I personally think if Obama picks a weak VP ...or a "milktoast" or inexperienced VP...

McCain will feel he can pick Ridge (a very familiar face to the American electorate) to go after PA, Ohio, NH and Virginia... even Michigan.

2 vets on a ticket with a lot of history...will define the race along security, foreign policy and experience...right where McCain wants it (never mind that everyone knows he wants to pick Ridge)...

...against Obama and "weak" looking VP will trump any issues from the right on abortion.

McCain and the Republicans offer this country nothing, absolutely nothing.

Why would he give a DAMN about abortion... he's a DEMOCRAT with and r next to his name. No wonder he and Hilliary are so chummy.

Abortion is a non-issue for a VP. And it is almost a non-issue for the President.

Abortion is protected because of the Supreme Court, and nothing a President or VP can do can override SCOTUS.

The President CAN appoint justices who will overrule Roe v. Wade, but that may or may not make abortion illegal. It would instead return the matter to the states, which could then enact local laws regulating abortion. The President would not be involved.

McCain has said, repeatedly, he would appoint strict constructionist justices similar to John Roberts. Roberts seems to be the type who would agree that there is no constitutional right to abortion and that the federal government has no articulated powers to regulate abortion.

It seems to be a good assumption that, should McCain have the opportunity to appoint justices, and should abortion be litigated again at SCOTUS, that Roe v. Wade would be overruled and each state would be free to enact its own abortion laws. Given the makeup of the nation, probably about 15 states would retain existing laws making most abortions legal with little or no regulation, while about 35 states would range from some regulations and late term bans to outright prohibition.

While that would not make all abortion illegal, it would be a drastic change in abortion policy nationwide, and would place America far more in-line with the thinking of Right to Life and other pro-life groups.

How McCain would hurt the pro-life movement by having Tom Ridge, who also supports justices like John Roberts, as VP, is beyond me. Ridge would have ZERO bearing on abortion policy in the nation. The issue is only being drummed up by hyper-partisan extremists on both ends of the spectrum. On the extreme pro-life side, we have the "anyone who is not 100% pro-life under all circumstances is the agent of the devil." On the other extreme side are the "we must stir up any controversy possible to keep those evil Republicans from getting along with each other" leftists.

The former believe Ridge is Satan because he is not 100% pro-life. Never mind the fact that he opposes partial birth abortion, opposes abortion as birth control, opposes abortion when it is not in the case of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother, opposes abortion without parental consent, and opposes travel to other states to avoid notification laws. He is not 100%, so he is the enemy.

The latter believes Ridge might be able to help McCain get elected. Therefore, they must do everything possible to rile up the pro-life base, making claims that Ridge is "too pro-choice" in order to disqualify him as a candidate.

We need to recognize both these extreme groups and eschew them from our political discourse. Ridge would be an excellent VP. He is highly competant and experienced and gets along great with McCain. He should be judged on his merits for the job, and not his irrelevant stance on abortion.

Tom Ridge ponders: Hmmmm. What could I say on national television that would guarantee that John McCain would lose a block of voters if he picked me for VP. I know! I'll say the entire ticket will be indifferent to their deeply held beliefs since my presence will more than make up for their votes.

Ridge and Hagel have the same problems: they don't think well on their feet; their speaking does not have fluidity; both sometimes give the impression of not being especially bright.

The last two Republican presidents have been pro-choice. The difference is that Ridge doesn't pretend otherwise.

It's interesting to watch the Republicans dodge and weave on the abortion issue. Bush owes both of his terms to the Religious Right; yet, I did not ever hear him propose a constitutional amendment banning all abortions in any of his State of the Union speeches. That is what the Religious Right wants, and that is the simplest way to ensure a national ban on all abortions. But don't hold your breath waiting for such action by the Republicans who use the RR to get elected.

A Republican naming a "pro choice" running mate dead-certain guarantees a Republican defeat in November.

Polls consistently show that Republicans win the portion of the electorate for whom abortion makes a difference. Of the portion of the electorate for whom abortion is the decisive issue regardless of anything else, Republicans dominate.

There are lots of people who would love to vote Democrat for many reasons, but reluctantly vote GOP solely for abortion.

There are also many more broadly conservative voters for whom abortion is a deal-breaker, and who will either stay at home, vote third party, or at the very least stop or limit donating, volunteering, and engaging in positive word of mouth to family and friends.

Sister Mary has it right, only she left out the Elephant in the room--illegal immigration. An active core of the conservative base, both Republican and Independent, is the Anti-Invasion wing. Juan McCain already is unnacceptable to them. Adding Mr. Open Borders and failed DHS Secretary Tom Ridge to the equation costs McCain the election, but not just on the abortion issue. Conservatives now are thinking "2012" as McCain will be too old to be a viable candidate for re-election. Ridge as VP would be the presumptive nominee, and no one in his/her right mind can see Ridge as President. He's an Open Borders pro-Amnesty RINO who couldn't deliver his state of PA to Bush in 2004. So all this talk about Ridge is likely a smokescreen as McCain would be committing political suicide by picking him.