Do you picture McCain's top advisors telling him he cannot win

[saltpoint]

unless he secures -- bedrock secures -- the far-right fundamentalist segment of the GOP base?

It's presumptious to second-guess the exchange in a private meeting, but I can't see them saying to him, "Look John, we have to pimp this Maverick thing a lot harder because if we don't, we lose the complicit media and the % of indies we need in swing states."

What I actually imagine them saying is, "No matter how complicit the media is with your Maverick thing, we've already lost the indies. We have to concentrate on the nutbags or you aren't going to be competitive at all."

If that is the case, perhaps Tom Ridge is off the list, as grantcart's excellent post has already suggested. The fundie nutbags are not going to tolerate a pro-choice veep, or, they aren't going to tolerate and vote for one in significant numbers to keep McCain competitive, especially with Obama mounting fierce drives in Virginia and Indiana, of all places.

Lieberman would have been a spiteful pick for McCain, stealing the "bi-partisan problem-solver" theme from Obama, but despite his hyper-hawkish support of Bush on Iraq, Lieberman remains relatively liberal on many social issues generally and is pro-choice specifically.

He's off the list as well.

I'm taking Palin off the list because she's in the shadow of a scandal and gave birth in April to a child diagnosed with Down Syndrome. That's too many astericks for a veep nom, IMO.

Also I'm scratching off Jindal, who is a bit eerie bordering on the disturbingly insane. It might be entertaining to have a self-declared exorcist on a national ticket, but it doesn't sound like a winner for the GOP, IMO.

I'm not sure how Fiorina's name ever was advanced, or why. I think she's highly marginal, at best.

That leaves: Romney, owing to his fat wallet; Portman, because he's bland and from Ohio; Thune, because he arguably maintains some of the Western states Obama might grab away; Pawlenty, who is unthreatening to GOP "moderates" but clearly a rightwing nutbag palatable to the fundies; Haley Barbour, the good-ol-boy with fund-raising prowess and a lot of long-standing connections; and Eric Cantor, who is Far Right but with almost no national profile whatsoever.

It more or less puts a squirrelly sheister like Mike Huckabee in the batter's box. He's a minister, a Protestant fundamentalist, willing and able to push all the "ballot initiative" button issues for the local and state turnouts, would be REAL pleased to have the appointment, and unfortunately for us, would become the President of the United States should McCain win and promptly croak in office.

Ya look down the GOP list of veep options and the one you stop at is even worse than the one you just left and not even as bad as the next one down. Fixers and morons and thieves and yahoos, often a combination of all four categories. And in generous doses.

Franklin Graham is laughable except when he's downright horrifying, but he's actually McCain's best choice. He's far more religiously extreme than his father, and is fluent in both hackneyed English and florid Apocalyptic. He has no voting record to attack, as he has none at all. He's the son of a religious legend. He would do as he was told. And he brings in the nutbags to the GOP base's voting block.

It's getting late in the game. The Pukes coagulate in Minneapolis Sept. 1 - 4. Pawlenty won't have to be flown in if he's the pick, but the whole shebang is competing with the Labor Day Weekend, the start of many schools and colleges, a return to the workweek in the first days of summer-to-fall, AND the Jerry Lewis Telethon.

McCain will have to choose Franklin Graham, who will take the stage, introduced by McCain, and then promptly perform a baptism on the Candidate to bless the national ticket. "I baptize you in the name of JEEEeeezus! You are one of Us, Brother John McCain! One of God's children!" Political video-bite of the century.

If McCain has any chance at all of being competitive with Obama -- and even so the trendlines are running blue -- he probably has to pass on Ridge and Lieberman and Romney and go with a Bible-thumper.

Huckabee is a good prediction. Franklin Graham would be the outrageous best choice.

[saltpoint]

1. Ok, my goal is to snag the attention of a lurking Frankling Graham

Republican and get him or her to report back that a movement is afoot for Rev. Franklin to be considered on McCain's ticket.

In the best case, they'll get their extensive email system going and force McCain to phone the guy.

Another goal was to post a thread in which Mike Huckabee is labeled a squirrelly sheister.

[CK_John]

2. I think McCain let the cat out of the bag, with his recent praise for Meg Whitman. Possible VP. n/t

I wonder if Cheney will approve?

[saltpoint]

5. It was a bit surprising to hear Meg Whitman in his response, but

there is an eerie viability to it, isn't there.

McCain is in a difficult spot, so it seems to me he could go for the dark horse ooption.

[CK_John]

8. She has the time, money. savvy, and possible access to one giant data base. She will be tough. n/t

[Orangepeel]

3. Romney pretends to be "pro-life" now.

the Mormon issue might disconcert some fundies, but I'm still betting he risks it. I think the bush cabal wants Romney.

[saltpoint]

6. I had read that also, and feel you are right about the Bush cabal

preferring Willard.

It was in the context of Jeb Bush's staff kind of migrating to Romney in the early primaries.

Not sure where things stand right now on the veep pick, but I think you may be hot on the trail.

[AllentownJake]

4. McCain made a critical mistake in GOP politics

You appease the fundamentalist in the primary so they think you are one of them than move to the center during the GE. W did this and that's why he got the election close enough to steal in 2000.

The fundies heard McCain talk like one of them for one night. They are going to want more more more and McCain is going to have to oblige in order to get them out in force. Why he does this he pisses off the moderates and the indies.

[saltpoint]

7. Agree. His staff doesn't seem to be as connected to his

base groups the way Obama's certainly is to HIS base groups.

The fundies have become the psychotic elephant in the room. I'm not getting the feeling that McCain has the poise or finesse to figure out how to handle them.

[AllentownJake]

9. Nobody does

You can't handle these people. They are absolute nuts. The only way you handle them is by convincing them your one of them and that you're just trying to get elected and thats why you say certain things. McCain did it ass backwards so they think he's just saying those things to them to get elected.

[saltpoint]

10. Agree. They are almost by nature unmanageable.

The GOP let these folks into the gates and now they've swarmed the castle and are taking over.

McCain doesn't seem up to standng on his own two feet, having pandered his hindend off for the last 7 or 8 years.

But at some point down the line, the Republicans are going to have to wave bye-bye to the fundie nutbags. It's going to be a messy goodbye, IMO.

[AllentownJake]

11. They have taken over apparatus in the party

These people may be crazy but they aren't stupid. They figured out the system and literally took over. They are the GOP right now and that is why I left the GOP 6 years ago. I've also become more liberal in my 11 years away from my GOP parents who are moderates but until recently didn't realize what the party had become (My mom did and switched to democrat this year my dad died but he was ready to leave). There is no place in the party anymore for people who are pro-choice, pro-gay rights, and against deficits and foolish wars.

This year I think was a wake up call for alot of people. 500,000 new democrats in PA and 200,000 of them are people who left the GOP. When I hold Obama events at my house 25% of the people volunteering were registered republicans in the past 4 years.

[saltpoint]

12. God, Jake, you have the coolest personal

history.

It's true what you say about the modern-day GOP. Once the fundies moved in it was lights-out on any progressive issues. When I was a much younger man GOP Senators were nothing like today's GOP Senators. The issues you name are perfect examples of the huge change.

I hate to get over-confident, but there's a chance that Obama is going to destroy McCain in the popular vote and the electoral college. I realize it could get close and that many things could still happen, but right now the stage is being set for a big Democratic win, and the Republicans will face a big decision on the fundies.