A veep for Johnny Mac (episode no. 2)
Marc Ambinder reports that the McCain campaign has begun to vet its VP finalists:
Republicans close to the McCain campaign say that veepstakes supervisor A.B. Culvahouse has begun to vet between eight and ten candidates, including Gov. Tim Pawlenty of MN and Ex-Gov. Mitt Romney of MA.
You may remember that it was only 10 days ago that pundits were sure they’d figured out McCain’s 3 finalists for the position: Romney, Rob Portman and John Thume.
So who will join Romney and Pawlenty on the finalist list? Dave at Race42008 throws out a list of names, most of which have been often tossed about during this process; names like Crist, Jindal, etc. The name on Dave’s list that I continue to be intrigued with is Alaska governor Sarah Palin.
Opines Dave:
f that is our shortlist, I suspect that Ridge, Lieberman, Crist, Jindal, and Portman will all fail to make the final cut. Absent some hard evidence that Ridge would deliver Pennsylvania or that Lieberman would deliver Democratic votes (we’ve yet to see evidence for either this year), the exodus of pro-lifers that the selection of either would cause probably nixes both. Portman is a solid, safe choice, and I like the guy, but let’s face it, McCain won’t go anywhere near a potential running mate with the imprimatur of George W. Bush in this environment. Especially when there are other solid, safe choices on the shortlist. Meanwhile, Jindal seems to be stumbling out of the gate in Louisiana and has a long way to go before he’s ready for prime time. If McCain wants a young, fresh, conservative governor, he’ll pick Palin, who has governed her state longer and with fewer gaffes. And Crist may be getting married, but is still being dogged by rumors that he’s gay, and the last thing McCain wants is an October surprise because of his veep pick.
In the end, though, it would be hard to bet against seeing Romney on the national ticket. Not all conservatives are enamored by Romney’s presence on the national GOP scene, but let’s face it: McCain could do worse. Far worse, in fact, because I believe there’s considerable reason to believe that Romney could deliver Michigan for the GOP, Michigan (along with Ohio and Pennsylvania) being among the 3 most crucial states up for grabs in November. Of course, not everyone agrees that Romney would be good for the ticket.