Is there a VP with McCain on this trip?
Fresh from sealing the Republican White House nomination, Senator John McCain will burnish his foreign policy credentials with a trip next week to Israel and Europe, his office said Monday.
Joined by two close Senate colleagues, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, McCain will visit Jerusalem on March 18, London the next two days, and Paris on March 21, according to a statement.
Hrmm.
Jen
Neither one of those choices exactly sways my decision not to vote for him. Although I would enjoy saying “Joementum” again.
Why another Congresscritter? Doesn’t anyone like governors anymore?
Ted
One’s a “Democrat” and one is most likely gay. I doubt it. McCain needs to win back the hearts of the base, and Lieberman or Graham aren’t likely to cut it.
Keith
Gotta agree with Ted on that one. Not to be cold, but that’s the reality of the Washington rumor mill (same reason I don’t think Condi will not run, and same reason why I think my original pick for McCain’s veep – Charlie Crist – is a no-go). I’m not even trying to give credence to the rumors, but even a whispering campaign like that among the GOPers would sink McCain when he needs the support of his wingnuttiest compadres the most.
And Lieberman wouldn’t work because he can’t add any economic credentials to McCain’s dossier. Looking like Mittens right now.
MBL
Oh please please please let McCain pick Lieberman as his VP. Please please please please please please please.
God, the Dems would win 60 states against that ticket. We’d have to split California, New York, and Illinois into thirds or something.
Jen
Haven’t heard that rumor, but I think “closeted gay” would put him squarely back in the base, actually.
Maybe he’s trying to trick people into thinking he’s a woman! We had a male Supreme Court judge named Beverly. For some reason, people seem to vote for female judges, probably because they don’t know the first thing about the candidates and just figure we could probably use more women judges. There are people who think he made the best he could out of his name.
Ted
Funny that you point that out, because that’s actually exactly what I do on those ballot choices. Knowing nothing of the candidates for judgeships most of the time, I always vote for the female for that reason. I figure maybe in a few decades that won’t be fair anymore.
conumbdrum
I don’t see either of these bozos getting the nod. Saint John needs a choice that will appease the mouthbreathers of the base. This bloc despises Lindsay Graham even more than McCain for his rah-rah support of the immigration (i.e. “shamnesty) bill… plus, well, he’s a closet case, and the door he skulks behind gapes a little wider with every passing year.
As for Lieberman… sure, he supports the Iraq clusterfuck, but he’s still too much of a Democrat on most social issues, including Roe vs. Wade. I’m not sure Holy Joe would accept, anyhow — he’d get shafted but good by the Democrats if he did, and a McCain victory isn’t enough of a sure thing to be worth the gamble.
Way I see it, McCain has to pick a VP who can shore him up with the supply-sider Repubs who distrust his sincere commitment to Bush’s tax cuts. He needs a boost with the bible-beater Repubs too, but they seem more likely to grit their few remaining teeth and pull the switch for Saint John, if only to head off their pants-soiling nightmare of a liberal appointment to the Supreme Court.
4tehlulz
Lieberman. You know it’s true.
Neal
Yeah, I hear rumors about my governor (Crist) a lot but I don’t think that will fly. The base callls him a RINO because he cares about the environment and he isn’t pushing for the gay marriage ban. He’s popular here, but with McCain at the top of the ticket, I don’t think it will work. I’m glad personally. I didn’t vote for Crist but I like him alright and since we’re more or less stuck with a GOP governor in Florida, he’s certainly the best option. So much better than the previous one (Jeb). I don’t want to see him get taken away just yet.
It would be fun to turn “Lieberman” into “Loserman” again. Or Joementum. That would be fun too. But he’s liberal aside from his war stance. That won’t fly. I’m guessing Pawlenty or Mittens.
conumbdrum
Wow… all the points I made got made by other posters in the time it took to write my comment. Gotta work on that excessive verbosity.
Punchy
Oh…..sweet Jesus, pick LIEberman. The base will excoriate him, vociferously. It would almost certainly cause Limbaugh an heart attack, Hannity a nervous breakdown, and Kristol…who knows. A few Jews may defect to the R party, but so many Evangellys will boycott that the diff will be a net loss.
A O-face/Clagina tix against a McOld/WhinyVoiceGuy tix would be a landslide victory.
Zifnab
Hypothetical Presidential Contests as Portrayed by a Pokemon Battle.
Lieberman has already stated at least once that he won’t be McCain’s VP. I’m not entirely sure why he’s drawn this line in the sand, but… :p
I honestly find it difficult to care who McCain picks. He’ll be a Republican, which won’t really improve John’s creds. And he’ll probably be just as wacko about lynching brown people and cutting corporate taxes as every other Republican.
Sasha
Everyone knows that McCain is BFF with Florida governor Charlie Crist.
MBL
My Shoe/My Sock vs. McCain/Lieberman.
I say my shoe and my sock by 72 EV.
4tehlulz
No way. The evangelicals love the Jews and Israel to death.
cleek
err, i dunno. the base isn’t about to switch parties, by definition of “base”. what he really needs is someone to counter Obama’s crossover appeal.
Civilized Crank
I understand why people think McCain would pull someone out of the base for the Veep slot, but I am still wondering why. He has shown he can win the GOP primary without any of their support, his stabs at reconciliation (like CPAC and the WH photo-op) have seen forced and totally ceremonial. And he knows the base will turn out to vote against Hillary or the black guy.
All that screams to me that McCain can pick pretty much anyone but a Dem and get away with it.
Jen
Everyone knows your sock is a lilly-livered flip-flopper, but is it your wingnut shoe or your moonbat shoe?
4tehlulz
Which base? Because if he’s pulling someone out of his base, it’ll be either Chris Matthews or Tim Russert.
Zifnab
Follow the sandal!
MJ
I don’t think either man is on the VP short list. I think Pawlenty or Ridge are more likely to be picked.
NickM
Wouldn’t you say Brownback is also in the Veep mix?
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
If MBL’s brown leather shoe was a white leather shoe, his shoe would not be in this position.”
And if his shoe was a high-heeled shoe his shoe would not be in this position. His shoe happens to be very lucky to be who his shoe is. And the country is caught up in the concept.
Liberal Masochist
Agree with cleek and crank – he needs someone to blunt the cross over appeal of the MUP. Most of the base will still turn out for McCain regardless.
Would also add that McCain lucked out by not needing the Repub base in his primary run. If you remove either Huck or Mittens from the mix early on, then they don’t split the base allowing McCain to waltz in. He was out of money and prospects last fall. Remove one of those two and I think you have a nomination fight like the dems have going on right now.
Billy K
I wonder if Hillary would be interested in VP? I mean, McCain’s VP. She seems to really like the man, and Republicans seem to be voting for her A LOT lately.
Rex
Jesus these SOBs are making picking a candidate in the Election difficult. The equations, for me:
Obama > McCain
McCain > Hillary Clinton
Nader or Ficus Tree > McCain/Lieberman
D-Chance.
*cough*
As I noted yesterday, it’s NOT Lieberman. It’s the Other Guy. East coaster, amenable to the social cons AND the authoritarians, big-time Hillary-hater, attack dog mentality, good friends with McCain, he’s one of the electees from that 1994 Dittohead Caucus. Given how McCain’s not exactly embraced by his hard-right base, Graham (who is) would be the perfect choice. He fills all the requirements of the sector of the party that McCain doesn’t.
Gay Veteran
Lindsey Graham definitely sets off my gaydar (and so does Dear Leader). And there are BIG rumors about Florida Gov. Crist.
MJ
I think the middle east plan he supported last year takes him out of the mix.
MBL
Just so we’re clear, it’s my left shoe. But my right sock.
Billy K
Oh. OK then. I think your left shoe is a racist.
Neal
Very true. The gaydar goes CRAZY with my dear governor Crist…and I’m not even gay.
Civilized Crank
The base hates Graham since he has basically been McCain Jr. since he’s been in the Senate (was part of the Gang of 13 and pushed the immigration bill for starters). But he is from SC and was a House manager of impeachment, so he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
Actually the more I think about it, Graham is perfect.
Evinfuilt
I’m pretty sure that if he chooses either, then it doesn’t matter who the Democrats nominate. The republicans just won’t show up to vote. Actually they’d show up, and vote Democrat just to stop the “lunacy.”
They have their version of “ethics” to uphold, and allowing a pro-immigration VP on a pro-immigration ticket would cause their heads to explode.
So it’ll be Romney if the “movement” gets their way.
trollhattan
Hooray, months upon months of “Romney Rising.” I’ve so missed those cries for help
Jose Padilla
I never see Governor Rick Perry of Texas mentioned. The wingnuts would love it. Appeals to all of the Republican base.
dbrown
VP? Nah, McCain just wants to have sex with them; of course, he will be on top.
tom.a
Setting aside the fact that the political press is actually McCain’s VP, neither of them adds anything to his ticket. He’ll go for someone similar in age to Leiberman/Graham just so he doesn’t appear ancient, but no way he goes for a current congress critter. I say Haley Barbour or Rick Santorum is where he’ll go.
HyperIon
very subtle humor there….
karen marie
Civilized Crank Says (above): “I understand why people think McCain would pull someone out of the base for the Veep slot, but I am still wondering why. He has shown he can win the GOP primary without any of their support” …
i read on another blog earlier today that there is chatter amongst the republican delegates that they’ll dump mccain if he doesn’t pick the republican 2012 candidate to be his 2008 vp candidate. so mccain in fact does not necessarily have the republican nomination sewn up as the party line would have you believe. there is a lot of msm chatter about “chaos” within the democratic party but that is a deflection from the actual (but for the most part unreported) chaos within the republican party.
my money’s on mccain picking romney. junior jetboy and his dad and brother have made statements about their support of romney for vp, romney is a social conservative and has the advantage that any loss can be blamed on religious discrimnation. romney triangulates for the republicans very well.
D-Chance.
BTW, Texas can’t count.
Last count, just over 40% of the caucuses have reported to the state, Obama is leading 56%-44%. 23,918 delegates for Obama and 18,620 for Clinton. Regional caucuses are March 29, where that gets whittled down; then the state convention is in June, where the final delegate count will be determined.
For grins and giggles (at least, for Obama supporters), Rod Dreher notes the antics of a Hillary supporter on the night of the caucuses and the aftermath.
The Dallas Morning News article on the fun times in Democratland.
Chuck Butcher
The R’s are going to have money problems. McSame is already a problem with the hard core base. Lieberman is a social liberal, Graham isn’t a right/right sort. Romney has access to big money, Huck has small money in large quantities, Brownback has nuts quality and nothing else.
If McSame judges Romney closed the sale with the theocratic right that might be where he goes. Since I abhore most of that bunch and find their reasoning something other than reason, my guesses are probably no better than guesses.
Jon H
Lieberman’s just going so he can translate to and from ‘Schmuck’.