Medved apparently was inspired to compile his list after McCain invited three prospects -- Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal and Charlie Crist -- to spend the Memorial Day weekend with him in Arizona."Each of the three visitors offers strengths and weaknesses to a potential ticket," writes Medved, "as do the other names under consideration for the Republican nomination for vice president of the United States."
The "bottom line," according to Medved, is that Jindal should be the choice.
"Jindal offers the GOP the best chance in many years for reshaping the party's tarnished, tired image without in any way abandoning timeless conservative principles," he concludes. "The very prospect of a vice president whose full legal name is Piyush Subhaschandra Amrit "Bobby" Jindal has a marvelously exotic, only-in-America feel to it."
I can't help thinking that, if a McCain-Jindal ticket won the election, Chief Justice John Roberts would spend some time rehearsing Jindal's name in the weeks before January 20 so he could pronounce it correctly during the inauguration ceremony.
However, "[i]f McCain for some reason misses this obvious choice, Mary Jodi Rell of Connecticut offers another ground-breaking possibility which Democrats will find tough to smear," Medved says.
Rell, as Medved points out, won the governor's office in a heavily Democratic state. "Her husband is a Navy pilot (like McCain), and she herself is a courageous breast cancer survivor," Medved observes.
And the worst thing he can say about her? "[S]he would be the first individual on a national ticket since Truman without a college degree."
But, as Medved acknowledges, "In today’s anti-elitist climate, that might actually be an advantage."
3 comments:
McCain/Palin vs. McCain/Jindal: There’s been noted buzz of late on rising GOP star Louisiana Gov Bobby Jindal as a McCain prospective Veep. Certainly Jindal is more than very good, However, I believe there’s some “strategerie” going on here. The “real” beneficiary of the Jindal talk is the other rising GOP star, Alaska Gov Sarah Palin. Palin’s got everything that Jindal has (new/exciting, wildly popular, ethics and spending reformer, core conservative etc.) and more — mother of 5 w/remarkable bio, she’s 8 yrs older than Jindal, Alaska energy issue, and set to garner the disenfranchised female Hillary voter (I don’t believe Dem leaders can dump Obama).
Getting Jindal’s name out first — at Team McCain’s BBQ for instance — sets the stage for the obvious choice, Palin. For example, albeit Rush Limbaugh introduced Palin’s name, and later Jindal’s as good Veep choices, of late Rush has been praising the name of Jindal while on his very same shows discussing at great length the frustrated female Hillary voter and the global warming hysteria/need for energy development, without mentioning Palin’s name as the obvious beneficiary of those two issues. Rush walks a fine line, introducing Palin, yet can’t, at least yet, reiterate much, knowing that his praises may be counter-productive to many a swing, moderate and/or formerly Dem voter (who’s against Obama and switching to McCain). Moreover, while I feel that Palin has more real accomplishment, experience and qualification than Obama (and Hillary combined, albeit w/Obama the bar is pretty low), the only potential argument against Palin is she’s a newbie to the national scene. By having Jindal out there first as a VP prospect “passing” the “experience” and “new to the national scene” test, implicitly passes Palin as well. (For that matter Palin’s got as much if not more experience and accomplishment than Florida Gov Crist who’s only been Gov for 2 yrs — and the media has been touting Crist as a VP prospect.)
That’s my thinking at least.
McCain is in a tough place: He is so old, his VP has a real chance to be president. Thus, he can't afford to pick the trendy buzzworthy politico, especially if they have little experience. Can you imagine a President Palin or President Jindal? The Democrats would tee-off on that.
Additionally, Kerry picking Edwards kinda ended the viability of choosing a vp based on region of the country (not to mention that Edwards was more charismatic). Thus, Jindal doesn't add much other than the latest trendy up-and-comer.
Because of the age issue, McCain must pick someone with the ability to be president. We all see how people age in the White House. Unfortunately for McCain, there are very few such folks in GOP circles. And the one that comes to mind, Hagel of Nebraska, is not well liked by many conservatives.
President Brownback? President Romney? President Guiliani? President Frist? President CEO No One Has Heard Of?
Sorry, but McCain is in a tight place with the possible vp'ers.
I agree that McCain is in a tough spot.
But I would hesitate to play the "experience card," especially with the experience Obama will be bringing to the table.
Can I imagine President Palin or President Jindal?
No. But I wonder how many Americans could imagine "President Truman" when they voted for FDR in 1944 -- totally unaware that Roosevelt was dying.
And how many Americans believed they were electing "President Johnson" when they voted for JFK in 1960?
Statistically, McCain is more likely to die in the next four years than either of his prospective challengers from the Democratic Party. But people don't live and die by the actuarial tables.
I have often said in this blog that the running mate selection is extremely important for both nominees. Precisely because anything can happen.
Obama is a quarter of a century younger than McCain.
Does he have a guarantee of longevity?
A responsible nominee will pick a running mate who will be capable of taking over if needed.
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