Fox News, citing RNC sources, now reports that John McCain will not pick a pro-choice running mate:
As speculation grows around who John McCain will select as his vice presidential running mate next week, Republican National Committee officials said Tuesday that McCain is no longer considering former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.Note that all of Fox's sources are from the RNC -- nobody with the McCain campaign itself. Nevertheless, with this having come from the right's most trusted news source, the perception will certainly be out there that McCain has thumbed-down the idea of picking a pro-choicer -- which means that it would look doubly like a betrayal if he now did.
Several sources at the RNC told FOX News that in the last 36 hours, senior McCain advisers and aides have told RNC officials that McCain “got the message” last week that choosing a running mate who supports abortion rights would not be helpful.
In other words, as difficult as it was for McCain to pick a pro-choice running mate before, it just became a whole lot more difficult now. That may have been precisely the purpose of the story; it's sort of the Xiang Yu strategy of burning part of your own fleet in order to achieve a desired end.
As such, it sure looks like Ridge is off the list, as are Lieberman and Meg Whitman.
200 comments
Well, his declaration at Saddleback that he would be a "pro-life" president and his would be a "pro-life" administration, I think we could probably draw this conclusion three days ago.
What convinces you that Meg Whitman is prochoice?
Why does nobody talk about the CEO of Fedex...
A McCain buddy.
A Vietnam guy...
There's your shocker.
Does Meg Whitman actually have political positions?
A pro-choice candidate was NEVER under serious consideration. McCain's camp is very smart to talk up Lieberman and Ridge to give a nice 'Big Umbrella' feel to his campaign and to throw out trial ballons for his social conservative base to shoot down.
Now the Evangelicals are made to believe they have won (particularly after McCain's spectacular Saddleback performance) and are brought into his campagin just as the vital GOTV operations are falling into place. McCain knew, all along, that without the Evangelicals he would have no chance of winning and now he has them firmly in his grasp. McCain will now be able to go mano on mano with Obama's GOTV forces.
It will be Pawlenty
John is in trouble.
If he pick a conservative VP, he lost some indies and moderates.
If he pick a pro-choice VP, he´d screw the cons base.
Uh oh, watch out, McCain! There will be an expose tonight on your "character"!
Hope it's fair and balanced. LMFAO!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/characterconduct/index.html
US News says Whitman is pro-choice.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2008/8/19/tom-ridge-ruse-ceo-meg-whitman-as-veep.html?s_cid=rss:capital-commerce:tom-ridge-ruse-ceo-meg-whitman-as-veep
After all this time and effort spent running hard right, there was never a real chance that his VP choice was going to be a reach for center.
This is good for BO - it means they will not be able to run to the center nearly as strongly or appeal to Hillary PUMA's. Lets hope Lieberman is off the table.
BUT - consider the source, this is from Fox News and always remember that Brad says, "Somewhere in America, a conservative is lying."
John McCain is balancing on a rope between his base and independents. It´s mostly his biography and an Anti-Obama-union that keeps him up. It seems he has to take his side now, because in the end the two camps cannot be united, not this year.
If Pat Buchanan is to be believed, the 527 groups will be going after Obama with the Infanticide-smear, and the abortion issue is probably meant to be this year´s wedge issue. It might work with his base, but I really think it will lose the election for republicans. After all, the majority of the electorate consists of women and, apart from the fact that a majority of americans is on the pro-choice side, it might also split the vote of core republicans and libertarians who would not like to see the government intruding their private lives.
Ouch, looks like she is prochoice:
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/24/nation/na-whitman24
Michael and I are on the same page. Pawlenty.
To pander to the pro-choice crowd would be terminally suicidal.
Is there really a game-changing VP option on the table for McCain, like Obama has with Clinton?
I'm 100% against Obama picking Clinton, by the way, but it cannot be argued that a decision wouldn't soak up media coverage for weeks. McCain, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have anyone on his short list that could the same thing.
"Is there really a game-changing VP option on the table for McCain, like Obama has with Clinton?"
He could pick Dick Cheney. That would be a game-changer!
haha yeah sedi. picking a Bush is also game change-y.
By the way...
Aren't the virulently pro-life crowd the same people that are virulently anti-Obama? I kinda get the feeling people like that would hold their nose and vote McCain no matter what he did just to keep Obama out of office. It could be another "maverick" move!
Bummer. Now it will be harder for McCain to instantly obliterate his chances of winning.
Kascich or Portman will do nicely.
I think I disagree Mark, even Rush and the crazy Dobbs from FOTF have come to McCain. They will not go to Obama no matter what happens, even if the VP is pro-choice. They all have a fear of the world, and a latent racism is part of that world view...
Rasmussen has Obama only down 2 in Florida the week before the Convention (I honestly expected it to be more). If he can be successful in consolidating the Hillary supporters, then his investment there could very well pay off.
Go Pawlenty !
That would confirm that McCain is desperate since recent polling confirms that with TPaw on the ticket, McCain loses the MN IND voters & would guarantee an Obama victory. DFL would love it !
Go TPaw !!!
David, the last Rasmussen poll from FL was Obama up by 2 points.
But it´s a swing state.