Whitman for Vice President?
Whoever the Democrats nominate for president this year–Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, the initial excitement going into the fall campaign will be attached to that party’s candidate. That’s because, as everybody knows, either nomination will be historic, first woman nominated by a major party or first African-American.
John McCain, straight-talking war hero though he is, will be hard-pressed to negate the Wow Factor the Dems will have going for them. And, as we have seen from the Obama phenomenon, the Wow Factor can propel a candidate to a lot of victories.
So, what should McCain do?
Simply, the Arizona senator, who has always shown a penchant for departing from form, should toss convention aside.
Ordinarily, McCain, who it’s alleged is not a conservative Republican, would be expected to choose a vice presidential running mate to solidify his standing among the Limbaugh crowd going into the fall campaign. Advisors will urge him to shore up the base.
Many think that Mike Huckabee has been angling for second place on the ticket by remaining in the presidential race, demonstrating his appeal to social conservatives…although arch conservatives like Limbaugh hate him. If that’s Huckabee’s game, he needs to get advice from other people. By remaining in the race, he will likely erase the respect thus far accorded him by McCain, turning himself into a thorn in the flesh for a presumptive nominee anxious to unite the party for the fall, if he stays in.
I’ve previously suggested that a great potential veep candidate to run under McCain could be Senator Joe Lieberman, the one-time Democratic nominee for the same office.
But, there’s someone else who, I suspect could help McCain even more: Former New Jersey Governor and EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman.
Yes, Whitman is considered by some in her party to be a liberal. Her views on abortion are anathema to social conservatives, to be sure.
But she’s a fiscal conservative, a leader of the Republican Leadership Council, and someone who has a demonstrated ability to win votes from independents and Democrats. She has a good record on environmental issues, something that, along with McCain’s position on global warming, could negate the Democratic advantages on these matters.
She would do two other things for a ticket topped by John McCain: (1) She would fire the imaginations of the electorate, demonstrating that the GOP too, has people who previously couldn’t have been considered for the presidency or the vice presidency, namely, a woman. Having Whitman on the ticket would somewhat the history-changing advantage conferred on the Democratic nominee, whoever that turns out to be. (2) She would bring New Jersey and perhaps other states in the Northeast into play for the GOP, something that hasn’t happened for that party in decades.
Some will argue that if McCain, viewed as suspect by some conservatives, brought on a pro-choice running mate, he would be abandoned by conservatives on election day. I don’t think so. Where will those conservative votes go in November?
Impressive though Barack Obama is, I don’t think that the hard core conservatives Republicans have as their base are going to vote for him this fall.
In the end, the battle will be for the votes of independents. Christine Todd Whitman will help John McCain get those votes.
[This is being cross-posted at my personal blog.]
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15 Responses to “Whitman for Vice President?”
Whitman as the VP nomination would be the same act of desperation that caused Mondale to name Ferraro as his running mate. Why have a candidate that does not even deliver her home state. McCain is going to have problems getting southern conservatives to vote for him. Why give them another reasons to sit home and use a person that does not deliver any more votes. The same goes for Condi Rice, the governor of Alaska, etc.
The problem with the Republicans is that the Bush Administration has destroyed any credibility that Republicans used to have as fiscal conservatives. Unless McCain can find a Republican VP candidate who has at least a decade of fiscal conservatism, he should not bother.
I don't see it happening. Whitman is a real RINO, her record and stands are moderate compared to McCain. The conservatives could accept a McCain/Whitman ticket.
Interesting post. I was on a radio show recently with Gov. Whitman, and have met her in person once. As flattered as I think she would be by all this, I don't think she'd consider it, based on her prior remarks.
JC Watts, anyone?
If he really wants to make some heads explode, how about choosing Hillary for VP?
Whitman was, with Dem Jim Florio, one of the worst NJ governors of the last 100 years. She'd only hurt.
As a New Jersey resident who lived thru the Whitman era, I would not call her a fiscal conservative by any stretch of the imagination. Between Florio and his spending and Whitman who continued the spending spree and only balanced the books by issuing $30 billion in long term bonds to meet current operating expenses and budget deficits. Whitman is a true RINO in every sense of the word.
The conservatives could accept a McCain/Whitman ticket.
The conservatives couldn't accept a McCain/Whitman ticket.
Fixed
I think Kay Bailey Hutchison, the US Senator from TX makes more sense. She's pretty conservative, but not rabidly so. She's a moderate on abortion so she would probably appeal to many women voters.
McCain needs a bonafide conservative. Preferably a Southerner. Tom Coburn would help.
Sweet! From your lips to McCains ears!
She's even more of a Dem than McCain the flirter is. About all you can say in its favor (and you are adept to identify her) is that it would be an honest as well as a compatible choice.
The voters' response: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (not excited by “b-a-a-a-a-a-a-a”)
Superdestroyer, I was still in California at the time (“doing time” in LA, the nation's cultural capital for decades now) and the normal American response, defined by us there, was: “WHO???” There was no big thing to Ferraro; it was a giant fizzle because so many had never heard of the person before. Had it been someone well-known, like Dianne Feinstein, it would have been different with the response of the public even if the results were probably certain to have been the same that November.
Huckabee is often more like a Dem than a Republican but he is an obvious social and religious conservative and he's logical as McCain's token VP candidate. I say “candidate” rather than “choice” because there's no guarantee Huck will be the choice (especially if he's resented for still running — there's no reason for him to stop, just that it's quixotic).
Whitman is fit to be Clinton's Vice President, if she's willing to take orders and do little else.
I couldn't disagree more than the selection on Christine Todd Whitman. What few conservatives that are left who might be considering voting for McCain rather than just sitting this one out, would simply go with their original thoughts and stay home. What does she bring to the table that John McCain needs? NOTHING! If you don't have an excited, energized conservative base, John McCain can kiss this election goodbye. We already don't like his positions on campaign finance reform, and his amnesty bill for illegals. I find this suggestion simply foolish dreaming.