The Candidates
Speaker Gingrich made the case on CBS’s Face the Nation (H/T - The Hill):
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Sunday that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal “would be far and away the best candidate” to appear on the Republican presidential ticket with Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
Gingrich, who appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” heaped praise upon the former congressman, saying that he is a “spectacular” governor and predicted that Jindal would be a presidential candidate in the future.
However, Jindal, who also was a guest on the show, said that he already holds the job he wants.
“I’m certainly supporting Sen. McCain, will do whatever I can to help him get elected, but I’m focused on being governor of Louisiana,” Jindal stated.
Asked whether it could be a problem that the governor, who is 37, might be perceived as not ready to lead the country in case he would have to replace McCain, Gingrich said the case can be made that Jindal’s “experience in the executive branch and in the legislative branch is greater than” that of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).
“It strikes me that it’s going to be very hard for Obama’s campaign to explain that Jindal, as a governor, who has served as an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, has served as a congressional staffer, has served as a congressman, is not qualified but Sen. Obama is qualified,” Gingrich said.
On the issue, he added that voters are “not going to reject Sen. Obama on inexperience.”
Gingrich argued that a GOP attempt to win the election by casting the Democrat as inexperienced would fail.
“Obama is a very articulate, very intelligent, Harvard law graduate, who is extraordinarily smart, and he’s not going to come across in a debate like some guy who’s dopey,” Gingrich said. “He’s going to come across as fully prepared. He knows how to study all this stuff. He has the military advisers.”
However, Gingrich added, “The problem with Obama is he’s wrong. It’s not that he’s inexperienced. It’s that his policies are wrong.”
June 16th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I don’t like Newt, but I do think Jindal is a good VP pick.
June 16th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Agreed. Either Jindal or Huckabee would be phenomenal.
June 16th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Jindal would be an excellent pick, and it would fast-track his road to the presidency itself.
Part of me really wants to see what he can do for New Orleans though.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I agree with Daniel… Jindal and Huckabee are shaping up to be the best two picks.
I had concern about Jindal’s experience, but let’s face it… he would do better than any of the pro-abortion hacks folks around here keep trumpeting.
Only Huckabee and Jindal excite anyone, which is the one thing team McCain is missing.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Here’s my guess but I really think he will pick mitt and it will be a mitt v.s. john edwards VP debate
June 16th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I agree that it will be Romney, but I disagree about Edwards.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I like and respect Newt very much and wouldn’t mind seeing the former speaker as VP, but I disagree with him strongly about Jindal being a good pick this year, and I would counter his argument by saying that Obama’s policies are wrong and dangerous, to a large extent, because of his inexperience and accompanying naivete.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I would have to agree that Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Jindal would be good picks. Mr. Jindal may be a little young, but he is Mr. Conservative and will be a great future president. He may also be a compromise choice.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I would also not take Rudy of the vp list either he would be at wild card surprise candidate
June 16th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I would also not take Rudy of the vp list either he would the wild card surprise candidate on the list
June 16th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I agree with Aron here. It’s not that Jindal’s inexperience would be a negative, it’s that it takes McCain’s biggest stick away by creating a weakness in his campaign narrative.
For McCain to win it will take getting some voters who believe that Obama is just too liberal. Unfortunately because Obama is very likeable, many people will accept his generic explanation of “that’s not the person that I knew”.
This means McCain needs another line of attack against Obama and inexperience is the only other stick he has left. Jindal or Palin take that issue off the table as an attack.
Jindal doesn’t add near enough to warrant losing that line of attack against Obama.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:17 am
John mccain really needs to set him a deadline of the vp announcement he needs to do it ASAP like by end of 4th july weekend I believe!
June 16th, 2008 at 11:17 am
“Mitt v. Edwards VP Debate”?!?
That might be the one time that John Edwards comes off as genuine and honest.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Jindal will be a great nominee in 2012 or 2016, but if McCain picks him this year he is making a big mistake electorally and a big mistake for the future of the party. I think Jindal is great, but picking him before he is ready would be a huge mistake.
Sanford or Pawlenty are the two best picks. Since McCain is holding a grudge against Sanford that
means he should pick Pawlenty. Pawlenty is conservative enough that the base will mostly fall in line. Also he helps in the only part of the country where we have a chance to steal some states.
Pawlenty for VP and Romney for RNC Chairman
June 16th, 2008 at 11:21 am
or we could do a rudy vs. edwards vp debate now thast would be must see tv night rudy would wipe the floor with edwards pretty boy hair that night! LOL
June 16th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Anyone but Huckabebe
June 16th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Could you imagine a Romney/Edwards debate? The hair, the hair…
June 16th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Jindal may make a great VP or future President, but if McCain picks Jindal, it really looks like McCain is bending over backwards to not appoint a woman. He skips over Palin, Florina, and Whitman. I think McCain can say bye-bye to Hillary supporters who don’t want to vote for Obama if he chooses Jindal. It’s almost like deja vu.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:38 am
just don’t know if romney would be A hard A** in a mitt edwards debate? When should we be getting the vp announcement I would think if I was mccain I would want to 1st to make vp announcement before the democrats?
June 16th, 2008 at 11:38 am
The McCain camp has already said it will not announce a VP pick until 2 weeks before the Republican Convention. So McCain will not be picking his VP until Mid-August folks so lets settle down, we still have 2 months to go, be patient.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Bryan Says:
We will see. Things change. I predict it will be 2 weeks after Obama selects.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:49 am
We’ve got ~20 plausible male VP picks.
We’ve got only 5 plausible female VP picks.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Romney IS THE BEST CHOICE- he helps
with MI and CO - which McCain will
need one of those if he loses NM.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:56 am
I like Jindal a lot, but I’ve got two words for you: Mitch….Landrieu.
Jindal has a very bright and long future, but he’s been fighting corruption in Louisiana for a lond time, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to take him from the Governor’s chair before he can institutionalize his changes.
Let’s target the heck out of the Lt. Gov. seat, so we can have a Jindalite successor in line in time for a VP run in 2012 or 2016 (preferrably on a ticket headed by Sarah Palin)
June 16th, 2008 at 11:58 am
McCain is not going to choose Jindal because he does not like the idea of the young guy jumping in line. His instincts are to choose someone like himself.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Perhaps, Mr. Romney could help in MI & NV, but as of now, CO is already lost
June 16th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Greg,
Just 19 days ago, in what may have been a dress rehearsal of the October 2 VP debate, the late Tim Russert, may he RIP, moderated a debate between Rudy and Edwards at Radio City Music Hall.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Someone please explain to me how Romney would help in MI and NV? LDS chruch members already vote GOP, and no one under 55 remember his father. Theye would not even elected Romney’s siblings who ran in MI.
The better argument is for Romney’s experience to compliment McCain’s, but as Newt says, it is all about idea’s, not experience. Think Palin.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Aron Goldman, how did it go? Highlights?
June 16th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Romney for Veep in 08, then if he runs in ‘12 or ‘16…..Jindal can be his VP.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
do you guys really think a guy who was old enough to be president some 24 months ago should be the number 2 pick? i don’t.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Lisa Schiffren makes a good point at the corner today. The media is going to try and get the public to fall in love with Snobama. Because of this, we need some more pizzaz on our side. Ridge, Pawlenty, Rudey, Portman, etc will not engender any excitement. White males, same old, same old. If we take any of those, we will crawl toward November completely on McCain’s goodwill. While Aron is right that taking Jindal and Palin will negate some of the experience factor, we need a VP candidate who’ll be on the covers of the main news magazines. We need a VP candidate who might just capture a little of the dem excitement. We need someone who will capture more hearmeroars. Experience matters. But victory in November matters even more.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
HOW ABOUT Michael Steele!!
June 16th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
31. If pizzaz is what we need than how about liza minelli?
June 16th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
#33, outdated, Hannah Montana? We would win in a walk.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
“Someone please explain to me how Romney would help in MI and NV? LDS chruch members already vote GOP, and no one under 55 remember his father. Theye would not even elected Romney’s siblings who ran in MI.”
The Romney has been out there constantly. Sorry, the whole family is still popular and they keep running family members for office. Sorry but the fact is that the Romney name id will help with blue collar democrats and anyone concerned about the economy. Michigan has very tribal voting patterns and the Romney heritage will be seen by Michigan as voting for one of their own.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Speaking of dark horses, someone mentioned earlier this year that John Kasich was on the long list (Novak, IIRC). Surprised we haven’t heard more about that. A Congressman is a tough sell, but I think he was in for 9 or 10 terms, was a deficit hawk, and got out of Dodge before compassionate convservatism began accumulating national debt. Plus he’s another “maverick,” will please much of the base, and has roots in OH and PA, which I heard could be important this Fall.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Huckabee would be horrible as VP. He cant be the “choose me and you choose God candidate” because McCain needs independents. And let’s all be honest with ourselves and admit Huck ran on that platform alone.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Looks like Obama, who announced plans today to visit Iraq and Afghanistan prior to the election, has begun his move toward the middle on Iraq…
“I emphasized to (Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari) how encouraged I was by the reductions in violence in Iraq, but also insisted that it is important for us to begin the process of withdrawing U.S. troops, making clear that we have no interest in permanent bases in Iraq. I gave him an assurance that should we be elected, an Obama administration will make sure that we continue with the progress that’s been made in Iraq, that we won’t act precipitously, but that we will move to end U.S. combat forces in Iraq in a manner that’s as careful as we were careless getting in.”
The need to withdraw is twofold, Obama said. Reprising an argument he has been making for months, he cited the need to encourage the Iraqi government to make the political accommodations on matters like oil revenues and provincial elections, which the surge was supposed to help happen. He argued that the progress made in the South and in Sadr City showed the need not for a longer commitment but a shorter one, because they indicate a greater capacity on the part of Iraqis to deal effectively with their security. Obama said the second reason was the $10- to-12 billion being spent each month in the country, a statistic he often cites when discussing the need to withdraw.
In response to a question about how much flexibility there would be to withdrawal plans, Obama said he still believed U.S. forces could be out of the country within about 16 months and that “I’ve also consistently said that I will consult with military commanders on the ground and that we will always be open to the possibility of tactical adjustments.”
June 16th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Dude, get over your own personal biases. If you do not like overtly religious folks, fine… but not everyone is as narrow minded as you are.
Huckabee had the best pro-life credentials and the most chief executive experience of any of the candidates. He also has a compelling life narrative that is conservative in its philosophy and appealing to middle class voters, including independents. All the SurveyUSA VP polls showed Huckabee consistently at the top of the results from Massachusetts to the deep south.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
CBL, McCain actually had the best pro-life credentials. 100% pro-life voting record.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Mr. McCain may have been 100%, Pro-Life, but he was not the only one.
Dude: You are forgeting the Fair Tax.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Kristofer, McCain has an OK pro-life record. Huckabee has a better record and he is far more comfortable in his pro-life skin… he speaks and marches with an enthusiasm that McCain, for whatever reason, cannot match.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Dude is 100% correct. If you take out the Evangelical base Huck has nothing. He wasn’t a very attractive candidate outside of that. He did get some traction on his populist message though.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I know a number of non-Evangelicals (like myself) who supported Mr. Huckabee. While Evangelicals were his base, others supported him as well.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
How on earth could Jindal be a ” spectacular” Governor after 4 months of work? I think Newt is basking in his own “gravitas”. Given McCain’s age, question is …..is Jindal the best candidate for President ? Newt is nuts!!!
June 16th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I agree with Newt that Obama’s policies are wrong. Raising taxes, universal healthcare, protectionism, cut defense, retreat from battle - Its a wonder if Obama even believes in the US system of governing.
http://www.palapolitical.com
However, his inexperience does play a part. Would anyone want someone who has four years experience in their industry to suddenly become the CEO? Or would you rather want a leader in the industry with integrity and over 25 years experience in that industry? No one in their right mind would want a 4-year experienced individual running the company that provides them with their paycheck.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Leading McCain VP Candidate Bobby Jindal Supports Creationism As Part Of ‘The Very Best Science’
http://www.thinkprogress.org/2008/06/16/jindal-creationism/
June 16th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
wonder what city will be chosen as vp announcement city maybe boston phoneix or Annapolis or san diego are my guesses
June 16th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
wonder what city will be chosen as vp announcement city maybe boston phoneix or Annapolis or san diego are my guesses or would he announce it in a battleground state?
June 16th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Ohio-
I think your perception of a loss in CO is wrong. CO has always been a get out the vote state and the GOP is definitely the better in this state of getting out the vote. Also the senate race here is very tight which will also contribute to the vote.
And dont forget that the DEM convention here might be such an inconvenience to people that they may just go the other way. I know a ton of my downtown buddies are already pulling their hair out and we have 2 months until this thing gets here. (it is telling that they(dems) have to get outside $$ to put this show on, they are $20M short at last count from local donors)
June 16th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
An interesting look back…
Bush picks Cheney for VP, Republican sources say
July 25, 2000
June 16th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
so aron are you saying we have to wait till end/ late july?
June 16th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
greg,
The 2000 GOP Convention began on July 31; just six days after Bush selected Cheney.
A few important dates to note on the calendar:
Democratic Convention: Monday, August 25 - Thursday, August 28
John McCain’s 72nd Birthday: Friday, August 29
Labor Day Weekend: Friday, August 29 - Monday, September 1
GOP Convention: Monday, September 1 - Thursday, September 4
The optimal target date for the announcement of McCain’s running mate is Thursday morning, August 21. As for the locale, my guess is the ranch in Sedona.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
aron you think it going to be rudy?
June 16th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Jindal was just sworn in as governor of Louisiana this year, it would be politically dumb for him to abandon the oath of office he just swore to.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
In case anyone is still looking at this thread, Jindal apparently supports at least the possibility of teaching ID in the classroom alongside evolution. Is this a problem? Evidently it makes some people worried enough that they think he’d lose the race for McCain because of it. This is not a big issue where I live and I just don’t know. The VP (or Prez) doesn’t deal much with education, that’s state and local.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Dani,
What I can tell you is that the mainstream media is simply salivating at the opportunity to paint a creationist-believing politician like Jindal or Huckabee as an ignorant, knuckle-dragging primate.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:05 am
56 and 57. Jindal wants to teach intelligent design in the class room? I didn’t know that. Aron is right, the MSM would go nuts and it would scare off a lot of voters.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:46 am
The drive by media will go nuts no matter who the VP candidate is. get over it and deal accordingly.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:51 am
what about mccain calling MIke steele for VP!!!!!!!!!
June 17th, 2008 at 11:45 am
HearMeRoar,
Not just in classrooms…it’d be OK with me if ID were taught in a world religions class, but he thinks creationism should be taught in public school science class. Compound that with his extremist position on abortion (no exceptions for victims of rape or incest) and his experience as a ‘cancer-curing exorcist’, and it would be near impossible to shake the MSM’s narrative of Jindal as a ‘Bible-thumping lunatic from Louisiana.’
June 17th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Steve Forbes would make the best VP choice for McCain.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
i think obama is going to take sam nunn. nunn would beat palin in a debate but jindal would crush the veteran senator.
but it should be palin or jindal, with obama’s advantages mccain has to swing for the fences, not go with conventional ’safe’ picks