Why didn't McCain consider Lindsay Graham for VP?

[Rat]

From everything I've read about the 2008 election, McCain had considered several different options prior to settling on the "game changer" Palin pick. He originally wanted Lieberman, who was largely aligned with his foreign policy and governing views, and would give the whole "bipartisan" look to the ticket. When that was shot down, he considered Romney and Pawlenty, but didn't see them as exciting enough to change the dynamic of the race.

One thing I've wondered is, why didn't McCain consider Lindsay Graham? Lieberman was shot down for being a pro-choice Democrat, but Graham has the same type of relationship with McCain without that "baggage". I'd think that he'd at least have been one of the shortlist contenders at some point, but as far as I can find, he wasn't ever seriously considered.

[Del Tachi]

The inside story is that McCain wanted Lieberman, while most of his advisers wanted him to go with a more conventional pick like Romney or Pawlenty.  Palin was chosen as an compromise that had "straight talk" appeal while strengthening McCain's right flank.

Considering the Palin decision, Graham was certainly closer to what Romney/Pawlenty would have offered to the ticket.  McCain wanted to do something more maverick-y.

[Pres Mike]

Lindsay Graham has...rumors about him

[Landslide Lyndon]

Conservatives disliked Graham as much as McCain himself. Picking him might have been personally satisfying but would have done nothing to energize base voters.

[TDAS04]

Lindsey Graham is too emotional. The drama queen would’ve been a worse pick than Palin.

McCain would have lost regardless of his running mate, but without hindsight, a Fred Thompson VP selection would have made the most sense. He would have been accepted by the conservative, pro-life Republican base (unlike say, Joe Liebeman, lol), while simultaneously being experienced enough to be taken seriously in general (unlike Palin).

Not to mention that that McCain owed Thompson big, and not because of his 2000 endorsement. Thompson helped McCain a lot more by running as a primary opponent in 2008, and costing Huckabee a victory in South Carolina.

[Redban]

I have not heard anything to suggest that Lindsey was even considered as a VP, and nobody from McCain's team ever said why they didn't consider Lindsey (I don't think they were ever asked why either)

Looking at who they considered, I think they were chasing options that would win them crossovers: Pawlenty and Romney were governors of blue states, and Lieberman was a pro-choice Democrat. Palin was a way out-of-the-box maverick option.

Lindsey, in contrast, was more of a safe pick that a Republican might've chosen in a good year. But McCain couldn't play it safe with a conservative, Southern evangelical. So I would surmise they didn't pick Lindsey because they needed to be bolder

[Redban]

From everything I've read about the 2008 election, McCain had considered several different options prior to settling on the "game changer" Palin pick. He originally wanted Lieberman, who was largely aligned with his foreign policy and governing views, and would give the whole "bipartisan" look to the ticket. When that was shot down, he considered Romney and Pawlenty, but didn't see them as exciting enough to change the dynamic of the race.

One thing I've wondered is, why didn't McCain consider Lindsay Graham? Lieberman was shot down for being a pro-choice Democrat, but Graham has the same type of relationship with McCain without that "baggage". I'd think that he'd at least have been one of the shortlist contenders at some point, but as far as I can find, he wasn't ever seriously considered.

FYI - McCain didn't want Lieberman just because he was friends with Lieberman. His desire to pick Lieberman came from a need to shake up the race. McCain simply wanted to take the chance of picking a pro-choice Northeast Democrat to try out a unity Republican/Democrat ticket: Lindsey wouldn't offer that sort of benefit.

They also considered announcing that McCain would serve one term with Lieberman as his VP. So they were really looking for ways to make a splash

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

He wanted to get the female vote let's not mistake Palin was popular before the Great Recession, her gaffes made it seem she wasn't up to the job in an Economic Recession

It would have been tougher for Obama to win had McCain went with Romney