Who should John McCain pick as his vice presidential running mate? You don't want your vice presidential candidate to expose your weaknesses. He should pick someone between the ages of 50-65, who the American public has faith in if McCain should not be able to complete his term. He should pick a governor. It should be a white man (know your audience). Ideologically, it would be best to find someone who is acceptable to both conservatives and moderates, but if that person existed, they would be in McCain's spot right now. So he should pick someone more moderate. It doesn't matter if he wins Nebraska with 54% or 64%; he needs the center to win.
Who will he pick? I have no idea. But here is a list of the most likely candidates at this moment.
1. Gov. Charlie Crist (Fl) - Fits the bill, delivered Florida in Jan. and will probably deliver Florida in November.
2. Gov. Mark Sanford (SC) - Fits like Crist, but more conservative and not a swing state.
3. Gov. Rick Perry (Tex) - A conservative.
4. Fmr Gov. Tom Ridge (Pen) - Balances McCain very nicely while highlighting his strengths.
5. Fmr Gov. Robert Ehrlich (Md) - Won't deliver Md, but borders Penn & Va.
6. Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Min) - Probably won't help much.
7. Fmr Sen. Fred Thompson (Ten) - Too old and a fmr sen, but is conservative and friend of McCain. Probably better served in a lesser role.
8. Fmr Gov. Mitt Romney (Mas) - The party establishment wants McCain to fail so they gain power back. But they don't want Romney to lead them, because he makes many gaffes and is a Johnny-come-lately to their positions, so why not kill two birds with one stone by sabotaging both?
9. Sec. Condoleezza Rice - Fits the diversity bill. But one of the architects of the Iraq war, who has never campaigned, is a weak choice.
10. Fmr Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark) - Conservatives distrust him, moderates despise him.
11. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Tex) - A good choice, except she's a senator.
12. Fmr Rep. Newt Gingrich (Ga) - Fmr Speaker of the House has too much baggage, otherwise a good choice.
13. Gov. Bobby Jindal (La) - Fits the diversity clause, but too young. Not a good choice this time.
14. Gov. Matt Blunt (Mizz) - Young Gov of a swing state.
15. Gov. Mitch Daniels (Ind) - As far as I know, he'd be a good choice.
16. Gov. Sarah Palin (Ak) - A young woman from Alaska, not a good choice. Would make McCain look old and Alaska is not exactly great preparation for a national campaign.
17. Fmr Mayor Rudy Giuliani (NY) - Moderates distrust him, conservatives despise him.
18. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (NC) - She'd be a good choice, but a tad old.
19. Gen. Colin Powell - Could be a good choice. Two experienced men in a dangerous world. Both semi-critics of the Iraq war. But his UN speech was a watershed moment (in a bad way). Plus, can he campaign?
20. Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky) - Senate minority leader.
21. Rep. John Boehner (Oh) - House of Reps minority leader. Pronounced BAY-ner: Not if you want the youth vote, it's not!
A little fun:
22. Fmr Gov. Jeb Bush (Fl) - The Dems are already trying to paint McCain and Bush together, why hand it to them?
23. Gen. David Petraeus - Some people seem to like him, but focusing on the Iraq war is not the best strategy.
24. Fmr Sen. George Allen (Va) - Also a former Gov. Would be perfect, except for his propensity to offend people.
25. Fmr Lt Gov. Michael Steele (Md) - A black Republican who had a nice showing in his senate race, but hasn't won a big contest.
26. Sen. Joe Lieberman (Con) - Would be perfect, except... he's a Jew.
27. C.J. John Roberts - Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
28. V.P. Dick Cheney - A comedian's dream.
29. Bill O'Reilly - A little accountability for his statements would be nice.
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