Posted by
David Zublick on Sunday, August 17, 2008 10:39:31 AM
As we get closer to the Democrat and Republican conventions, the rhetoric regarding the John McCain and
Barack Obama vice presidential picks looms large.
In
recent days, there have been names mentioned that are patently absurd.
On the McCain side, Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge have been tossed out
there for public consumption. Lieberman, although strong on national
defense and a supporter of the war, is very liberal on many domestic
issues. And the bitter aftertaste left from the McCain-Lieberman
Climate Stewardship Act has most conservatives who pooh-pooh the global
warming junk science appalled at the prospect of putting Lieberman on
the ticket.
Conservative Republicans would be outraged at the
prospect of a McCain-Lieberman ticket. The only way they might tolerate
the idea is if Lieberman was part of a McCain pledge to serve only one
term, so that there would not be a possibility that Lieberman would
succeed McCain as president. And if Lieberman were to ascend to the
presidency, he would have to promise to honor McCain's domestic
priorities and appoint constitutional judges. This is highly unlikely.
There
has been talk in the McCain circles that he intends to serve only one
term, which is why Lieberman's name has been floated.
The other
name that has been mentioned this past week is Tom Ridge, former
Pennsylvania Governor and Homeland Security Secretary. Again, he comes
with baggage of his own. He is pro-choice, which would not sit well
with most conservatives and the evangelicals whose vote McCain has been
courting of late.
Selecting Lieberman or Ridge would indeed
cement McCain's reputation as a maverick, but is that really the image
that he wants to imprint on the minds of the conservative base at this
most crucial time?
Even more of a shocker that emerged this past week was the possibility that
Barack Obama would pick John Kerry as his running mate. Are you kidding me?
The
idea here is that Kerry brings more name recognition to the ticket than
any other name on the list so far. He apparently solves the problem of
Obama's
lack of foreign policy experience because he is a decorated veteran and
a longtime member of the senate foreign relations committee. The
thinking is also that America loves a comeback kid. Kerry ran a very
sloppy campaign in 2004, and was soundly trounced. Apparently
Obama
must really believe he is the second coming of Christ because choosing
Kerry as his running mate would be the equivalent of raising Lazarus
from the dead.
We are getting down to the wire here. The conventions are
almost
upon us. And the vice presidential lists have turned into a circus
which may amuse most Americans, but will not serve them well in making
a voting choice come November.
Listen to America Talks Monday through Friday at 6 pm eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/americatalks. Visit our website at www.americatalks.com.