Thirteen names on McCain's running mate list...

[12th Doctor]

Told you Steele would be an interesting pick.

Steele being the most experienced person in American politics.

[12th Doctor]

I saw this list a few days ago and have had some time to ponder it:

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour - I can't think of one thing Barbour brings to the ticket that McCain can't get with a more attractive running-mate.

North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr - ibid... the only thing I can think of is he helps out in North Carolina and Virginia, but if we are seriously contesting them then we have bigger worries.  Plus, Burr's voting record is pretty moderate, if out goal is to reassure the base, then there will be blood.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist - Even if Crist isn't gay, he's gay.  The religious right doesn't care about facts.

Former Arkansas Gov. and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee -   Again, what does Huckabee actually bring to the ticket?  Anybody?

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. -   Well, I suppose we might have to reassure those Mormons that only half of the GOP hates them.
 
Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison - A+ pick.  No major issues on the issues and a woman to boot.  Only thing I can think of as a draw back is age.  If Obama gets the nomination Texas is a lock for the GOP for day 1 (as opposed to week 1, which is the norm) so I don't see much help there, but geography is less a factor in choosing a VP these days.  Point is, if McCain dies Hutchison can take over in a second.
 
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty - The more I look, the less I see Pawlenty bringing to the ticket.  I don't think he alone could bring in Minnesota and the whole Upper-Midwest in general is probably gonna favor Obama this time around.  Not an interesting pick, and pretty uninspiring.  He is probably the best "safe" pick out there, should it come to that.

Former Ohio Rep. and former Director of the Office of Management and Budget Rob Portman - Not even very well known in Ohio from what I gather.  Too much time spent explaining who Bob (purposeful mistake) Portman is.  Take forward momentum away from campaign.

Former Massachusetts Gov. and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney -

Doesn't bring anything to the ticket charismatic enough to outshine the top of the ticket... that's never a good thing.  He'll leave too many people wish he were at the top.  Plus, he doesn't have the experience required of a McCain ticket.
 
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan - Who?

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford - As I have said before, this isn't a good time for the GOP to chain itself to big real estate.  Plus, I'm not sure if he brings too much in.

FedEx CEO Frederick Smith - A very interesting pick.  He could reassure the business community, which is nervous about McCain.  Most "little guys" probably have a favorable opinion of FedEx, so I don't see a problem there.  Real American "zero-to-hero" success story.  Friend of both George W. Bush and John Kerry, so he's not polarizing.  I would give him an "A" grade.

GOPAC Chair Michael Steele - Well... he's black, you can't deny that.  You also can't deny that his highest level of office is Lt. Gov of Maryland and that he lost a Senate race just two years ago.  Are we really that desperate?

Here are a few picks I would suggest that aren't on the list:

Sec. of State Condi Rice - McCain has obviously made it quite clear that he isn't running from the War.  Rice had very little to do with the multiple screw ups that were made once we were in Iraq, so it wouldn't be like picking Rumsfeld.  Obviously, she brings race and gender to the ticket.  She has experience.  Great pick, no, but she is someone who should be in the Top 10.

Senator John Sununu - I know this got some laughs the first time I suggested it, but think about it.  He's young, he has more experience in government than Obama and Clinton combined.  He is going to lose his Senate seat anyway.  He is inoffensive to Southerns and Northerns alike.  Reliably conservative.

Former Congressman J.C. Watts - He's been out of Washington for a while, but that's a good thing.  Other than the obvious race issue, he could represent a negation of the GOP's wasteful policies of the last 8 years.  He reminds old-time GOPers of the Contract, which he played a pretty big rule in.  Good pick.

[12th Doctor]

Plus, with Watts, can you imagine how awesome it would be to have someone on the ticket whose name honest to God is "Julius Caesar"?

[12th Doctor]

Hutchison just plain sucks.  A terrible pick.  While we're at it, let's see if Elizabeth Dole wants the second spot too.

I agree... two people, let alone two women, running for VP would certainly be revolutionary, if a tab unconstitutional.

[12th Doctor]

I saw this list a few days ago and have had some time to ponder it:
Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison - A+ pick.  No major issues on the issues and a woman to boot.  Only thing I can think of as a draw back is age.  If Obama gets the nomination Texas is a lock for the GOP for day 1 (as opposed to week 1, which is the norm) so I don't see much help there, but geography is less a factor in choosing a VP these days.  Point is, if McCain dies Hutchison can take over in a second.

Isn't she pro-choice?

From wiki:

Hutchison is currently considered to be moderate on abortion issues, at least compared to most elected Republicans from Texas. Although she has served on the Advisory Board of The Wish List (Women in the Senate and House) Political Action Committee, which contributes to pro-choice female Republican candidates for Congress, she is no longer on the board [12] and the PAC did not endorse her in 2006. [13]. In the past years NARAL has given her ratings of 0%, 7%, 20%, and 0%, indicating that her voting record mostly favored enacting proposed abortion restrictions. [14]

While in the Texas House of Representatives (1973 to 1977), Hutchison worked to protect rape victims from having their names published with Sarah Weddington, the attorney who won the Roe v. Wade case. She supports some abortion rights, but does not believe in taxpayer-funded abortions. Hutchison has also endorsed parental notification laws [15] and in 2006 sponsored legislation to prevent minors from being transported across state lines with taxpayer money to subvert such laws.

[12th Doctor]

I saw this list a few days ago and have had some time to ponder it:


North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr - ibid... the only thing I can think of is he helps out in North Carolina and Virginia, but if we are seriously contesting them then we have bigger worries.  Plus, Burr's voting record is pretty moderate, if out goal is to reassure the base, then there will be blood.

Burr, moderate??  What???  If a guy who claims that president Bush is right 96% of the time and has a lifetime rating from the ACU of 91 isn't conservative enough for the GOP base, well.....   If Burr's pick hurts McCain in any way it won't be with the conservatives it will be with moderates and Independents as it will give the Dems even more ammo to nail McCain on that he is no longer the independent minded maverick he once was by picking such an arch conservative as his running mate.  the idea that Burr is moderate is laughable

Sorry.  I was going just by the stats for two years since that was all I had on hand at the time. .. and even then, I was going by clean Liberal-Conservative percentages and not ACU ratings.  You prove yourself to be a master of the stats.