I know, I'm a little late to the party. So I won't dwell on Obama's very un-Messanaic VP pick. (Though I have to add, the idea of introducing Joe Biden to Obama's throng of eager, wide-eyed, idealistic hipsters via text message seems very much to resemble old wine in new bottles.)
So, leaving that aside, we can shift our focus to the only other real shoe still left to drop in this race --
Who does McCain pick?
On the strength of McCain's Saddleback performance and his response to the Georgia invasion, the GOP -- for the first time -- seems...well...impressed with McCain.
And wouldn't the McCain camp love to keep that going? Pick a good conservative (read: Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty) and ride into the convention on a tidal wave of good will from the base. Whether that results in a similar ride into the White House could be a different matter, however. But what else can McCain do? Is the crucial VP pick really the time to play maverick?
Absolutely. Absolutely, because McCain is a maverick, and the best thing he can do is be true to himself. As the old gambler says: "Scared money don't make money."
For McCain, the VP pick is the time to look past the issues and look to the quality individual. What does he have to lose? A lead? Not only doesn't McCain seem comfortable holding a lead, he doesn't even seem like himself. Rather, he seems to be at his best when all is lost -- just look at the primaries, the Iraq war and, well, the Hanoi Hilton, for that matter. In other words, he needs to go from his gut and damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.
All of which, in my perfect world, means he should pick:
1) Sarah Palin. I know, I know, this is sheer fantasy. Sure she'd electrify the ticket by adding a credible conservative voice and some demographic equality, as well as being a fine counter-offer to disgruntled Clintonites. (For the uninformed, she swept into the Governorship of Alaska on a reform ticket, has a short yet distinguished history of cleaning up corruption in a state notorious for it, she has a son in the Army and is young -- 44 -- articulate and easy on the eyes.) The only negative I've heard on her is she could use some polish and a few more years executive experience before hitting the national stage. But mostly she appears to be an unlikely VP because it doesn't seem that McCain's vetters have taken her seriously -- her name has been batted around mostly by grassrooters outside the McCain camp. Maybe her speech at the convention will change perceptions in the future. So since Palin probably won't happen, how about...
2) Rudy Giuliani. Wait a second...doesn't he have the same strengths as McCain with even more negatives for the base (pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, went through a messy divorce)? Sure. However, there is a lesson here the GOP needs to learn: the ghost of Ronald Reagan isn't going to be VP. The GOP can't make the mistake of shoehorning lesser candidates into a VP slot simply because they fall in line on the issues. The base has to recognize that a great leader with whom they may disagree over a few issues is better than a mediocre leader with whom they agree totally. To repeat myself -- the VP pick is about the individual more than the issues. And what an individual you get in Guiliani. Forget 9/11, just look at his experience going after the mafia, driving crime rates down and turning around welfare, government and improving the city's infrastructure. He has PRACTICED more conservatism than any Republican since Ronald Reagan -- and that's with two GOP planks missing. Bottom line: Giuliani may not excite the evangelical base, but he will excite everyone else. And not that McCain is afraid to do his own dirty work, but Giuliani would be an articulate and devastating attack dog, as well as a reliable and experienced partner and ambassador for a McCain administration. But speaking of wild picks that might anger the base --
3) Joe Lieberman. Excuse me while I duck under the table to avoid the rotten tomatoes. But picking Lieberman would be perhaps the most stark example yet that McCain really is what Obama claims to be. What I like about this pick is it is a classic McCain pick -- you know he isn't playing politics with it, he just really believes in it...did I say something before about "scared money" not making money? But if Lieberman truly deflates the base (read: money and volunteers) then, scared money be damned, he probably isn't worth it. Although if the ticket runs as a one-term administration...
OK, back to a reality check:
4) Tim Pawlenty. The Governor of Minnesota is a rising star in the GOP (along with Sarah Palin of Alaska, Bobby Jinal of Louisiana and Eric Cantor of Virginia. If the GOP loses in '08, 2012 could see a plethora of phenomenal candidates...) He's been a willing, if rather bland, attack dog so far. But his simple roots and regular Joe persona could be a nice contrast with the Obama-Biden ticket. Of all the usual suspects for the VP slot, he's the best. But there's also --
5) Eric Cantor. The Virginia Representative is short on executive experience and name recognition, but he is articulate and Jewish -- for what that's worth (so is Lieberman, and I'm still wearing cabbage around my ears for mentioning him). I like him more than some bigger names because of his potential rather than his achievements thus far. The attention he's getting will serve him well in 2012, though it'd be nice if he could speak at the convention as well.
6) Mitt Romney. Forget that he's a relatively recent conservative. Forget that he had a relatively unremarkable governorship in Massachusetts. (Especially compared to Guiliani in New York.) The biggest thing to remember is that for the $90 million he spent in the primaries, he only won in Michigan (his other wins were in caucuses). And it's not like every good conservative was even willing to financially support him -- he had to loan his own campain HALF of the funds he totalled. In other words, for a guy who (now) ticks all the right boxes to make a claim as the only conservative choice for the VP slot, he isn't all that popular. Which leaves...
7) Tom Ridge. Did you hear that? That was the nation collectively falling out of its La-Z-Boy with boredom. Look Tom Ridge might be a great guy -- I'm sure he'd be a great to have at a barbeque with McCain. And I probably agree with him on almost everything. But again -- it's not the issues, it's the individual. Put him on a ticket with McCain and you've got another old white guy -- and without the achievements or the name recognition. Let's see -- un-inspiring, un-accomplished and unknown...sounds way too safe. Let's hope McCain's camp doesn't make McCain play for par on this one.