Word is out this evening that Sen. McCain is finalizing his vice-presidential pick tonight. Because we may know as soon as tomorrow who he’s chosen, it’s now or never for another round of veepstakes.
If I were advising McCain, here’s who would be on my suggested short list:
Tom Ridge
Kay Bailey Hutchinson
As a Democrat, those are the only two that I think could be game-changing. Tom Ridge might piss off the lunatic fringe, but I just don’t think that they’d abandon the party at the end of the day. Not for a guy who’s going to be spending the next four years going to funerals.
Hutchinson, in my view, has almost no downside. She’s not an excellent campaigner, but I don’t think that’s a big deal in this campaign. McCain’s best hope of attracting die-hard Clintonites is to pick a woman, and Hutchinson’s the best of the bunch. She might also present a good contrast to Biden in the debates. Hutchinson is the pick that I fear the most.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is worthy of serious consideration, but she arguably wouldn’t meet the ready-to-be-president criterion. I don’t think she gets McCain anything that Hutchinson doesn’t get him already.
Meg Whitman might also be worthy of serious consideration. But her inexperience and at least questionable record at eBay could be liabilities. She also doesn’t get McCain much that Hutchinson doesn’t get him already.
Finally, Mike Pence and Rob Portman might also be worthy short-listers. I have long thought that Pence would be an excellent candidate, but he’s almost completely unknown. He’s the Chet Edwards of the GOP veepstakes. Mike who? Portman is a solid if uninspiring choice. He’s got economic experience, but that could be a liability — it might be seen as a pick from weakness rather than strength.
Although McCain has some good choices, my guess is that he’s going to go for Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty. For some reason, the conventional wisdom sees both candidates as relatively safe picks. My guess is that the McCain camp feels pretty good about their current position in the polls, and they don’t want to rock the boat. I think that’s a mistake.
Romney has an almost unique ability to inspire loathing. People don’t like him. Even though he holds all the right positions for the Republican electorate, he came in third in the primaries. Pawlenty has an amazing ability to inspire sleep and would look like a dope next to Biden.
I think McCain really wants to pick Joseph Lieberman, but he’ll realize in the end that Traitor Joe would be more repulsive to his base than he can handle. Lieberman gets him little that Ridge doesn’t and pisses off more people.
Wild cards include David Petraeus and Eric Cantor.
Who do I, as a Democrat, want McCain to pick? If Jeb Bush and Dick Cheney are unavailable, I’d be delighted if McCain picks Romney, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, or Carly Fiorina.
Who do you think McCain should pick? Who do you think he will pick?
Cross-posted from Facebook.