John McCain's Potential Vice President Picks

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The last vice presidential nod goes out today, and political watchers are watching former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romey, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and Florida Governor Charlie Crist. So which ones are good ideas, and which are bad ideas?

Arizona Senator John McCain has through next week, really, to get his poll numbers safely on top of his opponent's, Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

Why?

Because this is tantamount to running up the score in the third quarter of a football game, before being forced to pull out your starters for the 4th with public financing rules kicking in for McCain on September 8th. And one way he can do that is with a solid VP pick.

So let's dive in.

What about Mitt Romney?

Good Idea

McCain said it himself, he's no pro on the economy. But Romney is commonly viewed by voters to be more of an economic machine, and would certainly complement McCain's knowledge base. Not to mention he's a very presidential looking guy and would give Delaware Senator and Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden a few heavy punches in the VP debate.

However, Romney has also given McCain a verbal beating during the Republican primaries, just like Biden did to Obama. So if it's Romney, look for those Biden ads of McCain's to disappear, or look for Obama to return the favor.

How about Joe Lieberman?

Bad Idea

Absolutely. Frankly, I think the only reason Lieberman is even talked about is because he's always standing behind McCain wherever he goes. Lieberman only agrees with Republicans on two things: 1. They generally like McCain as a person and 2. Iraq.

Everything else, well, let's just say they don't see eye to eye, and would kill turnout of McCain's Republican base, which is something he can't afford in an election season where he's already heavily handicapped by bookmakers.

What about Tim Pawlenty?

Bad Idea

Though he's the runner-up in current polling about the VP pick, Pawlenty is a lightweight, and would completely undermine McCain's core "experience" message. Pawlenty has never won a majority in his governor's races, and, instead, squeaked by in a pair of 3-ways.

So then, how about Charlie Crist?

Good Idea

Though he's not as big a heavy-hitter as Romney, Crist is a popular governor in a state McCain needs to lock down, and this would certainly do it.

That being said, though, his Intrade stock has dropped fast, Romney looks like the winner, though I already got the Democratic pick wrong. But at least we won't have to wait long.

Probably just an hour or two.

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