Column: GOP Veepstakes
Feb. 15, 2008
Let’s face it: barring some sort of shady, old-time, backroom political dealings (don’t you miss the old days?), the Republican nomination fight is over. Many in his party revile Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Some, including Ann Coulter, think he’s more liberal than Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. But there’s almost no chance that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee can catch McCain for the nomination. With the Republican nominee all but decided, the GOP’s focus now turns to McCain’s choice of a running mate. Here are some contenders for V.P. whom the old (and I mean old) warhorse might be considering.
Huckabee: For all the love that Huck keeps giving McCain (and the other way around) you’d think they were married (Oh, sorry, this is the Republican Party. You’re only allowed extramarital gay sex) or at least already running on the same ticket. Huck’s got a lot of stuff McCain needs: a social conservative and a charismatic Southerner with executive experience. All kidding aside, Huckabee seems like a pretty good pick for McCain, although it should be noted that the party establishment hates his economic policies.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: I’ve heard this name bandied about a bit, mostly by idiots. While it’s true Romney was the choice of the Wall Street branch of the GOP and the party establishment (let’s face it, they’re one and the same) I don’t see any way Romney and McCain can overcome the bitter attacks of the primaries. It should also be noted that Romney’s major drawback (besides his wooden demeanor and love of “Who Let the Dogs Out?”), at least in the eyes of many social conservatives, is his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Former Sen. George Allen, R-Va.: Yeah, I’ve heard this name. Seriously. Which is confusing, because no one likes him. Polls show even stalwart Republicans think he’s unelectable.
Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.: Fred’s been keeping a low profile since he dropped out of the presidential race, although he did endorse his longtime friend McCain. While Thompson has solid conservative credentials, or at least the appearance of them, I can’t see why McCain would be so foolish as to put another very old, very tired-looking man on the ticket. Any opponent would have a field day casting a McCain-Thompson ticket as a vote for the past.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty: He has the advantage of being a relative unknown and can therefore be painted however the campaign wants to paint him. He is younger and has a pretty solid record of conservatism, including balancing the budget of Minnesota without raising taxes. I can’t see any drawbacks to putting Pawlenty on the ticket, although he might not excite the Southern, evangelical conservatives that McCain needs to court.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal: Jindal is a stalwart conservative and a former congressman. He’s also Indian-American, which is shocking considering David Duke, a Ku Klux Klan leader, got almost 44 percent of the vote in the 1990 Senate election. Indeed, Jindal was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana’s First District, which Duke served in the Louisiana state legislature. Jindal has overcome a lot, and is well liked by the party establishment. But he’s just been elected to the governor’s mansion and might be reluctant to leave. Another question is if the party base will accept a mainstream, Wall Street conservative.
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