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VP Rumors

Posted by PATRICK EDABURN in Politics.
Aug 28th, 2008 | Comments

Reports are coming in that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has canceled his schedule for today, including several media interviews. Some have speculated this could be a tip-off that he will be McCain’s running mate. Pawlenty has been in Denver as part of the GOP response team.

Of course this could also be a head-fake or simply a coincidence. As host for the GOP convention next week, he may well be working on alternative plans should Gustav make a full convention impossible.

Other speculation focusing on various other candidates notes that, if Lieberman is picked he would not, as an Orthodox Jew, be able to campaign after sunset on Friday or all day on Saturday. Since McCain has hinted that he will appear with his running mate on Saturday.

McCain has said in a radio interview he will campaign with Mitt Romney AND Tom Ridge on Saturday but said people should not read too much into that. However Politico is reporting the Secret Service has surveyed the home of Mitt Romney’s sister in Michigan though this could simply mean McCain might be staying there.

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Holly_in_Cincinnati

As long as a Gentile is driving the car or flying the plane and the trip would have taken place anyway for John McCain (a Gentile), Joe Lieberman would be able to participate in campaigning on Shabbat (Friday sundown through Saturday sundown).

PattonGuy

Oi! Frankly, I don't care for now, and there has been entirely too much pointless speculation on both campaigns' choices. I will say that if McCain were to formally announce it today, it would probably be a tactical error on his part, given that Obama's Big Day is today. The press will be focusing obsessively for this news cycle on Obama, looking to see what he says, analyzing (and misanalyzing) it, so I'll wait for tomorrow, when I can watch the Daily Show online and not have to stay up so darn late. In the meantime, I'll be virtuous and read about the Reformation for my World Civ class.

StockBoySF

First of all I still think it will be Pawlenty.

Whether or not McCain "formally" announces his decision today or the decision is "leaked" today doesn't matter.... McCain is responsible for reigning in his campaign. And if he did not want his decision leaked, then he should make it clear that the leak is unacceptable.

My feeling is that the leak will happen today to take away Obama's moment. But then again he's set to announce first thing tomorrow morning, in time for all the morning news shows, so what he gains by leaking it tonight is minimal. He has proven to be nasty and disrespectful...

ChrisWWW

Pawlenty... so exciting! Wait... who the H is Pawlenty?

kritt11

I think it will be Pawlenty too-- by process of elimination it almost has to be

Lieberman would not please the conservative wing of the GOP
Ridge doesn't want the job.
the GOP is not ready for a female or an African-American
Romney has come out too strongly against McCain in the campaign, and wouldn't go down well with some evangelicals

Ricorun

if Lieberman is picked he would not, as an Orthodox Jew, be able to campaign after sunset on Friday or all day on Saturday.

If he were replaced for the occasion by a life-sized Matzah cut-out, would anyone notice?

Kathryn

GOP loses the bigot vote if it went for either Mittens, Lieberman, Hutchinson, or Jindl. Ridge causes freak out with Rapture folk and you know either group could be decisive in a close election...

Pawlenty it is! I think giving Rove veto over his choice might be causing McCain to really lose it.

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/08/the_...

If a Maverick becomes a hack and no one in the MSN reports it, does it make a sound?

kritt11

McCain won't recognize himself by the time Rove et al get done with him. To paraphrase Sir Thomas Moore from "A Man for All Seasons"

"it profits a man little to give up his soul for the world,

but for the presidency!"

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