GOP Nominee
Former Candidates
So says the British press, for what it’s worth:
As Washington begins one of its favourite guessing games, the Arizona senator has refused to divulge any names. But aides have admitted that Tom Pawlenty’s will be near the top of the shortlist.
Aged 47, the Minnesota governor will provide a youthful contrast to the 71-year-old war veteran, and is only a year older than Barack Obama, the Illinois senator who is the narrow Democrat favourite.
As a conservative, he will help Mr McCain convince the party’s base that their causes will not be ignored. Although he will wrap up the nomination soon, Mr McCain still has to persuade Right-wingers to forget his support for immigration and campaign finance reform in Congress and to put their shoulder behind his candidacy.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has stayed in the race in part to build his case as a vice-president, winning several states across the south and Midwest that are receptive to his conservative social views.
“Let’s go ahead and be honest now,” he said last week, “nobody ever wants the vice president’s job.” He then added: “Nobody ever turns it down.”
But Mr Huckabee’s liberal economic policy record during ten years in Arkansas has alienated him from Right-wingers who have been the driving force behind the party’s repeated electoral successes in the past 20 years.
Mr Pawlenty has a more solid conservative record and also has the executive experience that Mr McCain lacks as a four-term senator. He campaigned early on for the senator and stuck with him when his campaign was close to collapse in the summer.
Other names in the mix include South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Florida Governor Charlie Crist, whose support for Mr McCain helped secure early primary victories in their respective states.
With the Democrats set to field the first female or black White House nominee, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has emerged as a possibility, along with Bobby Jindal, who last year became the first Asian American to win a governorship, in Louisiana.
Of those names mentioned, I’d have to say the choice will come down to Pawlenty or Sanford. Hutchison is too old, past her prime, and is considered more of an establishment Republican than a rock-ribbed conservative. Jindal will definitely be the choice of many R4′08 contributors and readers for 2012 should Obama or Hillary triumph in the fall (though I’ll be jumping aboard the Palin train myself), but the man is less than two years into his first term in Louisiana. It just won’t fly this time around. That leaves Sanford, Pawlenty, and Crist, and Crist is basically an unmarried version of Pawlenty, which will allow the Clintons to spread the rumors that we all know they will spread. That leaves McCain with the choice between a culturally conservative, good government Northern Republican and an economically conservative, libertarian-style Southern Republican. Which direction Mac goes will probably depend on which factions of the Republican Party remain most skeptical about the presidential nominee from Arizona.
February 18th, 2008 at 12:42 am
I’d trust the article more if they could get Pawlenty’s first name right.
February 18th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Hm. I don’t have anything against Sanford, but in what way is he a “libertarian-style” Republican? He doesn’t come across as a culture warrior, but he’s also voted against things like civil unions, gay adoption and medical marijuana.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Not being a huge culture warrior but still voting as one is exactly what makes an acceptable “libertarian-style” Republican these days. Unfortunately.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:55 am
While I am certainly no TLG, I consider myself a libertarian leaning Republican. Maybe I am more like Metro in describing myself as an economic conservative. Either way, I’m not terribly concerned about a candidate’s social stances so long as they are not on the soapbox telling me how I should think. Sanford is an acceptable candidate to me because he is economically and defensively a conservative. I would prefer that he had more moderate social views, but it is not a deal breaker for me and, I would imagine, most of my ilk.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:10 am
I’m highly skeptical that whoever wrote this article has any inside info; it reads like a mishmash of more detailed articles that have been written recently. It adds nothing new and seems to have no particular insight into…well, anything. As for him being “close” to a decision, I’d guess McCain’s “I haven’t given one second of thought to the issue” hits nearer to the mark.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:14 am
Frankly, even if we assume Crist isn’t gay for a moment, and if we ignore the fact that he’s to the left of McCain, he still seems like an awful choice. If we’re going to go with someone with less then 2 years as Governor, I think the constant “Palin” cries make more sense. Crist maybe delivers one state that we’ll probably win regardless. Palin, assuming she wasn’t laughed off the national stage, helps with a large demographic, and fixes an image problem (that we’re perennially the party of white males).
February 18th, 2008 at 2:23 am
I have never seen any real news come from Europe. All they do is recycle speculation from American news services. They don’t have anything original. Instead they read a bunch of AP articles and then summarize it for European readers.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:41 am
AdamPSU:
Sounds like you and I are pretty much in the same boat. Sanford would be just fine with me, although I wish he were a bit more charismatic. Actually, I could personally care less if he’s the most boring guy in the world as long as he’s a competent politician… But I think McCain could use some help in that department, especially if we’re up against Obama. It’s shallow, sure, but that’s the way it works.
Anyway, I’m just kinda nitpicky when it comes to people describing “libertarian-style” Republicans and Democrats. Usually it turns out to be just hype. I was just curious if Sanford had a libertarian streak I was unaware of…
February 18th, 2008 at 3:06 am
While I am certainly no TLG, I consider myself a libertarian leaning Republican. Maybe I am more like Metro in describing myself as an economic conservative. Either way, I’m not terribly concerned about a candidate’s social stances so long as they are not on the soapbox telling me how I should think. Sanford is an acceptable candidate to me because he is economically and defensively a conservative. I would prefer that he had more moderate social views, but it is not a deal breaker for me and, I would imagine, most of my ilk.
While liberal social views are a plus for me, gay rights are inevitable as the culture changes and abortion will always be legal. Plus, I tend to agree with the so-cons — but for different reasons, of course — when they do things like veto stem-cell funding…
So if Sanford is a so-con, whatever; economics and government size are his priorities.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:07 am
Pawlenty is ho-hum boring, just like McCain. You’re right about Crist not being married, does spark rumors. Mark Sanford is great! He’s certainly libertarian-leaning. But he’s got the same problem as the other two: They’re white males.
That’s the last thing we need in a Veep: White male-ness. We need a female, Hispanic, Asian or Black. Preferably: Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, or even 4-term California Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia.
There’s already a “Draft Palin for VP” effort led by Adam Brickley. And a “Draft Bonnie Garcia” effort is forming. (See post at http://www.worldwideliberty.blogspot.com)
I say this as a white male. PLEASE! McCain needs diversity on the ticket or we risk being portrayed as the Party that lacks diversity.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Eric,
Who cares? With the possible exception of Blackburn, none of those choices are good fits, and most of the possibilities scream tokenism. McCain only NEEDS diversity if it appears like we’re selecting a sincerely qualified candidate, who just happens to be diverse. We’re going to get nowhere by selecting a token minority, and we’re likely to lose one of our greatest potential advantages; the idea that we’re the serious party, trying to elect people who can govern, and the Democrats are busy trying to decide whether blacks or women are cooler. It’s an awful idea. White-maleness works much better, despite the potential problems, this go around.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Romney would be the best choice, but apparently McCain is still blinded by his hate for anyone who didn’t come to him on bended knee singing his praises.
Unfortunately, it looks like Romney is going to have to find another way to remain a force in 2012.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:29 am
VP Sanford is the only way John McCain even has a shot at convincing me to vote for him.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Romney is by far the best choice. There is no doubt about it! DO YOU PEOPLE NOT REALIZE THAT THE PEOPLE YOU ARE TOUTING HAVE NO NAME RECOGNITION WHATSOEVER???? I’ll guarantee you that 90% of the American Republican voters haven’t the foggiest idea who Sanford or Pawlenty are. Pawlenty couldn’t even deliver his own state to McCain in the caucus. What does that say about his political strength even in his own home state???
February 18th, 2008 at 9:49 am
IL Guy,
Just because Romney has name recogntion doesn’t mean that people in swing states are going to vote for him and bring any extra support to the ticket. That’s what happens when you run your campaign by claiming to be “Mr. More Conservative Than Thou” - people in the center don’t like it - and that’s the reality of running a national election in 2008.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:52 am
“Pawlenty couldn’t even deliver his own state to McCain in the caucus. What does that say about his political strength even in his own home state???”
Not. A. Damned. Thing. MN was a caucus state. The only people that come out to vote in a caucus setting are true believers like you. If MN were running a traditional primary then the results would have been markedly different. You cannot extrapolate how much support a given candidate has from a narrowly focused caucus that is dominated by activists.
Do you think the Huckster would have been within 2 points of winning Washington State if caucus results were anything like what we would see in a Primary? Of course not!
February 18th, 2008 at 10:00 am
The media chose our candidate and is now throwing him out like an old pair of socks. this is on the front page of msnbc.com politics. Without the media choosing him, McCAin stands NO CHANCE. You fools who backed McCAin because of the media lost this race for the GOP.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23201300/
Its already begun.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:02 am
ADAM - MCCAIN NEEDS TO APPEAL TO THE CONSERVATIVE WING OF THE PARTY - HE NEEDS THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP TO VOTE IN A CAUCUS!!!!
The same “activists” who show up to vote in a caucus are the same people McCain has problems with, the same people who are most likely to stay home if they think a McCain ticket is too liberal for the GOP, and the same people that McCain cannot win, much less get anything done, without. McCain already has the moderates covered, he does not need to pick a VP who appeals to moderates and leftists.
If Pawlenty cannot bring those people, he serves no use on the ticket.
McCain needs five things in a VP:
1) Someone with executive experience
2) Someone with experience on economic matters
3) Someone who can appeal in regions where McCain has trouble (west & midwest)
4) Someone who is young and energetic in comparrison to McCain
5) Someone who can become the instant frontrunner in 2012.
Every single one of those is filled by Romney.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Oh Bulldozer….
And the media would have kept silent about Romney’s Mormonism for seven months too, right?
It is what it is and once the Democrat nominee is known, Hillary will have her problems too or Obama will lose his halo.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:08 am
ACT,
He doesn’t need to appeal to the conservative wing. Once the campaign gets into full swing the conservative wing will fall into line. The “conservative wing” didn’t help us out too much in 2006 when Independents voted en masse for Democrats. You put Romney on the ticket and you can wave the center good-bye.
It’s telling that the only group of people that want Romney on the ticket are those who have been hard-core Romney shills, particularly his Mormon supporters, for well over a year.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:08 am
19 - Romeny never had the media behind him so it would be no loss. McCAins whole rise was due to the media. Romney had the base on his side. Without the Media McCAin will not have his indies or the base.
Good Luck….
February 18th, 2008 at 10:12 am
“19 - Romeny never had the media behind him so it would be no loss”
Not true. Romney had the conservative half of the media in his pocket in lockstep - and he STILL lost. Romney has zero Independent appeal. ZERO.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Adam
“Romney had the conservative half of the media in his pocket in lockstep”
You said it perfectly. He at least had the conservatives behind him and it is exactly why the media chose McCAin. Now that the media is abandoning McCAin he is left with nothing.ZERO.
The independents blow in the wind and support whoever the media deems cool.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:21 am
“The “conservative wingâ€? didn’t help us out too much in 2006 when Independents voted en masse for Democrats.”
The “conservative wing” wasn’t motivated in 2006 because they felt that the GOP had abandoned traditional conservative principles - they pushed amnesty, let spending get out of control, lappsed on ethics, etc.
If you want to see the exact same thing happen in 2008, go ahead, pick a moderate, give Conservatives nothing to be excited about, and see what happens.
But now I understand, you are just another one of those centrists who wants to move the Republican party irreversibly to the left.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Adam, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Gov Romney DOES have accomplishments on issues that might appeal to indy and dem voters. Healthcare, for instance. I personally don’t think putting Gov Romney on as VP is a good idea, but to say he doesn’t have any appeal is taking it a bit far.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:27 am
“I personally don’t think putting Gov Romney on as VP is a good idea”
Why? With it looking very likely that McCain would be a one-term PResident, his VP is going to be heir apparent for 2012. Can you honestly think of another politician who is as conservative, as accomplished, and as presidential as Romney is?
February 18th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I’m with Andrew (#1). There’s really not much meat in the article, although I’m sure the writer has a source or two within the McCain campaign, everybody and their brother knows that Pawlenty is on the shortlist - so it’s not news. I’d be more impressed if the guy had pulled out a full shortlist rather than just Pawlenty and some generic speculation. Sanford and Crist are on clmost every prognositcators shortlist, and I don’t see any potentially suprising names, so this article is definitely nothing to get excited about. I’ll wait for some U.S. source to confirm.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I think the headline of this article is that he is close to making his decision.
You are completely right that there are no shockers as far as the names go.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I don’t think Gov Romney fits the ticket for a few reasons. First, because Sen McCain is such a with-me-or-against-me type individual, any “balance” to the ticket is wasted. Two, I think Sen McCain represents a continuation of politics as usual, and you don’t want a potential candidate to be too tied to that come 2012 (or 2016 if Sen McCain wins; why do people seem to think Sen McCain wouldn’t run in ‘12 if he wins? He’s in pretty good health.). Three, I think his talents would be much more useful in other areas (such as Chair of the RNC).
February 18th, 2008 at 10:51 am
about McCain running again -
Because, frankly, his health, although respectable for a man over 70, is not that great. Also, McCain would be 76, and the stress of the office is not going to do him any favors.
Finally, McCain himself has said he may only serve one term.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Adam,
The conservative media is utterly impotent. There’s no greater sign of this then the travails of Mike Huckabee. Mike Huckabee is left of center on domestic issues and on foreign policy issues. Everyone in the Republican establishment derided him as a liberal. But, the media digs up some biblically benign, and out of context, quotes about Huckabee wanting women to “serve their husbands” and suddenly he’s a far right lunatic. Not just to the general electorate, but to the average Republican. Never mind the fact that someone being plausibly “too religious” is an issue that ought to come up in a general election, not a Republican primary (where voters expect reasonable levels of religiosity). I despise Mike Huckabee, but there’s absolutely no reason his image should be so radicalized; he’s an extraordinarily talented politician, he’s charming, he openly speaks like a moderate or liberal 90% of the time, he has the record of a moderate or liberal. Mike Huckabee should have been the new John McCain, with independents flocking to his banner. But, the media saw that he was awfully talented, and awfully charming, and as a Southern Baptist Pastor he could run well to the center and left and still hold the South in a general election due to identity politics, and they decided to torpedo him with a bizarrely crafted, and entirely insupportable image. This is what the media does. It’s why they turned a extraordinarily well-qualified blue state Republican Governor, with good looks, and a picturesque family into a flip-flopper extraordinaire. It’s why they turned a fantastically accomplished big city Mayor, who’d become a national hero, and who had serious appeal to independents, into a tired, slightly corrupt philanderer who was using an American tragedy for his own purposes. And it’s why we’ve ended up with a 71 year old candidate who pisses off the Republican, and who’s “independent appeal” is based on an artificial media narrative that relies on deviations on peripheral issues that the public won’t care about when they start to truly examine things (Campaign finance reform is about 80th on the list of public priorities). This stuff shouldn’t surprise anyone, and it certainly shouldn’t be particularly upsetting when they try to turn John McCain into a typical, radically conservative Republican over the next few months. You live by the media, you die by the media.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:27 am
“Finally, McCain himself has said he may only serve one term.”
I had not heard that. There may be hope yet!
February 18th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Regarding possible “Crist rumours”, I can’t help but bring up an old, overused, but almost always TRUE saying: “If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, sounds like a duck….be almost assured - - its a duck!
The republicans don’t seem to be too concerned though, so maybe Crist should come clean if its true.
February 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Jindal is not the fist Asian-American to win a governorship. Gary Locke, a Chinese-American, was the first in the state of Washington.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
“which will allow the Clintons to spread the rumors that we all know they will spread”
Uh, that he’s bisexual? Doesn’t everyone already know this?
February 18th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
10. Eric Dondero “That’s the last thing we need in a Veep: White male-ness.”
The last thing we need in a Veep: black female-ness.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Actually, I can remember the last candidate who thought that a black, female running mate would protect him from charges of racism. It was … yep, Pat Buchanan in 2000! That worked out real well for him, didn’t it?
Unlike idiotic Republicans, the media isn’t easily fooled by placing a token “diverse” person on a ticket into thinking that the party that does so represents that group’s interests.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Dave,
I’m not a Huckabee for VP guy at all, but he’s not that old. He’s only around 50 years old.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
When the Dems put Richardson up for VP, he brings the Southwest and the Hispanic vote. He brings experience and name recognition and moves the whole party towards the center after the primaries and convention in Denver. They eat up the moderates and the independents. That leaves McCain with the Conservatives who don’t like or trust him. Then he selects another Bill Miller or Admiral Stockdale? Can anybody say 1972 and McGovern? One state and he won D.C. McCain won’t do that well.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
35 Tony - - you are wrong not to worry if Crist is the veep nominee. Conservatives do not accept homosexual activity as normal, and I have already read a few articles on people (men) who have described graghically the type of sexual activity they performed with Crist before he was governor. Lets just say that he wasn’t “on top” of things…. lolcity
February 18th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
#38 Craig - - and they lose 3/4 of the white vote. It will not be Richardson. Do you want my opinion on a veep p[ick for Obama?? I think that Obama will defin9itely run a second term if elected, and he is young and does not have to worry about the age issue. Therefore he can have a more experienced older statesman type on the ticket , so…. he should go with Tom Harkin.
You read it here first, folks.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
On the Bus
Can John McCain reinvent Republicanism?
by Ryan Lizza
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/02/25/080225fa_fact_lizza?printable=true
February 18th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Crist Denies Trysts
GOP frontrunner: I have never had sex with a man
By Bob Norman
Published: October 26, 2006
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2006-10-26/news/crist-denies-trysts/full
February 18th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Romney is too tall for the shrimpy JMac
February 18th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
40. Joe M, I’m not saying this won’t hurt the Republican party if he is Veep - it probably would.
It’s amazing how many high-profile Republicans are homos, considering only 2% of the general population is …
February 18th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Pawlenty guaranteed McCain that Minnesota would be his. He fell through on this promise.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
#41 Joe,
I hope you’re right and Obama goes with Harkin. Most Iowans (myself included) hate that man and him being on the ticket would certainly get us all out to vote for McCain. Might even be enough to ensure Iowa stays red this year.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I might support McCain…depending his VP pick…However if he picks Huckster and I’ll vote Dem….
February 21st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
might support McCain…depending his VP pick…However if he picks Huckster and I’ll vote Dem….
Sorry CT thats dumb!