Lindsey Graham: He was kinda-sorta in the military, but not really. He was an Army lawyer. Mostly, the current ones act as al-Q’s fifth column, and Lindsey would be a perfect fit. Whether he’s light in the loafers — well, “don’t ask, don’t tell, and most definitely don’t pursue.” He’s no good on the GWOT which DQ’s him not only for higher office but even for the one he currently occupies.
Huckabee: All y’all Huck supporters are kidding, right? He’s got about a fifth grade education, which shows, and his leading goal seems to be to force-feed the nation his particular religion. Reminds me of Monty Python’s Holy Grail: “Thanks, but we already got one.” Huck on McCain’s ticket would be a multivalent buzzkill: alienating whatever economic conservatives haven’t already leaped from their Wall Street windows, driving the national security conservatives to drink, and bringing McCain some of the Taliban conservatives who’d otherwise sit home and sulk in tongues, at the price of driving away every single crossover and independent vote. Hey, McCain and Huck won’t need those votes, they can just win on the 10% of voters who think the office is Preacher-in-Chief. They’ll just need a miracle of loaves and fishes! (Of course, Huck preaches the Gospel of Jesus: unlike Obama, he doesn’t pretend to be Him. So the loaves-n-fishes thing most likely can’t be counted on).
Romney: Now here’s a case. The guy would be ideal, but the combined hate-on that the MSM and the Huckabee crowd have for Romney’s rare religion makes McCain-Romney a tough hill to climb. Interesting thing is that, while the particulars of Romney’s faith sound much stranger than Huckabee’s, Romney keeps it in the faith sphere and doesn’t try to demean others.
Lieberman: Somehow I doubt he’d accept. If he did, and by some miracle the McCain-Leiberman ticket wins, all this does is kick the problem down the road four years, or maybe (assuming McCain’s health remains good) eight. Lieberman won’t get a Repub nomination on his own, even if he’s a first-rate VP.
Fred: I believe him when he says he doesn’t want it.
Palin: might be an excellent choice. I don’t know enough about her.
Pawlenty: Brings something useful to the ticket, regional popularity and appeal. That’s definitely worth something.
This will be the first real decision of McCain’s that the public focuses on. I’m reminded of George HW Bush saying (paraphrased), “Watch my Vice Presidential choice. That will tell all!” Then 41 picked an obscure young Senator with mostly foreign policy credentials, which was not something any of us saw coming. The press used the Senator’s youth as a peg to hang insults on. (Their treatment of Obama is an interesting comparison to their treatment of Quayle, whose gaffes were relatively minor in comparison. But then, no one — but them — ever said they were objective).
