2008: Best for McCain Vp's?

[Canis]

Just saw the movie game change highly recommend checking it out if you haven't already one of the best political movies I've seen.

In the opening of the movie, we see the process by which the VP is chosen initially vetted were Charlie Christ, Mitt Romney, and Tim Pawlenty.

McCain wanted Lieberman but his advisors were against it due to fear of the convention revolting and they're having a need to fire up the conservative base and were afraid that they couldn't pick a pro-choice vp. One of the advisors said that they should pick a woman to help with the gender gap.

The campaign manager uses google and looks at 3 prominent Republican women Meg Whitman, (who wasn't picked for being pro-choice), Linda Lingle, and then finally Sarah Palin.

Palin's vetting process was cut short but they still found some concern over her lack of experience. One of McCain's advisors said they should go with Pawlenty but the others believed Palin to be the better choice and that she would learn on the job.

We know what happened iRL with Palin's gaffes along with a crashing economy-dooming McCains campaign. It's unlikely any of the other potential VP's would have won but would McCain have done better with any of the other options they considered? Or did Palin fire up the conservative base and help enough with the women's vote to prevent McCains loss from being an even worse landslide? If you were McCain with and without hindsight who would you have picked for VP?

[Canis]

I'd probably have gone with Pawlenty I think he was conservative enough to fire up the base and would have helped in the midwest I don't see much of the midwest flipping compared to irl besides maybe IN. But compared to the other options I think Pawlenty was probably the best choice besides Palin.

[Chips]

Crist. I would've figured he would've helped keep FL and VA in my column and keep NC out of play so I could've spent my time and focus in on PA, OH, IA, NV, CO, NM and NH.

[OSR stands with Israel]

WI : Mike Huckabee

As he could have energized social conservatives without having to choose someone as obviously as unqualified as Palin. Though he would have angered conservative talk radio if he picked Huckabee if he played it correctly he could have avoided that


The others probably don’t do much for the ticket at all other than the fact that NC goes Republican and MO goes democratic probably . Huckabee on the other hand could win both NC and MO so Obama ends up with only 350 EV instead of 360+ lol

[UWS]

I’d say Pawlenty as he was conservative enough to mobilize the base. And he also had enough experience as he was serving his second term as Governor of Minnesota. And a Midwesterner is a good asset for McCain to compete in the Midwest, winning him at least Indiana and Ohio.

As it is also said in Game Change that I also saw, another reason why McCain selected Palin is that while he was ahead of Obama by 20 percentage points among male voters, he needed to increase his support among female voters by at least 15 % in order to have a chance to win. Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was also seen as a possible VP pick for McCain. She was conservative enough and smarter and more qualified than Palin.

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

He should have picked Lieberman; he was the only pick that would have put McCain over the top.

[libertpaulian]

He should have picked Lieberman; he was the only pick that would have put McCain over the top.

Evangelicals and movement conservatives would have stayed home, causing McCain to lose Missouri, Montana, and possibly Georgia.

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

He should have picked Lieberman; he was the only pick that would have put McCain over the top.

Evangelicals and movement conservatives would have stayed home, causing McCain to lose Missouri, Montana, and possibly Georgia.

I don't believe that, and I don't believe polling support that.  Neither of those guys were Evangelical faves, but they'd have gotten their vote, however unenthusiastically.

[libertpaulian]

He should have picked Lieberman; he was the only pick that would have put McCain over the top.

Evangelicals and movement conservatives would have stayed home, causing McCain to lose Missouri, Montana, and possibly Georgia.

I don't believe that, and I don't believe polling support that.  Neither of those guys were Evangelical faves, but they'd have gotten their vote, however unenthusiastically.

I participated on the Sean Hannity Forums back in 2008.  Lots of people there hated Obama but would have voted third-party or skipped the ballot if McCain chose Lieberman.

[dw93]

Of these Pawlenty. There had to have been something that came up in the vetting process that sunk Romney's chances of getting picked, as at least on paper, being the runner up for all intense a purposes could've unified the party better, though I agree with Old School Republican's logic behind picking Huckabee, and even believe he would've been equally as good of a pick for McCain as Pawlenty would've been.

[Nightcore Nationalist]

He should have picked Lieberman; he was the only pick that would have put McCain over the top.

Nothing would have put McCain over the top, this is an election he lost the tipping point state by over 9 points.

McCain already had a tenuous relationship with the GOP base.  He needed someone like Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney (then a conservative darling within the likes of Coulter, Hannity etc...).  That also gave some political balance given McCain's record of moderation.  Lieberman, who was also Al Gore's running mate, would have been disastrous for conservative base turnout.  Given the dismal state of the economy and the public's opinion of the incumbent administration (and the GOP by extention), it's miraculous that McCain still took 45% of the popular vote.

[Vice President Christian Man]

I'd say Crist. McCain would've carried Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina, and narrowed his loss in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Iowa.

[NewYorkExpress]

In hindsight, I think McCain knew he was likely going to lose even before picking Palin. That pick reeked of desperation.

With that in mind, he should have just picked someone he trusted, so either Lindsey Graham or Joe Lieberman.

[Agonized-Statism]

Palin really wasn't the absolute worst choice like people make her out to be (with hindsight, that probably would have been Mitt Romney given his business ties). He had to gain the trust of the religious right. If not her, he would have to pick someone like Huckabee.