sarah Palin
2. How can McCain SIMULTANEOUSLY attract both Hillary AND Bob Barr voters?
ANSWER: Sarah Palin
* * *
And then there’s this from the Conservative Voice:
“Desperately seeking Sarah
July 26, 2008 10:00 AM EST
By Stephan Andrew Brodhead
Desperately seeking Sarah
Americans need a little Palin Power
Sarah Palin the current Governor of Alaska is John McCain’s ultimate choice for VP. I do believe a woman is next in line for the presidency. All Conservatives like her. She is popular in Alaska. Hillary supporters would relish her. She would solidify a 12 or possibly 16 year Republican executive.
John McCain’s boring campaign is wearing thin. I need a little Palin Power to get me interested again. They would say ‘but she is only a half term Governor!’ And your point is?
That’s all I have to say about that!”
Posted by Ted | July 29, 2008, 10:14 amLet’s just hope McCain’s people is reading ‘the Google’ even if he isn’t. There is HUGE support for Palin out there and Ted is right, she is going to make a lot of Hillary supporters think about casting a vote for the GOP. Just one more strength, she speaks for the people of Alaska on drilling and she is decidely in favor of more domestic oil production. That voice will carry a lot more weight than McCain, Obama or anyone else.
Posted by Progressive Conservative | July 29, 2008, 10:46 amYou know my thoughts on offshore drilling. I need to write a post about that…
Posted by Ames | July 29, 2008, 10:53 amFrom what little I know about Gov. Palin, she seems like an excellent leader. I wonder, however, whether her lack of experience could hurt the McCain campaign. He is running on the dubious assumption that Sen. Obama is too inexperienced on a number of issues. That fact, combined with the insistence among many that he pick someone ready to assume the presidency at a moments notice, means that he could be open to accusations of hypocrisy.
Surely there must be someone in the Republican Party who is better qualified and yet has many of Ms. Palin’s strengths. I mean, they can’t be that bereft of talent, can they?
Posted by Trey Howard | July 29, 2008, 10:59 amI think they are. Palin does strike me as in many ways like Obama. Young and promising, but only halfway through her first major position. Good point, Trey.
Posted by Ames | July 29, 2008, 11:48 amLooking like Roslin is not a positive, given that Roslin only comes off as halfway tolerable given that there’s only about 4, maybe 5, characters on that whole show who’re actually likeable.
Out of curiosity, why would Palin be stronger than Hawaii’s Lingle? Knowing next to nothing about either’s qualifications or policy stances, it seems to me picking the one from the vastly more populous state (Lingle) would be the better pick just off of more proven ability to get voters. Not to mention, my understanding is that Hawaii’s a bit more Democrat-heavy than Alaska, so she’d have more appeal with moderates and Democrats. You know, assuming the two are interchangeable in all ways except state-of-origin.
Posted by Steve | July 29, 2008, 12:51 pmMike Huckabee (Fail-AR)
I LOL’d.
Posted by James F | July 29, 2008, 1:06 pmLingle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Linda_Lingle_navy_1-cropped.jpg
Palin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Palin1.JPG
I know it’s shallow, but c’mon man, Lingle would inspire more SNL sketches than Janet Reno did.
Posted by Progressive Conservative | July 29, 2008, 1:13 pmBURN. Disagree, though.
And, do all conservatives really like Palin? I wouldn’t think she’d be huge among the religious right.
Posted by Ames | July 29, 2008, 2:16 pmNo mention of Pawlenty? He seems to be the hot topic pick this week.
And with the exception of Palin (or Lieberman for me), he seems better than the list of possibles you have here Ames
Posted by FCD | July 29, 2008, 5:24 pmWho is Pawlenty?
Posted by Ames | July 29, 2008, 5:31 pmTim Pawlenty, republican governor of Minnesota.
Seriously Ames, are slacking on your homework?
Posted by Progressive Conservative | July 29, 2008, 8:46 pmRegarding Pawlenty, while I lived in Minneapolis there was much consternation among the locals that Michelle Bachmann had her sights set on much higher office, and was planning to use the 6th District’s seat as a stepping stone. Were McCain to take a Minnesotan, she’s much more appealing to the Huckabeean portion of his base than McCain himself – or Pawlenty, most likely. On the other hand, she’d probably be counter-productive when it came to trying to convince moderates and independents that these candidate’s aren’t real close to President Bush.
Pawlenty… well, like I said, I lived in Minneapolis, but I’ve been gone for about a year so I’ll leave aside the policy considerations. But even leaving those aside, as I see it, he’s got two (ok, 3) unique weaknesses:
1) He picked Carol Molnau as his running mate, appointed her Mn/DOT commissioner after she was elected his Lieutenant Governor, and stood by her after that little bridge fell down. Spun properly, which shouldn’t take much given that she was the epitome of a political appointee, had no experience or technical qualifications in a major transportation field like planning, heavy construction, or civil engineering, and had for some time been accused by Mn/DOT contractors and consultants of cutting maintenance funding to pay for new highway construction, and when that little bridge fell down there were some very dramatic pictures and video – he’s open to criticism along the same lines Bush was for Hariett Miers and “Heck of a job, Brownie.”
2) He’s a somewhat squish-faced and scrawny man with a somewhat whiney voice. In other words, he’s got all the charisma of Dennis Kucinich. Unless McCain wants to completely ignore one of Obama’s major strengths, he needs a running mate with more charisma and flair, not less, than he himself has.
3) Courtesy of Jesse Ventura, “Governor of Minnesota” is now kind of a joke. Undeservedly so, since it’s no different from being governor anywhere else except your state’s awesome and home to the best city in America, but so nonetheless.
Posted by Steve | July 29, 2008, 9:42 pmTo PC, yeah, I’ve just missed that name somehow……. :-(
Posted by Ames | July 29, 2008, 10:05 pm