The Candidates
Some of these are more thorough than others. On The Issues is a good resource for finding out what our politicians believe. So what do they have to say about our potential vice-presidents on the eve of the selection? Well, let’s take a look, by category. I did not include Thune, Crist, Jindal, or Huckabee, because, well, let’s face it: they have no chance.
New Buzz:
Kay Bailey Hutchison - Strongly conservative.
Old Buzz:
Tim Pawlenty - A Romney/Huckabee combination.
Mitt Romney - No comment.
Joe Lieberman - Not a hardcore liberal.
Sarah Palin - Mostly a blank slate. Which could be good.
Rob Portman - Strongly conservative.
Eric Cantor - Strongly conservative.
Tom Ridge - Center-right; stop your whining.
Longshots:
David Petraeus - A blank slate, described as ‘conservative’ by the Daily Telegraph
Colin Powell - As moderate as you think he is
Rudy Giuliani - Rudy, my Rudy.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
RUDY!
August 27th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
No convention thread tonight?
I just caught (partly interrupted) Bill’s speech. He swatted back each and every GOP criticism of Bam, Hill, Bill, and the Dems effectively, charismatically, and devastatingly.
My advice: Call of the Republican Party. When Bill hits the trail for Bam, it’s over. He burnt down the barn and the whole farmyard. Give it up. It’s all over now.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
#2, yeah, it really helped his wife.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Mark Sanford doesn’t even make it into the Longshot category?
August 27th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
MarkG
You are dead on. If Bill Clinton and Joe Biden get on the trail for Obama, a Pawlenty or a Hutchison will be run over like road kill on an Interstate. Its light’s out folks. It’s been fun, but if McCain can’t pick the voters choice, Mitt Romney, in poll after poll after poll, he’s way too dumb to be president and probably a risk in the Senate for Arizona.
See you later guys, maybe in 4 years.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Kerry’s attacking McCain on flip-flopping - couldn’t they have found someone else to make that attack?
August 27th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
4 - Sanford has no chance (sadly). I’d love to see him run in ‘12, if we lose, or ‘16, if we win, however.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Craig. He could of course pull a total rabbit out of the hat and pick Bill’s arch-nemesis Newt out of the hat!
August 27th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Apologies to Alex for the temporary threadjack.
Now back to our regular scheduled program:
GO RUDY!! GO RUDY!!
August 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Why does Sanford have no chance? He’s a fiscally conservative southern governor. That’s a combination of Romney’s best asset (fiscal conservatism) & Huckabee’s best asset (southern accent
)
August 27th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Hah Ha, the disdents really think John McCain is going to lose just becasue of Bill Clinton. It’s hilarious you say give up.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
11 - I think it’s been thoroughly debunked that there’s any sort of Clinton Machine.
If there is one, it’s rather rusty, or needs an oil change.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
No Brendan,
It’s NOT because of Bill Clinton. It’s because of the economic case that Clinton and Biden and Obama are going to run at a poor beleaguered John McCain, who doesn’t know spit about the economy and will get zero support from a Pawlenty or Hutchison.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
yeah Bill Clinton on the trail for Gore and Kerry gave the GOP no chance…
August 27th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
There is no clinton machine. The people at DNC are going to say that is was great and awesome. But when the convention is over and we go back to the campaign, Obama is still going to be the same-old celebrity he was. Clinton does have experience on the economy but during those years all Americans cared about was money and not working for the world. We closed ourseleves to problems and we paid the price for it. We can’t the same mistake with some over-hyped economic boom that made America a very complacent compared to now.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Can we realistically expect a bold pick from McCain? I feel like we’ll all be let down if he picks Romney (who would be terrible) or Pawlenty (who I wouldn’t mind, I just have no idea who he is)
All I know is the GOP will go after Obama on night ONE of the convention. I can’t wait!
August 27th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Craig, Mac’s confession that he wasn’t “strong” on the economy was, in my view, a refreshingly honest confession from the lips of a politician. How many out there on the Dem side do you see who have the slightest clue about economics? And yet they claim to know so much about it that they want to go all out for big-time central planning! “Americans, give up your freedoms to earn and spend as you choose, because we Dem politicians know all the better about how your money should be spent!” That’s what they’re saying.
Give me Mac’s honesty over that any day.
Mac’s failure here was in failing to set that point poignantly straight.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
17 - I agree that it was refreshingly honest. It would be much more irritating to see him pretend to know something about the subject.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Lucy: You nailed it in #3.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I don’t want to see Sen. Brownback of Kansas as McCain’s VP. He will lose. It must be a rumor. I just have to wait day after tomorrow when he make his announcement.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
20
I don’t want to see myself as McCain’s VP. I’m way too busy drinking bourbon. It must just be a rumor.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
KBH and Timmy are both qualified for the job but ain’t up to the challenge of the election in my opinion, and I pray McCain can see that. That said, he could pick worse.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Believe it or not, Cantor is a great pick. Young, conservative, smart and squeaky clean. He would be a great pick and add a lot of fire to the ticket. Also he can raise a ton of money for the RNC, which they will need. Pawlenty would also be good, though sort of boring.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Rudy , Rudy, Rudy ! he will create the excitement to overpass the DNC Hoopla.