A Longshot for the Republicans?

As we draw closer to the national nominating conventions, much of the attention for running mate selection is centered on the favorites.

But, neatly tucked away in Fox News' post yesterday about John McCain's timetable for announcing his choice is a brief — very brief — reference to a real longshot prospect for running mate.

And it's worth remembering that longshots have often found their way on to national tickets.

The name of this particular longshot is Eric Cantor, who was elected to represent Virginia's 7th District in 2000.

Here are a few of his appealing qualifications:

• For conservatives, Cantor has been given a 100% rating by the American Conservative Union.


• I don't think McCain would have to worry about Cantor's commitment to the war effort. He is a strong supporter of the U.S. commitment to Israel, and his life has been touched by the tragedy of the Middle East. His cousin was killed in a suicide bomber attack in Tel Aviv two years ago.


• For those who are worried that McCain projects too much of an elderly image, Cantor is 45 — a couple of years younger than Barack Obama.


• For those who want a ground-breaking nominee, Cantor is the only Jewish Republican in the House. Surveys indicate that McCain already is in position to do better among Jewish voters than any Republican nominee in a generation, reports Noam Levey in the Los Angeles Times. And, as Levey observes, while the Jewish vote "represents just 4% of the electorate, (it) could be critical this fall in close states such as Florida."


• Need some star power? Cantor was re-elected to his seat in 2002 against Ben Jones, popularly known as "Cooter" on "The Dukes of Hazzard" — with nearly 70% of the vote.