Political Punch

1. Colin Powell - No question he is qualified on Day one and neutralizes the issue of the race or gender of the Dem nominee.
2. Condi Rice - See above. Downside: she ties McCain more closely to an unpopular president and war (which is a disqualifier in my opinion).
3. Joe Lieberman - Locks up the independent voter. Only works if McCain can motivate the conservative voters to come out to the polls (which is debatable unless Hillary is the nominee).
4. Mitt Romney - Successful, articulate and Hollywood good looks. If the economy is in trouble, his business acumen complements McCain's foreign policy credentials. Only problem is lots of people don't like him (maybe you can be too successful, articulate and good looking?).

I am very disappointed with Senator McCain’s association with Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman. What in the world is he thinking? Hasn’t anyone told him?

For those who may not remember or know, Fiorina was the C.E.O. of Hewlett Packard until 2005 when she was fired. Her most famous quote; No American has a God given right to a Job just because they were American. She fired tens of thousands of employees to then outsource jobs overseas. She managed to skip out of Lucent right before the Feds arrived and started the HP Boardroom investigation which connected to the scandal and the hostile culture she created at HP.

Whitman is currently embroiled in a boycott from the buyers and sellers who made eBay (a.k.a. greebay, feepay) successful. Seems like they want to have a cleansing of their members. The boycott calls for no buying or selling and the evacuating from eBay by May 1, 2008. The most recent faux pax is the conflicting story given for what many called ‘mystery auction listings’ mysteriously from the Shopping dot com site (sdc). Explanations started as a glitch in the system, changed to limited test that ran its course, changed to accident and back to a test. The SEC should love this investigation. Keep in mind, eBay’s stocks have been steadily sagging and Wall Street measures eBay based on listings. Can’t forget the current Paypal lawsuit; eBay has tied PayPal to be the only means one can buy/sell on eBay which violates the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

Fiorina and Whitman’s involvement with the Senator will surely guarantee a Democratic victory but then again both want to be the Governor of California so their motives are, usual for them, self serving.

Romney, Giuliani, or Bloomberg would all work for McCain if he intends to take California. Any of the other named VP hopefuls will not. McCain will need someone who is well-vetted and already on the national stage, like Romney, or Giuliani, with no real skeletons coming out in the last minutes of the election. Also, McCain needs a VP that will pull the Party together and be able to raise funds of which all three mentioned above can. Romney has also won the Mid-West which is important to McCain if he is to win. Romney won Minnesota, Colorado, Michigan, North Dakota and would have won Wisconsin if he had not have withdrawn from the race. Giuliani gave McCain California, New York, and other North Eastern states, also important to McCain. Bloomberg would also most likely give McCain some of the North Eastern states and provide considerable means of monies that McCain also needs badly. Any one of the three can help with economy which seems to be the most important part of this election and will likely become more important as the year extends into November. As one Republican Governor said: "We have to reenergize our conservative movement ... great leaders and passionate leaders but we need to get some reinforcements in there because it feels to me a little tired. We got to reenergize it.", Romney has energized much of the Republican base. It was Romney that drove a record Republican turnout in Minnesota. Minnesota's Governor looked a "little tired" to the Republican base, and gave McCain nothing. Go Romney, Good-bye Pawlenty, it is clear your star has fallen into the reality of your mean-spirited nature.

If McCain picks immigrant-basher Romney, he can kiss the latino vote good-bye.

Even Huckabee would be better.

Elizabeth Dole would be an intriguing choice... although they may both need VP's themselves... or at leas wheelchairs. They could probably put that on their campaign buttons! But at least she would be a good, respectable choice.

If McCain picks immigrant-basher Romney, he can kiss the latino vote good-bye.

Even Huckabee would be better.

Elizabeth Dole would be an intriguing choice... although they may both need VP's themselves... or at leas wheelchairs. They could probably put that on their campaign buttons! But at least she would be a good, respectable choice.

If John McCain wants to win
he must win Ohio,
all things being equal.
John Kasich is the best choice for
his running mate,I think.
This election will be close
razor thin many feel,maybe won on the margins.

I like Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She's a successful businesswoman and strengthens Senator McCain's bona fides. She is on his campaign committee and has campaigned with him on the trail, even answering questions on the economy in McCain's town hall meetings. Why do we need another politician anyway?

Mitt Romney would make an excellent VP. He understands the economy and how to fix it. He could help make the US competitive again. We are electing a CEO and co CEO to run one of the largest organizations in the world with a annual budget of a couple of Trillion of dollars. It makes sense that we would put petty views aside and elect the most experienced CEO's -- ones who have managed billions of dollars before.

All I can say is that Romney would add greatly to a McCain ticket. If McCain wants any chance of winning the West or Northeast (ie swing states) he'll need Romney. Plus with Romney as VP, he can finally prove to conservatives he's worth voting for.

well, choose a business guy..how about Louis Gerstner, ex-ibm? i think he's a republican.

if he picks Condi Rice, I predict this country will be destroyed. Those of you wanting him to pick Condi because of race and sex are pushing the very same thing that you claim to hate. Shame on you

McCain was my choice at first, but he is starting to look like bush all over again. If he picks Rice, it is all over for him. As an Independent, I want to see a real centrist with a vision and a plan of action. Currently, I don't see either party having anything. Today was the first time Clinton spoke about taxing oil profits. She won me over!

After the amount of acrimony exchanged between those two???

Picking is one thing, getting an acceptance is another.

McCain has to find someone who doesn't mind being on a losing ticket AND having to assume the usual VP role: playing 'attack dog' (there's that dog thing again!) against the opposition. Assuming that's Obama, it means finding the equivalent of someone willing to publicly steal from widows and orphans. Romney may be the only one narrow-visioned enough to not see it's a poisoned chalice.

Good night and good luck.

For this election cycle, I really think that the choice of a middle-aged white guy will be the kiss of death. Further, given that this election does seem to be about change, to have any chance of attracting the media's attention some degree of diversity (a woman, a minority, etc.) will be necessary. If you notice, Sen. McCain is in the news very little these days. Given the fund raising ability of Sen. Obama (or Hillary if she manages to steal it from him), McCain will be at a definite disadvantage. If Sen. Clinton is Not the Dem. choice, there would probably be a substantial % of disappointed female voters who would be willing to look to a centrist woman VP choice. Possible choices might be: Gov. Palin, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Colin Powell, Condi Rice, Sen. Hutchinson.

To make McCain a sure win, he
must persuade Conde Rice to
be his running mate: this would
overwhelming neutralize the
opposition. And she has the
qualifications, gender, color,
and good looks to make
everyone happy.

Colin Powell All the way!!!

Bloomberg would be the best leader on the economy and ideally complement McCain's strength on national defense.

He should pick Meg Whitman. Her legislative record is about as thick as Obama's record.

Michael Bloomberg would be a wise choice in my opinion. He would bring a ton of campaign resources with him to the ticket and it would put New York in play for McCain.

I listened to Pres. Bush speak today with a stance that promotes free trade. I voted for the man and have defended his positions many times. When I look around me, I see factories closed, gas prices rising, food prices sky rocket because of the alternate fuel projects. Has no one noticed that a pound of butter is $4.79 this past week? Meanwhile I notice politicians becoming very rich from service to our country. Whether it is a mayor of a city, a governor of a state, a judge (family, supreme or appellate), a congressman or a president, they greatly increase their personal wealth from personal deals made in office. I travel around the country and see cities like Rochester, NY reduced to vacant lots as they demolish what was once Kodak, a major employer now reduced to rubble. This situation is repeated across the country. Pres. Bush said reeducation is the key to this dilema. My son is in technology in Massachusetts. They are outsourcing his company to Brazil. Congress reponds to this oozing of jobs by awarding defense contracts to foreign countries. Meanwhile the kickbacks and private deals make them rich while they promise us the world such as Hillary Clinton is doing. I am a non believer in any politician holding my interest as primary in their agenda. We furnish them homes, clothing, protection, a good wage, expense accounts and the best food and booze money can bye. They repay us with betrayal.

Meanwhile fuel prices sky rocket to "nudge" americans and ecologist to back off on protecting lands in Alaska or air quality. Pres Bush used this in todays speach. Leverage is a great tactic in business, but this leverage is impacting families in a critical way. Politicians know this and laugh as they "control" the pressure. They try to make us believe that markets cannot be manipulated. That may have been true in history, but not today. Not with corporate trades and institutional trading. I hear the common man cry out for help. I hear the rhetoric of politics. No one is protecting the people. I am ashamed of my congress and my president. Coolridge, WV

Ted, speaking as a woman, I doubt playboy McCain would pick one, and if he did, I seriously doubt any woman with a smidgen of self-respect would take it.

It's probably never going to happen, but I think Joseph Liberman would be a good VP candidate. I don't think there's that much of a difference in their views and it would certainly say that McCain can reach across party lines.

Condoleezza Rice

How about Elizabeth Dole?

Although she isnt as frequently mentioned as others have, Dole has the reliably conservative voting record that would appease the conservative branch of the party , she has extensive legislative and executive experience (in the cabinets of Reagan and Bush 41, president of the American Red Cross during the '90s, briefly ran for president in 2000, and has been in the U.S. Senate since 2003), and as a woman would attract some voters to a McCain-Dole ticket that otherwise would not be reachable.

Does Romney have a thing about dogs? First we hear about him transporting his dog in a car-top carrier on an 8-hour trip, then he sings "Who Let the Dogs Out?" at a Florida MLK parade, now it's Democrats-as-chihuahuas.

I'm just saying....

Christine Whitman would be a horrible choice- conservatives despise her, and she is forever linked to the questionable decisions concerning the air around Ground Zero.

Huckabee would also be a terrible choice. He is not an economic conservative, and McCain needs to shore up his economic credentials.

The perfect choice is Christopher Cox, the chairman of the SEC and former congressman from California. He has it all- a true conservative, economic expertise, brilliant (joint Harvard degrees in business and law), telegenic, handsome, and much younger than McCain. A perfect fit!

Daniel - Well said. Our two choices are welfarism or warfarism. Choose wisely! Both will cost us an arm and a leg.

This country is going downhill no matter who gets picked now. Obama/Hilary will spend all our money on the poor, McCain will spend it all on the war. The American people must wake up and vote for Ron Paul in 2012. For all Romney lovers, he is a total jerk. He would not shake my hand working as a security guard at his presidential HQ in Boston. He destests low income people, and pays them minimum wage in his low quality pizza chain, Dominoes. Do you think he would make a good vice President?

I personally would like to see Colin Powell be a part of this administration. Whether as VP, Secretary of Defense or some other job.
He is a man of integrity and highly respected by most if not all American

Mike Huckabee is the only choice that will help McCain win in November. If the evangelical base is ignored in the VP pick, they will not turn out in the numbers needed to secure victory. The national security cons and social cons, the Southern states, plus a smattering of independents and a decent percent of Hispanic and working class voters, are the key to winning. This coalition is only possible with Huckabee as VP, and any other selection will loose the election.

If McCain partners with Romney - he has lost my vote!

I am a Ron PauL supporter also, but I will vote for Sen. McCain if he chooses Gov. Romney as his Vice President. It's the most intelligent choice, and I hope the Senator is smart enough to make it.

(Heard that he, Sen. McCain, has supported the French Airbus over Boeing in a new defense contract. If this is true, I definitely would not vote for him...and I hope to heavens it's a rumor...need to ascertain...does anyone know? I've been too caught up in the 19th century to check in the last few days)...Thanks

Colin Powell would be my choice, if he would do it.

The answer is obvious!

Christine Todd Whitman

What a smart idea it would be to have Mitt as VP. For those voters who examine qualifications, it is apparent that we must select the individuals with the most experience in each of the major concerns.. defense of the country, economics, and decreasing government growth. As far as flip flopping...have those who criticize Mitt ever changed their minds once they have more information?

jerry - As my name would indicate, I like Ron Paul, but Paul and McCain are at odds on way too many issues. A tied up executive branch would be a godsend after what we have had for the last 7+ years. Less secrecy and a reduction of carte blanche power would be a good thing. Imagine McCain wanting to go to war with Iran, and Paul slapping him back down to earth.

He should pick Ron Paul.

Mike Huckabee for VP!

I THINK WE SHOULD START ALL OVER AGAIN, CLEAN OFF THIS SHEET, AND RE-NEW OUR CHOICES, WE AS AMERICANS NEED A BETTER CHOICE THAT THE HAS BEENS AND WOULD BEE'S THAT WE NOW HAVE, IT'S A SHAME. ARTIE

McCain/Hillary '08---i like the sound of that...lol

Hillary would make an excellent VP for McCain....that's a suggestion.

After McCain's 100 years in Iraq comment, he stands no chance against the democratic challenger. This will be a complete blowout.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin -- read up on her -- is by farrrrr the best VEEP choice for McCain!

(Second best choice would be Romney.)

I don't know if he's interested, but I think Colin Powell would be a very shrewd choice for VP. He's well-liked and respected, he's both African-American and a New Yorker which steals some thunder from both Hilary and Obama, and he seems to be considered more of a victim of the Bush administration than a willing participant for some reason.

Wow, you mean the two most liberal "Republicans" (Insane McCain AND Flip-flop Mitt) against war hawk Hilliary. Talk about an easy mark. My god somebody must be smiling on the Democrats.