Lieberman to speak at the republican convention. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080820/ap_on_el_pr/lieberman_gop_convention
I REALLY don't want Lieberman or Huckabee. Those two are religious nutjobs to me and take away from the economic principles of the Republican party. Both are fiscally socialists and socially conservative which is opposite of what I believe. McCain himself has been on the government (and his wife's) teet all his life and he needs a free market financial success story as a vice-president. Mitt Romney is my first choice. I like Meg Whitman, but don't know about her politics. Carly Fiorina is a HORRIBLE choice, her profiteering off of the Compaq HP merger while creating literally no value should eliminate her. If his vp choice is Lieberman or Huckabee, I may be inclined to just not vote out of disgust.
I've said this before regarding Pawlenty that he gives a great first impression and he brings a lot of stuff that McCain doesn't have, youth and friendliness. As I've also said before though there are a lot of problems with Pawlenty and there is a reason why he very nearly got beat last election. Pawlenty would be the conventional wisdom choice and considering how much he's doing for McCain that seems more likely. So far this has been an election though where conventional wisdom hasn't proven to be that correct as a year ago most people were saying it would be Clinton and Giuliani deciding on who there VP choices would be now. My own feeling is that McCain has a short list but will base his decision somewhat on who Obama picks.
It looks like Pawlenty might be out as he is scheduled to speak on the first day of the RNC. I think it might be unlikely if he was the VP pick they would have him speaking twice. Of course the McCain campaign might not be coordinating that much with the RNC.
D'oh! Pawlenty is scheduled to speak as the leadoff speaker on the last night of the convention not the first night. Also several other potential VP candidates are speaking at the RNC too http://www.startribune.com/politics...yqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUX Pawlenty to speak at GOP convention Several possible vice presidential picks will also get their turns on the podium in St. Paul. By PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune Last update: August 20, 2008 - 12:53 PM Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will be among several potential running mates to John McCain who will speak next month at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, organizers announced today. The other potential running mates for McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, include U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who ran for vice president as a Democrat in 2000 and is now an independent and one of McCain's strongest supporters. Also scheduled to speak are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who battled McCain in the primaries, and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. Both are reported to be under consideration for McCain's ticket. But the convention will reserve the keynote address, traditionally a marquee event, for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The convention will run from Sept. 1-4 and feature a theme of Country First, with emphasis on "service, reform, prosperity and peace," organizers said. They plan to use each day of the convention to focus on one of those four elements, which they say have defined McCain's life and are central to his vision for the presidency, said McCain 2008 Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker. Besides speeches by McCain and his wife, Cindy, five current and former U.S. senators, including Minnesota's Norm Coleman; 10 current and former Republican governors, and two prominent businesswomen are scheduled to address convention delegates. President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and First Lady Laura Bush will speak on the first night. Pawlenty is among four governors and senators scheduled to speak on Thursday, the last day of the convention, before McCain's acceptance speech. The other speakers on Thursday will be Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who also has been mentioned as a possible McCain running mate; U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, and U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida.
That means less than nothing. With the schedule being what it is both campaigns have had to announce convention speakers before they know who the VP's are. As it is with the Obama campaign, McCain's convention people and his VP people aren't talking to each other.
Immediately after Saddleback some RNC operative was busy solidifying the message by releasing in print the dictum that McCain's VP will not be pro-choice so that puts Ridge out of consideration.
http://thepage.time.com/2008/08/21/2-gop-sources-its-romney/ Time says it's Romney. How many houses does he have?
Very interesting but i'll believe it when I see it. I like Romney but I can admit he's a somewhat nuclear choice given that his critics can easily continue to echo the "flip-flopper" sentiments and other things of that nature. Kerry was never able to shed that label when he was under the spotlight.
Maybe Romney can help him win some very important states? I believe its more likely Romney doesn't want to be on the ticket unless he feels McCain has a good chance of winning.
