ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Sen. John McCain has begun "getting together a list of names" to choose a vice presidential running mate and said Wednesday he hopes to announce his choice before the Republican convention in early September.
"I'd like to get it done as early as possible. I'm aware of enhanced importance of this issue given my age," said the Arizona senator, 71.
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McCain told reporters his search for a running mate would take weeks if not months. At the prompting of aides, he said it was at an "embryonic stage" and added, "it's every name imaginable," about 20 in all.
He said his campaign had asked unnamed individuals to lead the effort, but had not heard back from them.
There is nothing new that the McCain campaign is compiling a list of running mates here. But what is interesting are some of the names that could be on the list. According to MSNBC News:
McCain has given no hint of his thinking on a running mate, although he frequently speaks warmly of his former rivals for the nomination, particularly former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who traveled with the nominee-in-waiting last week. Among the other possible choices are several governors: Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, Florida's Charlie Crist, Mississippi's Haley Barbour, South Carolina's Mark Sanford and Utah's Jon Huntsman Jr.
It's also possible that McCain could take a non-traditional route by looking to the business sector. For instance, he holds Frederick Smith, the head of FedEx, in high regard and frequently praises him. Another name that's been floated is Rob Portman of Ohio, a former congressman who was one of President Bush's budget directors.
There are two areas that McCain is going to need help with when choosing a running mate. The first is that this running mate will need to have strong economic credentials--considering that McCain has admitted that he doesn't know squat about economics. And since the U.S. is heading into a recession, McCain can allow his running mate to address the economic issues, while McCain addresses the issues of foreign policy, defense issues, and the Iraq war. The second item for McCain to consider when choosing a running mate is the support of the Religious Right. Even though John McCain has cinched the Republican nomination, he was never really a strong choice for the evangelical conservatives--they gravitated toward Mike Huckabee. Even now, I would say that the Religious Right still considers John McCain to be simply pandering for their votes, rather than actually believing in their extreme religious ideology. And what may be a very close election between an energized Democratic base, an unpopular GOP president, and a dejected Republican base, John McCain may just need every conservative and evangelical voter to vote for him in the general election--the last thing the McCain campaign will want is to have the evangelical vote stay home. So McCain is going to need to make amends with the Religious Right. And one way to do so is to select a running mate that is acceptable to the religious conservatives.
And this brings us with some interesting names here. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney certainly has the economic credentials to be McCain's vice presidential nominee. However Romney is not liked among the evangelical conservatives because of his Mormon faith. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is certainly popular among the religious conservatives, but his economic message was too populist and certainly not well received among the top GOP party officials. And we have a number of GOP governors' names being tossed around--Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, Florida's Charlie Crist, Mississippi's Haley Barbour, South Carolina's Mark Sanford and Utah's Jon Huntsman Jr. More than likely, these names are being tossed out by the McCain campaign in order to gauge public reaction to these potential choices.
One final factor that needs to be addressed regarding McCain's running mate. If John McCain is elected president, he will 72 years old when he is sworn into the Oval Office. Ronald Reagan was 70 when he took office back in 1980. Whoever the running mate will be, that running mate will have to be young enough to potentially finish out a President McCain's current term, if McCain dies in office, and still be able to run for two more consecutive presidential terms. And even if McCain does remain in office for two terms, he will step down at the age of 80, potentially leaving a whole new presidential race up for grabs with two new political party candidates. A McCain running mate will need to be young enough to serve through two McCain terms, and still be electable for his/her own two presidential terms. So it is an interesting situation to consider.
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