McCain picks Sarah Palin as VP

[Gish08]

Jindal will not energize social conservatives (fundamentalists and the like) in the same way that Bush did. No way. Extremely religious far-right Christians are not going to fall in love with a guy that has the last name of Jindal regardless of how conservative he really is. And a McCain/Jindal ticket will be laughed at by everyone else as a total rip on Obama's success. If it's one thing McCain has been good at, its stealing Obama's ideas and slogans. Obama is the one leading the way, clearly. It shows in McCain ripping on Obama's "change" message while simultaneously stealing and then rewording it to "a leader we can believe in" or whatever. Jindal will just be the icing on the "I'm old and have no creativity" cake.

[Gish08]

What I mean about McCain ripping him off:

Obama likes change? I AM change! Even though Hillary tried this, too, I'll do it as well!

Change we can believe in? No no no, that [policy stance] my friends is not change we can believe in! eh heh heh I'm such a trickster huh

Obama wants us out of Iraq? Fine! I'll assure nothing less than VICTORY by 2013 in one of the most violent regions in the world, therefore exiting Iraq by the end of my first term! I too can stop the war but only when we succeed, my friends! Nevermind that though, I'll never speak of this idea again because it didn't poll well, just like my current stance. Oh, darn. Perhaps I will in the fall as a last ditch effort.

Obama's black? Fine! Here's an Indian VP!
-or-
Obama's black? Fine! Here's a female VP! I can be diverse too, even though I'm the one calling the shots 99% of the time! BELIEVE IN ME PLEASE!!!!


He has a serious problem.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by Gish08

Jindal will not energize social conservatives (fundamentalists and the like) in the same way that Bush did. No way. Extremely religious far-right Christians are not going to fall in love with a guy that has the last name of Jindal regardless of how conservative he really is. And a McCain/Jindal ticket will be laughed at by everyone else as a total rip on Obama's success. If it's one thing McCain has been good at, its stealing Obama's ideas and slogans. Obama is the one leading the way, clearly. It shows in McCain ripping on Obama's "change" message while simultaneously stealing and then rewording it to "a leader we can believe in" or whatever. Jindal will just be the icing on the "I'm old and have no creativity" cake.

And I keep telling you, this strategy will not get him the White House. Imitating Obama's campaign will only get him so far. He cannot win this election solely by appealing to the dead center. With a rift forming in the Democratic party between Obama's supporters and Clinton's supporters, McCain cannot risk creating a similar divide in the Republican party. He needs the far-right, plain and simple.

Once the social conservatives learn more about Jindal, the more they'll like him. I'm not saying he'll have a HUGE impact on the election, but it'll be enough to possibly push McCain over the top.

Remember, too, that Obama has had the most trouble in this election connecting with middle-America. Yes, Jindal is Indian, but who do you think Middle-Americans would rather vote for? A liberal nigger who called them bitter and that they cling to religion and guns, or a well-known white moderate who happens to have a right-wing Indian running mate who shares many of Middle-America's social values?

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by Gish08

Obama's black? Fine! Here's an Indian VP!
-or-
Obama's black? Fine! Here's a female VP! I can be diverse too, even though I'm the one calling the shots 99% of the time! BELIEVE IN ME PLEASE!!!!

McCain isn't going to pick a female VP.

[JokeyLoki]

Originally Posted by Gish08

So it basically contradicts McCain's "maverick" stance which would excite much of the GOP, but lose many independent and even some moderate Republican voters. He would scare the crap out of those people.

It's pretty much proven that the choice of VP has little to no bearing on who a person will vote for in the general election.

[Tchocky]

I did say Crist would be a good choice for McCain in the first post in this thread, but only because having him on the ticket would almost assuredly deliver the biggest swing state in the country. The neo-con base like Crist even less than they do McCain.

[Corganist]

I don't know a whole lot about Jindal, but from what I've seen of him I think McCain could do a lot worse. I think it's incredibly cynical to assume that McCain would pick him based on skin color alone just to somehow one up the Dems. I could see the cynicism being justified if we were talking Colin Powell or Condi Rice, but not Jindal. His youth and the appearance that he has true conservative cred are the things that make him an attractive choice for McCain, because it shores up McCain's weakest areas. I don't think that the GOP would pass that up just because it might look like they're vaguely following the Dems lead on racial trailblazing.

But part of me tends to think that if the GOP really thinks that Jindal is going to be the great hope of the party's future, then maybe it'd be a good idea to hold him off the ticket this year and instead start priming him for 2012. Set him up with a prime speaking spot at the convention this fall and hope that maybe he can generate some Obama-esque buzz. Having him go out as VP on a failed McCain ticket might kill his prospects dead before he ever gets out of the gate.

[The Melty Man]

Romney. He's not too crazy right religious, but just enough. And he's good with the economy too.

[The Melty Man]

Originally Posted by Debaser

Hillary Clinton

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multime...to_347886a.jpg

[Gish08]

Originally Posted by JokeyLoki

It's pretty much proven that the choice of VP has little to no bearing on who a person will vote for in the general election.

b-b-b-but Jindal will send chills down the spine of core GOP voters and vote en masse for the McCain ticket!

[jczeroman]

If he picks Huckabee, I will vote for Obama. I want that man's political career ended ASAP.

[Future Boy]

Is there anyone that would make you vote for him?

[Nimrod's Son]

I would only vote for McCain if he picked Ron Paul.

Of course, he would never pick Ron Paul.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

Ron Paul.

I want THIS guy's political career to end. He lost me at the We The People Act and the fact that he thinks America can return to the gold standard.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by Gish08

b-b-b-but Jindal will send chills down the spine of core GOP voters and vote en masse for the McCain ticket!

That's not what I said, dude. I said his presence would be enough to push McCain over the top, not that him being on the ticket would drive the GOP into a feeding frenzy.

You still haven't successfully countered my argument that McCain can't win by appealing only to the dead-center.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by The Melty Man

Romney. He's not too crazy right religious, but just enough. And he's good with the economy too.

He's a bigger flip-flopper than John Kerry, and he's a Mormon. Not a chance.

[Gish08]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

That's not what I said, dude. I said his presence would be enough to push McCain over the top, not that him being on the ticket would drive the GOP into a feeding frenzy.

You still haven't successfully countered my argument that McCain can't win by appealing only to the dead-center.

He can't. Much of the dead center is irate because of the war and the economy. McCain is a mirror image of Bush on these things. With a disappointed GOP base and angry moderate voter outcry he's going to have a really hard time

Nimrod's Son: Voting for Obama, then? Even Ron Paul said he's the best of all three!

[Future Boy]

Iraq wont be as big a knock on McCain as you keep thinking it will be.

[Gish08]

Uhh, yes it will. Combined with the shitty economy McCain is in trouble.

I was really pessimistic about the Dems before (see: Dems fucked thread) but now I've begun to think otherwise.

[Nimrod's Son]

Originally Posted by Gish08

Uhh, yes it will. Combined with the shitty economy McCain is in trouble.

I was really pessimistic about the Dems before (see: Dems fucked thread) but now I've begun to think otherwise.

This is starting to sound like Netphoria, 2004 all over again when people based their "Bush has no shot" posts off of the fact that none of their friends would vote for him

[Gish08]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

This is starting to sound like Netphoria, 2004 all over again when people based their "Bush has no shot" posts off of the fact that none of their friends would vote for him

smh

[Tchocky]

Governor Charlie Crist (Florida)
Google Meter: 90,300
Age: 51
Religion: Methodist
Education: B.A., Florida State; J.D., Cumberland School of Law
Pros: Popular, tax-cutting governor of the biggest swing state; gave McCain a huge boost in the critical Florida primary; probably will have strong loyalty among 800,000 non-violent felons whose voting rights Crist has restored; in sync with McCain on the need to address climate change; extremely charming; only 51 and perpetually tanned, but silver hair reduces how different he and McCain appear in age.
Cons: His changing stance on abortion (from pro-choice to pro-life) and aversion to picking fights on social issues make some conservatives suspicious; has denied an allegation that he fathered a daughter in a one-night stand in 1988 and rumors that he is gay.
Bottom Line: If he’s not at the top of list, he should be.

Governor Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota)
Google Meter: 58,300
Age: 47
Religion: Baptist
Education: B.A., University of Minnesota; J.D., University of Minnesota Law School
Pros: One of very few Republicans to win in a blue state in 2006; has built a record of holding the line on taxes and strongly opposing illegal immigration.
Cons: Unknown nationally; Minnesota may already be out of reach for McCain.
Bottom Line: Not hugely compelling, but he has a serious chance because he would satisfy social conservatives on a number of fronts without offending other blocs.

Governor Sarah Palin (Alaska)
Google meter: 25,000
Age: 44
Religion: Protestant
Education: B.A. (Journalism), University of Idaho
Pros: Shares with McCain a hatred for the corruption personified by Senator Ted Stevens, the longtime king of Alaska politics and Senate pork; has a son in the Army; former Miss Alaska contestant; lifetime member of the NRA; eats moose burgers; rides snowmobiles.
Cons: Just 44 years old; has just two years of experience as governor of one of the nation’s least populous states.
Bottom Line: A dark horse for the moment, but keep an eye on this coming superstar. She could help in the Mountain West, and she’s someone around whom right-wingers may soon realize they would be happy to coalesce around.

Senator Lindsey Graham (South Carolina)
Google Meter: 83,300
Age: 52
Religion: Southern Baptist
Education: B.A. (Psychology), University of South Carolina; J.D., University of South Carolina
Pros: From endorsing McCain in 2000 to joining the anti-filibuster “Gang of 14” senators to supporting the immigration-reform bill sponsored by McCain and Ted Kennedy, he is a definitive McCain Republican; former military prosecutor in the Air Force JAG Corps.
Cons: Right-wingers dislike his occasional independence; lifelong bachelorhood has triggered gay-baiting rumors.
Bottom Line: He would have made a great running mate for McCain eight years ago; this time around, the ticket will need a broader boost to McCain’s appeal than a white southern male can provide.

Governor Bobby Jindal (Louisiana)
Google Meter: 124,000
Age: 37
Religion: Roman Catholic
Education: B.A. (Biology and Public Policy), Brown; M.A. (Political Science), Oxford
Pros: Wunderkind who turned Louisiana’s Medicaid program from bankruptcy to surpluses in the nineties; right-wing darling; Indian-American son of Punjabi immigrants; winning smile and personality; actual name is “Piyush,” but he took the nickname “Bobby” after watching The Brady Bunch as a 4-year-old.
Cons: Only 37; uncomfortably extreme social conservative; wrote an article in 1994 detailing his participation in an exorcism.
Bottom Line: He’s a collection of Heritage Foundation policy papers with a human face, which would put meat on McCain’s policy bones, and he’s a great story, but he’s probably too young to put on the ticket in a year when the Republicans want to blast Obama as inexperienced. Expect, however, an Obama-like shot at introducing himself to the nation at the GOP convention.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (Washington, D.C.)
Google Meter: 315,000
Age: 53
Religion: Presbyterian
Education: B.A. (Political Science), University of Denver; M.A. (Political Science), Notre Dame; Ph.D. (Political Science), University of Denver
Pros: Megawattage celebrity stardom; as an African-American woman, would radically balance the ticket.
Cons: Has presided over one of the most disastrous foreign policies in American history; has never run for public office; unknown views on domestic issues.
Bottom Line: A wild card; McCain is running as fast as he can away from everyone associated with the Bush administration, but if he needs a home run by convention time, who knows?

Former Governor Mitt Romney (Massachusetts)
Google Meter: 225,000
Age: 61
Religion: Mormon
Education: B.A., Brigham Young University; J.D./M.B.A., Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School
Pros: Still a favorite among the socially conservative chattering classes who populate Websites like the Corner; could help carry states in the Mountain West.
Cons: McCain loathes him and has openly laughed at his vice-presidential pretensions; many Evangelicals distrust his Mormonism; lengthy record of flip-flops; ran astoundingly poor presidential campaign.
Bottom Line: It’s hard to imagine McCain spending the next five months in close quarters with someone for whom he has so little respect, much less putting him a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Former Representative Rob Portman (Ohio)
Google Meter: 20,500
Age: 52
Religion: Methodist
Education: B.A. (Anthropology), Dartmouth; J.D., University of Michigan Law School
Pros: A rare Bush-administration policy wonk, has displayed sanity and smarts as U.S. trade representative and OMB chief, as he did as Bush 41’s director of legislative affairs.
Cons: A consummate insider in a year of change; endorsed by David Brooks.
Bottom Line: The kind of guy McCain will need to help run the government if he wins, but not likely to win him many votes before November.

Senator Joe Lieberman (Connecticut)
Google Meter: 293,000
Age: 66
Religion: Orthodox Judaism
Education: B.A. (Politics and Economics), Yale; L.L.B., Yale Law School
Pros: War hawk; gets along well with McCain; has already assumed, and seems to relish, traditional veep role of attack dog; status as turncoat Democrat would generate dramatic sizzle.
Cons: Has a decades-long voting record supporting Democratic positions on non-Iraq issues, from abortion to tax cuts; could actually hurt McCain in Connecticut, where Lieberman’s approval rating among Independents is under 50 percent; sanctimoniousness wears awfully thin.
Bottom Line: As an echo where McCain is already loud and a lifelong Democrat where McCain is already having problems with the GOP base, he is more likely to end up secretary of Defense than vice-president.

Former Governor Mike Huckabee (Arkansas)
Google Meter: 610,000
Age: 52
Religion: Southern Baptist
Education: B.A. (Religion), Quachita Baptist University
Pros: Could help McCain among Evangelicals; terrific retail campaigner; he and McCain remained friendly even while campaigning against each other in the spring; populist in a year of economic turmoil; knows how to fry squirrel.
Cons: Economic conservatives don’t like his anti-corporate shtick; mixing Baptist theology and politics as thoroughly as he does doesn’t play well outside the Republican primary electorate; while speaking at an NRA meeting in May, cracked a joke about someone aiming a gun at Barack Obama.
Bottom Line: Won’t happen. Many Evangelicals are wary of McCain, but Republican fund-raisers don’t take Huckabee seriously. And McCain isn’t planning on aiming his campaign at the Bible Belt, anyway.

Former Governor Tom Ridge (Pennsylvania)
Google Meter: 48,300
Age: 62
Religion: Roman Catholic
Education: B.A., Harvard; J.D., Dickinson School of Law
Pros: Was a popular governor of a state McCain would love to compete in; decorated Vietnam veteran.
Cons: Difficult tenure as secretary of Homeland Security; somnolent public speaker; pro-choice.
Bottom Line: Anyone who thinks McCain is ambivalent about abortion is in for a rude awakening — he’s already said that “respect and cherishing of the right of the unborn” essentially eliminates Ridge’s chance to be on the ticket.


Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (New York)
Who?

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/06...ning_mate.html

[Mo]

I hope it will be Giuliani.

[Gish08]

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27630

Novak is saying that McCain may pick his VP this week, which would be another fine strategic blunder by his campaign. This will give Obama a huge advantage.

[Future Boy]

How would that give either of them a huge advantage? I dont see Obama or McCain picking their VP based on who the other guy picked.

[killtrocity]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

I want THIS guy's political career to end. He lost me at the We The People Act and the fact that he thinks America can return to the gold standard.

http://www.ridelust.com/wp-content/u.../oilgoldsm.jpg

[Gish08]

FYI: McCain is rumored to be announcing his VP the morning after Obama's convention speech. We all know what happened the last time McCain tried to ride Obama's hype wave... hehe.

"That's not change we can believe in my friends! Eh heh heh."

[killtrocity]

If the ideal political philosophy is represented by the speed of light, then John McCain is the speed of a turtle while Obama is closer to, say, the speed of a jet. Point being: THEY'RE ALL SO FUCKING FAR OFF IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH ONE YOU CHOOSE

[Tchocky]

Nice wavy lines, dude.

Some cranks (such as Republican Presidential contender Ron Paul) continue to preach that without a gold standard, money is "objectively worthless"; these people are sometimes known as "gold bugs". This ignores the fact that gold is intrinsically worthless, as any object's value is only assigned by the collective value put on something by its consumers (otherwise known as "the market"), and that the use of gold as reserve currency is more a tradition than anything else. This is why most developed countries have similar "floating" currencies, and it is only in the developing world that "fixed currencies" still exist, though most of those are fixed to the dollar, not to gold. (Even so, in many of those, such as Zimbabwe and North Korea as well as the former governments of the old Soviet bloc, there are official exchange rates and black market exchange rates.)

Survivalists often like the gold standard because it holds out the promise of a stable currency in a governmental vacuum; the idea that the standard response in a barter economy to a handful of American Eagles or Krugerrands is likely to be "sorry, can't eat gold" never seems to come up.

Another problem in returning to the gold standard is that there is simply not enough gold in the world to cover the quantity of currency currently in existence. To put it another way, even if the US were somehow able to purchase the world's entire gold stocks (in itself an impossible proposition) there would still be nowhere near enough gold to cover the total value of dollars in existence.

Sorry, Ron Paul is still an idiot. And the above doesn't even cover the abomination that is the We The People Act.

[Gish08]

Ron Paul sucks and would be a horrible President and Vice Presicent. Anyone who actually thinks this guy would turn this country around is mentally challenged.

He was only popular at first because he was the only hardcore anti-war Republican who took the stage during the primaries. Once people learned how crazy he was when it came to mostly all of the other issues, the hype died real fast.