There are some rumors going around the Internets about who John McCain, having pretty much sealed the deal of being the Republican nominee, will pick as his running mate. Choosing the Vice Presidential candidate for a ticket is an extremely strategic decision. The running mate is often used to court groups whom the Presidential candidate has not yet won over. In this case McCain still is not popular among the ultra-conservatives, so he most likely will pick a running mate who is.
Some of the names being floated:
- Mike Huckabee, the "my-son-shoots-dogs" creationist who is popular among religious
Neanderthalszealots; - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who garnered a lifetime rating of 92 from the American Conservative Union;
- Jeb Bush. Do I even need to explain why this gives me nightmares?
Keep in mind that McCain is not sure if he would seek a second term if elected due to his age, so one of these men could be the front-runner for the 2012 election.
It appears that Karl Rove is prepared to put the powers of Satan his campaign machine into high gear for McCain, especially if Jeb Bush is selected as the running mate. Yesterday he donated the maximum amount allowed by law to the McCain campaign.
We Democrats need to unite, and we need to do it soon. If we don’t we’ll have another four or more years of damage to undo, and by then it may be too late.
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It makes total sense that McCain would want to pick an ultra-conservative running mate, considering how he’s being labeled “liberal” by the conservative media. You’re absolutely right that we need to be concerned.
Jeb Bush… *shudder*. Just the mere thought makes my skin crawl, my spine tingle and my stomach rumble. Ugh.
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Yeah, and happy Friday to you, too.
We can only hope that somehow McCain will make a strategic blunder in choosing his running mate.
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Rcktman/David-
Having Jeb Bush on the ticket could do one of two things:
1). It could hurt McCain because Dubya has tarnished the Bush name so badly (not that it ever held great standing), sensible people might run in fear from any ticket with the name Bush on it;
-or-
2). It could assure a McCain victory as the powers that got Dubya elected will do anything (legal or otherwise) to get another Bush groomed for President.
Having Huckabee on the ticket might shore up some of the more conservative base, but I wonder if that would really gain McCain any new votes. Are the ultra-conservatives really going to vote for a Democrat (or by not voting help a Democrat)? I doubt it. They talk big now, but come election time they’ll be pulling the levers for McCain. Having Huckabee as a running mate might actually scare away those moderate voters who question having a man who believes in Creationism versus science one heartbeat away from the top spot.
Mark Sanford might be the most dangerous as most voters will know very little about him other than what the McCain campaign will tell us about him. I wouldn’t count on our corporate-owned news media to actually scrutinize him the way they should.
Here’s another sleep depriver… Condoleeza Rice! I’ve read minor rumblings… and it would certainly steal all the history making thunder of the Democrats in one swoop… though I am pretty sure the GOP wouldn’t go for it given McCain’s age (or if Rice has the least bit of interest in the job).
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How about this nightmarish ticket? McCain and…Rick Perry. Texas Republicans are beside themselves with the idea that after the November general elections they will have lost the power base that they’ve enjoyed in Washington for over 50 years, and the delegates will be pushing hard for Their Boy to get the nod at second chair. Perry has shown a demagoguery (?) in Austin for the past eight years that has surpassed any of another choice, and he’s the Bush family’s personal lap dog on social and religious issues, so you might be surprised. There is that pesky Giuliani endorsement, but that can be ignored while the pundits debate whether or not Perry’s hair has ever moved in recent history.
Now try and sleep.
J
The evening of the day that Mitt announced that he was standing aside, my partner announced that he had figured out who McCain would choose as a running mate. Condoleezza Rice. I would like to think that he was joking, but I’m afraid that he was serious. My partner is a great guy, but his political instincts leave something to be desired. I’d just as soon not speculate, since all thinking about Republicans depresses me, but maybe it’ll be somebody like Haley Barbour.
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i am rather pessimistic the Dems can unite.
Reps have coherency and ‘grass roots’ in churches - and the fear factor.
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Here’s hoping people start urging Hillary and Obama to just unite and go at this thing together. Otherwise I don’t think we’ll all live long enough to have another election in 2012.
I used to laugh at the New Agers who said–based on the fact that the Mayan calendar supposedly ends then–that the world will end in 2012. I’m not laughing so much any more, especially since the Democrats have such a demonstrated ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.