For those of you Dopers that are undecided. Due to McCain’s age and health, would the choice of his VP as the one who’s “a heartbeat away” from the Oval Office be a major determining factor for you?
Barring some amazing reversal of events I will be voting for Obama.
But if I were to vote for McCain that would be important to me. There are theories that Cheney is the power behind the Bush throne and I am not sure that is all tinfoil hattery. Even if not the one thing that makes me think twice about impeaching Bush (if I got my wish) is we’d get Cheney as a replacement. I think that could actually be worse…doubt it could be much better than Bush.
So, given McCain’s age and given his capitulation on so many issues making me think he is overly susceptible to outside influences, his choice for VP would be very important to me.
If I were an American, and if I were thinking of voting for McCain, his choice of VP would be incredibly important. I think that there is a very high chance that McCain would not complete his first term.
Quite important to me. Although I consider him preferable (in the sense that clap is better than herpes), I won’t vote for him if he snags someone especially vile.
If I were a Republican, it would be important because I think his choice of VP will tell me about his view of the Religious Right. A choice of Romney or someone who isn’t a darling of the RR would say a lot more about how he wants to move away from the past than if McCain picked Huckabee, for example.
I think it’s probably more important than usual because there’s a significant chance he could be a one term Prez if elected. There is a realistic chance that whoever he picks might either have to step in or could be become the default Presidential candidate in 2012.
I also think that it could affect conservative turnout. Conservatives won’t vote for Obama, but the might very well stay home or vote Barr if McCain does not pick somebody with staunch conservative (and probably evangelical) credentials. That’s a double edged sword, though, because picking a traditional, Bush loving, Bible thumping conservative will erode his credibility with independents even more even more than his sprinting to the right already has.
I have a feeling he’s going to pick Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty is pretty much your standard, right wing tool, socially and fiscally conservative, all the charm of a puffer fish, but safe on all the issues and without any known personal scandals. He’s a bland, party-climbing ass-kisser, but he probably won’t hurt McCain. On the other hand, I doubt he’ll help much either. He’s not particularly well liked in his own state and has no chance of delivering it to McCain. If anything, he might send some fence sitters in Minnesota over to Obama.
I think Romney is the other front runner, but I don’t know if evangelicals can get past the Mormon thing. It hurt him in the primaries.