The only thing that would please me more than McCain nominating Joe Lieberman for VP, would be McCain nominating Mitt Romney. I can't really see him doing either. Lieberman, it seems, creates serious problems with right-wing evangelicals who already don't like McCain. Or maybe McCain would be willing to write them off. Mittens, it seems, would really hurt that whole "maverick" persona. Speaking of which, if you ever want to read an early but thorough debunking of the McCain mythology. Check out Amanda Ripley's piece from way back.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
With Lieberman in addition to Cantor, t seems to me that the McCain camp is thinking of picking a Jewish running mate so as to make Florida a sure thing. By playing on the Muslim smear, the Hamas endorsement, and fears about Iran, combined with a Jewish running-mate, it might make Florida nearly impossible for Obama to win. That said, I don't really see what Lieberman would add other than a shameless attack dog, considering that he's unpopular in the Northeast and has extremely low approval ratings amongst Jews.
I've never really understood why people always say that Lieberman on the ticket would cause problems with evangelicals. Isn't Lieberman a Hagee ally?
RE: Ned
Those are the same people who call Hagee an anti-semite.
Whitey, if Lieberman has low approval ratings among Jews, then how would his addition to the ticket help McCain win Jewish voters in FL?
"With Lieberman in addition to Cantor, t seems to me that the McCain camp is thinking of picking a Jewish running mate so as to make Florida a sure thing. By playing on the Muslim smear, the Hamas endorsement, and fears about Iran, combined with a Jewish running-mate, it might make Florida nearly impossible for Obama to win. That said, I don't really see what Lieberman would add other than a shameless attack dog, considering that he's unpopular in the Northeast and has extremely low approval ratings amongst Jews.
Posted by Whitey | August 10, 2008 2:44 PM"
At the same time, I doubt Lieberman helps him anywhere else. He would probably hurt him in some places. Lieberman's self-righteous shtick can be grating even when he agrees with you. Just because the MSM likes him doesn't mean the average American does. McCain needs Florida more than any other state and if he loses Florida, he's probably in too much trouble elsewhere to win, but running a Florida-focused campaign is probably not the best idea.
After all, Lieberman is useful for McCain in shoring up the conservative base only via the likes of Hagee in that they want to support Israel as an instrument in bringing about the Second Coming and killing or converting all of the Jews and on freedom of speech issues. However, considering how the conservative base has a real issue with Jews (Bill O'Reilly accusing Jews of being behind the "War on Christmas" in language reminiscent of Henry Ford's screeds about the supposed International Jewish Conspiracy), I'm not sure how it really helps him. Picking Lieberman helps McCain to double down on foreign policy hawkishness, but he can already carry that load himself. Add in the fact that McCain is old enough that people will have to wonder if the VP will have to, either de facto or de jure, step into the role of president, I'm not sure the base would actually be happy with the prospect of a Jewish president.
Lieberman is pro-choice. In 2007 he got a 100% rating from NARAL. Will the Republicans nominate a pro-choice veep? Will there be drama at the convention if McCain names Lieberman?
Mittens might be even less popular with the evangelical base than Lieberman because of his religion (LDS). Mittens' religion hurt him badly in the Republican primary. I really think that's why McCain won.
what is really funny is that pundits and others who are pushing romney have developed
a collective amnesia about how repellent he is, and exactly why he did not win the nomination. despite having a wide open field, essentially, to run in.
he's like a guy who has a great resume, but who wilts under the closer scrutiny of an interview.
and the nonsense about romney helping in michigan is just nonsense.
while he may have done well in the republican primary in the state, the republican party of his father is light years away from the republican party that exists in michigan today. and that fact will be drummed into the minds of voters in the general election. other than that familial connection, he has no real ties to the state. and he certainly has no political roots.
as a native michigander, i can say with some assurance that his smarty-pants, long-in-the-tooth boy wonder act will not wear well on the state in a general election.
as a democrat, i would LOVE to see romney on the ticket. that move alone might secure the state for obama.
RE: sv
I never said it was a good idea. It just seems to be an angle that the campaign is strongly considering pushing.
And I second Reality Man. Really the only place Lieberman could help would be South Florida. It doesn't mean it wouldn't happen. You could make an argument that the McCain camp thinks evangelicals won't be pushed away by a veep candidate simply because they have nowhere else to go, and Lieberman would reaffirm McCain's maverick status, the basis of his campaign. It's a move that could definitely backfire (and most likely would), but there is a certain logic to it.
Ned,
Guy phased it better than I could.
One think I have always had a difficult time understanding from a lot of conservatives, including many in my own family, is why Romney gets a pass as being conservative. Being elected Governor of Massachusetts is just about the last thing I would put on a resume if I wanted to convince people of my conservatism. Besides, his health care plan was very similar to Hillary Clinton's with the mandates.
I respectfully disagree with Frankie. I think the Romney name still has some amount of cachet in Michigan, if nowhere else.
Romney also comes off as a huge phony. McCain's attack on Romney for pursuing profit in his life instead of joining the military was a bit creepy and statist, so I doubt anyone in the McCain camp wants that clip being used in ads. Nobody really likes Romney. The Massachusetts GOP isn't fond of him. He only helps McCain win deep-red Utah. The funny thing is that it looks like McCain is seriously considering him instead of someone like Pawlenty, which is probably the best (if a bit too safe) choice.
As for Lieberman, I only see him as a real possibility if Obama chooses Hagel, which is unlikely (Obama is also apparently going to announce his VP sometime soon).
If either Lieberman or Romney get the nod, evangelicals and fundamentalists could always just stay home.
I'd like to see McCain pick Bobby Jindal, but that may be unlikely due to Jindal's youth and the short time he's been governor of Louisiana.
I would think that if Mormons abstain from alcohol, then being the running mate of a guy who slept his way into a beer fortune would be kinda problematic.
I enjoyed the link to Amanda Ripley accusing McCain of carrying water for America West Airlines. They are US Airways now, and they do fly nonstop from Phoenix to Reagan National. That should make McCain happy if he ever gets tired of his private jet.
If McCain really wants to get the votes of all of the remaining Dumbya supporters he'll nominate a 200 pound bag of horseshit with a cowboy hat perched on top of it. Dumbya's flock will fall in love immediately.
george romney was governor back in the sixties.
only old guys like me even remember that he was governor, let alone what he was actually like. most people only remember that he blew his shot at the presidency with his infamous brainwashing remark.
what evidence can you point to that indicates that outside of the republican primary, the name means anything to most voters?
a poll?
something?...
it would be different if mitt romney had SOME political tie to the state. something...anything...if he had run for dogcatcher...
but the fact that he was born there and the fact of his father's legacy mean diddly to most voters nowadays.
romney backed into the win in the michigan primary, by first pandering shamelessly and then benefiting from mccain's implosion.
in the general, against a real candidate, romney's limited appeal will mean nothing positive and it may end up costing the ticket.
there is a reason that michigan has two democratic senators and a democratic governor.
it has lot to do with the failure of the post-romney gop in the state of michigan. THAT is what people remember, not some governor from the '60's.
"Sometimes in the day-to-day tracking of a presidential race, it’s hard to separate statistical noise from larger trends. A review of week-by-week results from the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll shows that the race between Obama and McCain has been remarkably stable. But it is a bit closer now than in the days shortly after Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race."
"McCain is now trusted more than Obama on nine out of 14 electoral issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports. But perhaps the most interesting finding of this survey is that McCain has expanded his leads on nearly every issue he had previously had the advantage on, while Obama’s leads have diminished over the past two weeks."
Rasmussen Reports 8/9/08
I don't understand how conservatives are letting themselves be fooled by Mitt Romney. Where is his paper trail of conservatism? To me, he was like the Harriet Miers of presidential candidates this year. He was someone who is happy to suck up to someone else. With Miers, it was President Bush. With Romney, it is whoever he thinks he needs to win his next election.
Romney and Lieberman are the best known Republican VP possibilities, so teh media keeps coming back to them. But it's more likely that McCain will choose a relative unknown-- the old white guy likes to be the one in charge.
there's another really good (& really long) John McCain debunking piece here:
http://openlettersmonthly.com/issue/july08-mccain-image/
Jindal would be a good choice except that he's dark skinned (kind of neutralizes the embedded advantage of being white), and young (highlights McCain's age).
My money is still on Pawlenty, but I would guess that McCain wants a more interesting choice. Pawlenty is like warmed over oatmeal. You know you should eat it, it's good for you, but ugh . . .
Jindal is also Catholic. Many people seem to think that because the Catholic Church has made common cause with evangelicals on the issue of abortion, there is no disadvantage to being Catholic among R voters, but I actually think being Catholic hurts candidates among evangelical voters who have a non-Catholic alternative. It might increase the likelihood that they will turn out to vote, if nothing else. The Rs have never, ever nominated a Catholic for president, so who knows for sure.