3 posts tagged “vice president”

Hmm...

Looks like Palin's pregnancy might have sidelined a potential VP bid.  But by the sound of it, she may have had some meetings with McCain -- and it looked like she was definitely on the short list.

Hopefully, we will see more of her in the future.

Drudge had that headline on his page earlier tonight as he linked to an AP article that showed Romney and McCain campaigning together in Utah.

A tanned and rested Romney said it was fun to be campaigning again and nice not to feel any pressure.  "I don't have to worry about goofing up," he said.  He brushed aside questions about a No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket.

Wishful thinking Matt?  Does the rumor have legs or is it just a headline to drum up speculation?

Part of me thinks that McCain has got to give his selection for the VP slot a lot of thought and reflection.  I think it is too easy to pick Romney.  And really why should he?  Name recognition?  Uniting the party?

McCain won the nomination.  And he won by pretty good margins.  It wasn't a knock down, drag out fight like the current Democratic nomination.  So would it really be about "uniting" the party?

In my opinion, I think McCain should do what he has always done and that is buck the status quo.  This election is going to be won or lost in the middle.  Romney would be an average choice in my opinion.  I think he needs to go with a VP candidate that is both a straight shooter and politically attractive.

I still think Palin is at the top of my list for the post.  Human Events had this article on Palin (thanks Zak for the link) however unlikely the possibility.

“I’ll tell you, I think that the possibility of this ever happening is so far out there, that it’s tough to get my arms around and even contemplate,” Palin told us, so I don’t have an answer.” But, she quickly added, “I would like to see a governor on that ticket. I do think a governor understands, being on the front lines there, serving the constituents, how to administer. I think that’s very important for a team that would be serving in the White House.”

The one trap McCain cannot fall into is his potential administration looking like Bush's, especially with the likes of Obama harping on the failings of Bush all of the time.  I think a McCain/Romney ticket would make it too easy.  I say make it hard.

Palin is attractive, ethical, and almost maverickesque in her political style.  That is what will bring in the independents and solidify a win.

Ruffini talks about Sarah Palin.

When Larry Craig brought disrepute onto the Republican house, conservatives did not circle the wagons. They immediately demanded his ouster. Even the party's leadership, normally slow to respond, did the right thing by setting aside Senatorial collegiality and demanding an explanation and eventually his resignation. With the case now a month removed from the headlines, Craig has snuck back in under the wire by delaying his resignation (that's right, after he initially retracted the initial trial balloon earlier this month).

Regardless of its ultimate outcome, the Craig case demonstrates that there is a growing grassroots movement within the Republican Party to clean house before a hostile media and an impatient electorate do it for us. To date, the movement's impact is mostly theoretical. Only 16 House Republicans consistently reject the backscratching earmark gravy train, scoring 100% on the Club for Growth's RePORK Card. And Republicans may be powerless to stop Larry Craig's embarassing flip-flop-flip on resignation.

But there is at least one Republican for whom ethical governance is more than just a theory. Meet Sarah Palin, Alaska's rockstar governor.

She stopped the pork project that has made Alaska a talking point for the last year or so.

On Friday Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin ordered the state to prepare a "fiscally responsible" alternative to the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," which made the state a national laughingstock and shone an unwelcome spotlight on the pork-barrel greed of its all-Republican congressional delegation. The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan (population 7,400) to its airport on a nearby island inhabited by 50 people.

The same day, the Associated Press reported that the FBI has recorded two phone calls between Sen. Ted Stevens, who sponsored the bridge, and Bill Allen, a Stevens patron who dominated state politics as the head of the oil-services firm VECO until he pleaded guilty to bribing state legislators this year. Mr. Allen has also testified in open court that he paid some of the bills incurred in the expensive remodeling of Mr. Stevens's Alaska home. Last month, FBI agents raided the senator's home to secure evidence about the remodeling work. Few expect Mr. Stevens, who has served since 1968 and rose to become chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, to survive politically.

I think Palin is the fresh wind that Republican voters desperately want in their politicians.  The good old boy mentality that exists in government has got to go and her record shows that she is willing to put it all on the line in the name of being moral and ethical.  She could be an ace in the hole come the 2008 election if she is selected and wants to run as a presidential running mate.