McCain VP Picks

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was instrumental on Aug. 1 from the start of the #dontgo revolt on the House floor. But since then, he hasn't been back to Washington, opting instead to focus on work in his district. He's also doing two things that almost certainly enhance his profile as a potential VP for John McCain: raising money for Republicans and appearing on TV as a surrogate for the GOP nominee.

Nonetheless, Cantor's name has been left out of recent news stories or relegated to darkhorse status. Aside from an excellent Washington Times piece by Ben Domenech making the case for Cantor, it would appear his 15 minutes of fame have faded after a flurry of news stories several weeks ago.

That could change over the next week as he heads to Denver for the GOP's messaging operation to counter the Democratic National Convention. Just as they did four years ago in Boston, Republicans will bring some of the party's most recognizable faces and rising stars for news briefings each day.

Cantor's absence from Washington didn't strike me as unusual until today when I heard Minority Leader John Boehner was headed back to Capitol Hill for the Republican revolt, which enters its 14th day tomorrow. It'll mark the second time Boehner has come back. Other members of the Republican leadership team -- Whip Roy Blunt, Conference Chairman Adam Putnam, Policy Chairman Thaddeus McCotter and NRCC Chairman Tom Cole -- have also returned.

From what I was able to gather, it's not that Cantor doesn't want to come back. He simply doesn't have the time given his jam-packed schedule and stumping for McCain. "Eric's not the kind of guy who lets the grass grow under his feet," a source told me today.

There's no question about that. Cantor has collected more than 34,000 signatures on his Call Congress Back petition, which launched simultaneously with the #dontgo protest on the floor. He has consistently kept pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi in TV interviews. And he was the McCain campaign's official representative on Aug. 4 conference call about Barack Obama's energy plan.

Am I reading too much into this? Perhaps. But that's what makes VP speculation so fun.

Patrick Ruffini's online strategy for how McCain should announce his vice presidential candidate, in response to Obama's Text Message of Great Tidings of Joy, has got me thinking about another potential strategy for the McCain campaign to play out more conventionally.

While Patrick's strategy contrasts wonderfully with the "first to know" along with everybody and their grandmother approach, I think there are some timing issues to be considered. Despite conventional wisdom, Obama almost has to announce sometime during the Olympics (they end Aug. 24, the Convention starts Aug. 25) to get a decent bounce heading into the stadium speech. Given the paltry three day window the DNC carved for themselves between Denver and St. Paul, McCain will almost certainly announce his selection during that time.

The danger for McCain in going online, as always, remains looking somehow inferior, or like an old man trying to use the new fangled technology to achieve the same end. Given the delay already since the Obama announcement, a McCain strategy with an online announcement might come off slightly copied or reactionary. Ideally, Patrick's strategy would become a sort of Wonka Golden Ticket on a very rapid time scale, but assuming that three day window, McCain needs some kind of sharp photo op that contrasts heavily with the stadium speech. Going online might also play a little too closely to the DNC strategy of "The Next Cheney."

Perhaps it's my Olympics-addled brain, but the McCain campaign should be trying to get in contact with the families of Shawn Johnson, Cullen Jones, or Jason Lezak -- Olympians with great stories, who have either won gold medals or will, who don't have quite the Michael Phelps or basketball team celebrity cache.

Ideally, the result would be, for instance, the Johnson family's Des Moines living room playing host to John and Cindy McCain (and, in a perfect world, one of the sons in the armed forces), the vice presidential candidate and his or her family, and perhaps some neighbors of the Johnson family. The message would be brief and to the point: "Americans can achieve a lot on the world stage, whether that be in athletics or dealing with big issues, but family and community are the foundation for that -- true leadership begins at home, not in a stadium. This is something that both myself and [vice presidential candidate] know and believe and will take with us to the White House." Sure, it's a common sentiment and it lacks the cash and email grab of Patrick's strategy, but it plays off the arrogant narrative that will surely be lingering following a speech in front of 75,000 people.

Katherine Miller blogs daily at Right-Wing Vitriol, from Vanderbilt University.

Republicans including, I imagine, Sen. McCain himself are

asking these questions about his selection of a vice presidential

candidate.

Ideally, a presidential candidate wants a running mate who

will help him or her win the election, and (maybe) to govern

afterwards. But most will settle for a veep who isn't a drag

on the ticket, as Dan Quayle was for the first President Bush.

Traditionally, a presidential nominee has chosen a running

mate to balance the ticket geographically, or to appease

a faction of the party. The most successful example of this

was when John F. Kennedy picked Lyndon Johnson, though neither

liked the other, and LBJ joined the ticket only because he thought 

Kennedy would lose.

Bill Clinton broke with this tradition when he chose another young 

(purported) moderate from a neighboring southern state. By picking

Al Gore, he hoped to reinforce his campaign theme of generational

change.

Which way will Sen. McCain go? The potential running mates most

often Discussed have downsides nearly as great as their upsides.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty helps only in Minnesota, and not enough, according

to current polls, to make a difference there. Sen. McCain's friend

Sen. Joe Lieberman would bring in some moderate Democrats, but could

further antagonize conservatives already suspicious of Sen. McCain. 

Gov. Romney would have little appeal to working class whites unhappy

with Sen. Obama, and evangelicals fret about that Mormon thing. A 

Huckabee nomination would irritate economic and foreign policy

conservatives as much as it would please evangelicals.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is a rising star. But he's only 36,

and he's been governor for less than a year. There is one potential

running mate who Has virtually no down side. Those conservatives

who've heard of her were Delighted to learn that McCain advance

man Arthur Culvahouse was in Alaska recently, because they surmised

he could only be there to discuss the vice presidential nomination

with Gov. Sarah Palin.

At 44, Sarah Louise Heath Palin is both the youngest and the first

Female governor in Alaska's relatively brief history as a state.

She's also the most popular governor in America, with an approval

rating that has bounced around 90 percent.

This is due partly to her personal qualities. When she was leading

her Underdog Wasilla high school basketball team to the state

championship in 1982, Her teammates called her "Sarah Barracuda"

because of her fierce competitiveness.

Two years later, when she won the "Miss Wasilla" beauty pageant,

she was Also voted "Miss Congeniality" by the other contestants.

Sarah Barracuda. Miss Congeniality. Fire and nice. A happily married 

mother of five who is still drop dead gorgeous. And smart to boot.

But it's mostly because she's been a crackerjack governor, a strong 

Fiscal conservative and a ferocious fighter of corruption, especially

in her own party. Ms. Palin touches other conservative bases, some of

which Sen. McCain has been accused of rounding. Track, her eldest son,

enlisted in the Army last Sept. 11. She's a lifetime member of the 

National Rifle Association who hunts, fishes and runs marathons.

A regular churchgoer, she's staunchly pro-life. Kimberley Strassel

of the Wall Street Journal said Sen. McCain should run against a 

corrupt, do-nothing Congress, a la Harry Truman. If he should choose

to do so, Gov. Palin would make an excellent partner "The landscape

is littered with the bodies of those who have crossed Sarah," pollster

Dave Dittman told the Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes.

Sen. Barack Obama's support has plunged recently among white women.

Many Hillary Clinton supporters accuse him -- I think unfairly – 

of being sexist. Having Sarah Palin on the ticket could help 

Sen. McCain appeal to these Disgruntled Democrats.

Running mates usually aren't named until the convention.

But if Sen. McCain should name Gov. Palin earlier, it would give

America more time to get to Know this extraordinary woman.

And because she's at least a dozen feature Stories waiting to be

written, she could help him dominate the news between now 

and the conventions.

Another reason for selecting Sarah Palin early would be

to force Barack Obama to make a mistake. He'd have to rule 

out choosing someone like Virginia Sen. Jim Webb as his running

mate, for fear of exacerbating charges of sexism. And if he chose

a woman other than Hillary, the impression Democrats are wimpy 

would be intensified.

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