Being faithful Democrats, and wanting to win, they’d certainly vote for their presidential candidate’s choice. Happens every time, by acclamation. It is fanciful of you to suppose they wouldn’t.
Maybe Kerry is really a “pro-life, free-trading, non-protectionist, deficit hawk” but can’t admit it! 
As a hardcore lefty (I worked on Kucinich’s campaign through the primary), I would love to see McCain as VP if for no other reason than to get the Republicans that would never vote for a Democrat otherwise but are unhappy with Bush’s utter lack of integrity to come on board. I admire McCain, even if I disagree with some of his stances.
Joe Biden (ranking Delaware Sen., D.) said he’d happily vote for that ticket on Hardball last night.
Perhaps it could really happen…
Great. A repeat of the Jimmy-n-Fritz show. That’s just what we need for the economy.
McCain is sticking up for Kerry, saying he is not weak on defense. Bush must be steaming mad that he is being contradicted by a member of his own party, but he doesn’t dare call McCain out on it. Dubya knows who would lose if they ever got into a pissin’ match.
There is a name for this campaign tactic, but I’m having trouble remembering what it is–maybe “dangling”? It’s easily described, though.
Occasionally, like in this election cycle, an opposition candidate quickly and clearly outstrips his opponents and becomes the obvious choice of the Party long before the primary cycle is complete.
This is not necessarily a good thing, as the chosen candidate’s campaign is in danger of becoming mired in irrelevance. So campaign officials keep public interest aroused by stirring up speculation about who the candidate’s running mate is going to be. It’s also important to distract the press from its own speculation, which might well correctly identify the real running mate early on, thus preventing the formal announcement from being “fresh.” Often, the suggestions are fanciful “dream team” matchups which are not politically viable.
The classic example is the 1980 campaign, when Ronald Reagan shot ahead of #2 guy George H. W. Bush. The Reagan folks “dangled” former President Gerald Ford, and encouraged press speculation on a possible “co-Presidency.”
Then they did the logical thing, which was to choose Bush, completing a 1-2 popularity matchup with an east-west geographical balance.
I suspect we’re seeing the same thing here. McCain is being “dangled,” apparently with modest encouragement from McCain himself. Even less probable, but just as juicy, is additional speculation that former President Bill Clinton might try to slide through that Constitutional loophole which is batted about so often in General Questions.
But the obvious choice is Senator John Edwards, a strong primary candidate with national visibility who would also create a north-south geographical balance.
That’s exactly why Kerry’s people don’t want the press to be sniffing around Edwards four months before the Democratic convention.
McCain is a co-chairman of Bush’s reelection campaign in Arizona. The other co-chair is Arizona’s other senator - John Kyl Is this position honorary - or automatically given to whoever the top Republican elected offical in the state is (Arizona’s governor being a Democrat). Or is it something McCain actively sought?
If John McCain didn’t dislike Bush enough to run against him for the 2004 G.O.P. Presidential nomination, why would he even consider taking the #2 spot for the Democrats?
It’s an utterly ridiculous suggestion, which is probably why liberals are so eager to embrace it.
Mebbe McCain didn’t challenge Bush this year because he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of more of Karl Rove’s dirty tricks (as he was in 2000)?
Or maybe it’s because McCain has absolutely nothing in common with Democrats - he’s one of the most conservative members of of the Senate.
And I can’t understand why you guys would possibly want him. He’s pro life, against affirmative action, a strong supporter of Bush’s tax cuts, in favor of the Patriot act, against gay marriage, strongly supported the Iraq war, etc.
So what’s up with all the salivating over McCain? Are you wishing to beat Bush so badly that you’re willing to sell your soul for it?
You know that and I know that, Sam Stone, but somehow McCain has managed to present himself as a Republican who is far lighter on the heels than the leader whom we currently enjoy.
It’s probably a matter of presentability. The name “McCain” resonates throughout American naval history, and John is the direct descendent of it. He saw the worst possible bullshit one could encounter in North Vietnam and walk away from, so we know he has a little bit more than the dry well of “compassionate conservatism,” and his personal courage is not in question.
His constant calls for moderation both fiscally and internationally seem to strike a chord. He has managed to present himself as a true moderate even though his social policies indicate that he is anything but that. Above all he is a popular figure who is willing to court that most American of traits, rebellion against The Man. One thing that is evident is that McCain and Bush don’'t agree on a lot of issues, and McCain now appears to be fucking A right about most of them.
Yeah, it’s bullshit, but as I pointed out above, this entire discussion is bullshit while Kerry’s guys desperately try to secure Edwards as a running mate without pissing the news all over the already yellow press. You want to know who I think number two is? Max Cleland. He’s damned near perfect when you think about it, because he gets to bring the sliming he received in the last election to the forefront while solidifying the identity of Democrats as combat veterans while George was banging some chick in Alabama as his only solid alibi for not getting shot at.
He’s personally pro-life, but he’s dead-set against the repeal of Roe v. Wade. Yes, he was pro-Iraq, but he has heavily criticised the Administration’s handling of the war for the same reasons Democrats have. He’s against gay marriage, but he is for leaving the decision to the states, which is all we really want. He heavily criticised the Homeland Security Act, and admits to some regret over his kneejerk approval of the Patriot Act. He has also questioned the Guantanamo detainments openly. Most importantly, he sets the views of his constituents and respect for the judgment of the courts on matters of law above his own personal beliefs, which is all we really want in a candidate.
In any case, none of this really matters. He’s a Republican we trust, and in a time when the nation is as firmly bifurcated as it has ever been, a bipartisan ticket is too good not to drool over.
Possibly because winning a party nomination against an incumbent is about as difficult a thing as one can do in politics? In any case, he already said he was open to the idea. In fact, he sounded more like he would accept the nomination if the Democrats weren’t so unlikely to offer it to him than anything.
Besides, he’s spent the last three years burning a lot of the bridges that would need to be standing for him to win a Republican presidential nomination again. Apart from anything else, he’s pulled something approaching a 180 on gun control, and that more than anything effectively ensures he’ll never be a Republican president.
Here’s my prediction: If John McCain ever became president, you guys would hate him passionately within about a month. I think the only reason McCain is liked at all right now by Democrats is because he likes sticking it to GW once in a while, and that makes you gleeful. It’s also a lot more popular to be the guy on the outside ranting against the guys in power. But put McCain in the oval office, and you’d have a mirror of the Bush presidency. Appeal to Christian right? Check. Cut taxes? Check. Defense hawk? Check. Social conservative? Check.
And the thing is, you say you want McCain because he stands by his principles. Except that if he did run as VP, he would be going against his own principles, thereby eliminating the one thing you say you like about him.
Vice-Presidental candidates changing their views to be more aligned with the Presidental candidate is nothing new – anyone remember when George Bush (Sr.) went from denouncing Reagan’s economics plan as “voodoo economics” to embracing it with both arms?
Could you pull your head out of your ass long enough to try and understand the other side, which you otherwise so happily besmirch, so often without knowledge or cause?
I liked McCain and wanted him to win the Republican nomination in 2000, long before I had any idea that Dubya was going to be as terrible a president as he actually turned out to be. Most Democrats who like McCain liked him from the earliest days of the Repub nomination, when it was clear that Dubya was a shill for the far right, but McCain was someone with principles who could think for himself. I like him even when I disgree with him.
I believe McCain would have truly turned out to be a “uniter, not a divider.” There are lots of reasons to like that, even with disgreements over policy. Like so many on the far right, you apparently can’t understand that it is possible to like and respect someone you disagree with. Such an understanding is utterly absent from the Dubya admininstration, but is fundamental to sucessfully running a democratic form of government. One should’nt continuously pillory (or allow to be pilloried) everyone who disagrees with you, the way many Repubs have, ever since that mean bunch took out their Contract on America back in 1993. Read “Blinded by the Right” by David Brock.
Although, of course I am gleeful these days when intellgient and honorable Republicans point out how f*ed up Dubya’s policies are from time to time.
This Democrat would have cast a ballot for the split ticket of Lincoln/Johnson. I don’t always agree with John McCain’s stands on the issues, but I don’t believe he is a stooge for the energy companies of Bush/Cheney. I respect and admire John McCain. I’m not at all sure he will be the VP nominee; however, this is an idea for Kerry to strongly consider.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh… NOW I get it. John McCain was too chicken to run for President in 2004, because mean old karl Rove might say nasty things about him.
(If rjung really believes that for a second, one wonders why he and his fellow lefties would WANT such a cowardly wuss on the Democratic ticket, but that’s a different argument.)
But McCain ISN’T afraid of what that bad ol’ Karl Rove would do if he ran in the #2 spot for the Democrats, because Rove would never even notice him there.
Got it. Logical as always, rjung.