Last week there's been a lot of talk in the media on the possibility that McCain was about to pick a V.P. and would make an announcement on Tuesday (today). There has been no such disclosure yet and actually the expectations had already subsided at the end of last week when it became clear that this was only a ploy to get the media's attention while Barack Obama's European triumph was getting non-stop coverage.
But the V.P. picking season has come and there is a lot of chatter about it right now. To learn more about some of the strategies you can always go back to my previous posting on the subject.
To sum up the more recent developments, let's say that Mitt Romney has inched up in the list and now seems to be the favorite, despite the huge tension between him and McCain during the primary campaign. Would this original tension be a boon for Democrat ads? certainly. But would it undermine McCain's presidential bid? probably not. Remember that Romney has a strong appeal for the more traditional conservatives, that are still wary of McCain's maverick reputation, depsite his efforts to convince them that he was a true conservative. Witness his recent courting of the right and his policy shifts or flip-flops on crucial issues such as oil drilling in America ( from no to yes), immigration policy ( from reforming the legalization system to tightening the borders) and the Bush tax cuts ( from "no, they only help the rich" to "yes, they are a good thing and should be made permanent").
The N.Y. Times has an excellent video on how the McCain-Romney relationship had evolved from harsh ennimity to jocular friendliness -almost.
On the Democratic side, there seems to be a virtual infinity of possibility. Who do you think Barack Obama should pick?
- Hillary Clinton, to reunite the party and give some satisfaction to her supporters? Wouldn't that discourage people who are taken in by the rhetoric of change?
- Bill Richardson, to appeal to the Latino voters and offer reassuring foreign policy and grand scale executive expecience? How would this choice affect the decision of one of the key constituencies that the Democrats must try and win: the working class white male?
- What about other Democratic heavy weights such as Al Gore and Joe Biden, what would they bring to the ticket?
- Should he choose a woman? Governor Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas or Janet Napolitano the governor of McCain's own State, Arizona ( which might possibly be a battle-ground State).
If you want to know more about the potential VPs in both camps, I strongly recommend the excellent chart presented by Ken Rudin on NPR's website ( look for a column entitled "Veepstakes").
2 comments:
It is amazing how quickly political men can change their minds. One day, they are competitors, criticizing each other, and the day after, they are the best friends in the world, working together for the same thing. This way of doing is very hypocritical. But actually, the whole political world works like this. Political men think about them first, about the advantages they could get to become more popular, without even realising how people could interprete their change of mind.
This world is completely corrupted, not particularly by money, but by power.
But since it doesn't seem to be a problem in the United States to change your mind all the time, let's hope Mitt Romney will take advantage of it (perhaps for the next presidential campaign).
Thank you Melanie for your visit and your comment, indeed, politicians will change their minds; is it because they are pragmatists and not ideologues or is it only because they are ruthless?
I was listening to Fox news this morning ( a right wing cable network), and although I had earlier heard that Mitt Romney would probably not be picked, the idea was being kicked around again : by chosing Romney, McCain would probably succeed in winning in Michigan, a battleground state.
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