Redstate

Posted at 10:23pm on May 8, 2008 REDSTATE ROUNDTABLE #9: The McCain Veepstakes

By Jeff Emanuel

Once again, RedState presents a peek inside the minds of those who make up the site's Editorial staff. This week, the RS Contributors debate Sen. McCain's potential Vice Presidential selection.

The big question: who should McCain pick? And, to revisit a question we took on back in February, should McCain try to make his choice early, or should he wait until close to the September convention?

Dan McLaughlin: I have laid out my own rules for who I think McCain should rule out , and I'll just say here that if the choice was mine to make today, I think my preferences would be SC-GOV Mark Sanford, RI-GOV Don Carcieri, and MN-GOV Tim Pawlenty, in that order, although I'm actually leaning towards the idea that Carcieri might be electorally the best bet in helping McCain crack Pennsylvania and maybe even New Jersey.

Continued below the fold...

Posted in 2008 | Elections | John McCain | Redstate Roundtable | Republican Vice Presidential Nomination | Veepstakes — Comments (127)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:08am on May 1, 2008 The McCain Veepstakes Rules

Please Consult This List Before Touting Your Favorite Choice

By Dan McLaughlin

The hottest topic in Republican circles, ever since John McCain iced the nomination, is who he should pick as his running mate. There are many interesting names floated, and McCain will have good reason to make a show of talking to a bunch of candidates for the job, as a way of courting different groups and party leaders and feeling out people who might end up with other jobs in his Administration.

But realistically, there are a number of constraints on what kind of candidate McCain can or should pick. The Vice Presidency isn't like other appointments, since he or she is independently elected and can't be fired. And McCain's choice will be of particular significance for a few reasons. First, because of his age, voters will want more assurance than usual that his running mate is ready to step into the job at a moment's notice. Second, also because of McCain's age, he's seen as less likely to serve two terms; his running mate, win or lose in 2008, will have a leg up to be the heir apparent in 2012. And third, many conservatives are unhappy with McCain as the party leader, and want to see that the moderates have not taken permanent control of the party.

Let's start with the Don'ts, which will be especially important in this process. I'm not saying that McCain will necessarily follow these rules, but he should and I suspect he will. And I'm not saying that it's impossible that he will take someone who breaks them, but it will be a very heavy burden to overcome, and probably fatal for anyone who violates more than one of them. (This list is not necessarily presented in any particular order of importance).

More below the fold...

Posted in 2008 | Condoleezza Rice | John McCain | Mark Sanford | Mitt Romney | Tim Pawlenty | Veepstakes — Comments (297)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 9:34pm on Apr. 7, 2008 Dark Horse Veep Watch: Don Carcieri (Gov-RI)

By Leon H Wolf

Some of my fellow RedState contributors and I were discussing via email today why it is that a certain segment of the population is determined to push Condi Rice for Veep, as though it would be a good idea for the entire executive branch to run like the State Department currently does. During the course of this conversation, which inevitably turned to potentially *good* choices for Vice President, an unexpected name came up: Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri.

More below...

Posted in 2008 | Fun with baseless speculation | Republicans we should be talking more about | Veepstakes — Comments (48)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:00am on Mar. 10, 2008 Rich Lowry's Question on Obama as Veep

By Ben Domenech

Rich Lowry poses a question that I've heard from many others recently: If this thing goes to the convention, would Obama accept a Veep spot?

Such a deal would make a lot of sense: Obama would be getting a vice-presidential nomination that he presumably would have been delighted with a year ago, that suits his experience level, and that would probably keep him from having to go back to the U.S. Senate, which he doesn't appear to relish. And he could convince himself that this is the right thing for his party and the country (Hillary wouldn't be so moved by such considerations). It would be the only way to end the race cleanly before the convention.

I completely disagree with this logic: under absolutely no conditions should Barack Obama join himself to Clinton on a ticket. Obama is young, bright as the morning star, can raise metric tons of money in a second, and has elevated himself to the messianic level by eloquently championing "change politics" (and not much else). His future is enormously bright even if the superdelegates throw the nomination to Hillary. By joining himself to the Clinton machine and its incredibly divisive grande dame, Obama ruins his ability to ever again function as a "change candidate" with broad social appeal. It destroys his chief pop-cultural attribute for the sake of an 08 run where he'd be second-fiddle to a vindictive POTUS who is only cooperating with him out of political necessity. It would be unquestionably wiser for Obama to wait, to be "the guy we should've picked" should Clinton fail as nominee or President, raise the GDP of a small nation, go back to IL and be governor, and be the unquestioned heart and soul of the party for four years until he can go at it again, this time with a deeper resume.

Posted at 2:28pm on Feb. 26, 2008 Meet Mark Sanford

Mr. Right?

By Dan McLaughlin

Along with Tim Pawlenty, the first subject of this sporadic series of video clips (mostly from YouTube) of potential national GOP candidates (whether for the Vice Presidency in 2008 or the big job later), the other candidate on everyone's short list is South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Sanford is regarded as a rock-solid conservative (a somewhat tongue-in-cheek self-described "right wing nut," even), like McCain he has made a name as an anti-pork crusader, and he has a great resume - six years in Congress, six as a Governor - giving him far more experience at the same age than the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

So how does Sanford play on the small screen?

Read On...

Posted in 2008 | 2012 Presidential Campaign | 2016 | Mark Sanford | Veepstakes — Comments (15)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:47am on Feb. 11, 2008 Meet Tim Pawlenty

Let's Go To The Videotape

By Dan McLaughlin

I'm a big believer in the idea that political campaigns on a national level are influenced very heavily by personality and character, and thus much must be learned about a candidate by watching them in action rather than just ticking off issue positions and lines on the resume. You know the tune by now: ideas don't run for president, people do. Yet even in this interconnected age, even political junkies often seem to end up forming strong opinions about politicians they know only by record and reputation.

There is bound to be another round of speculation on the way about who is and isn't an appropriate choice for the next entires on national stage, starting with the likely GOP running mate for John McCain. Let's take a video tour, starting with one of the top short-listers, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Posted in 2008 | 2008 Presidential Campaign | 2012 Presidential Campaign | Tim Pawlenty | Veepstakes — Comments (73)/ Email this page » / Read More »