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McCain weighs a Lieberman surprise
2008-08-19
John McCain is seriously considering choosing a pro-abortion-rights running mate despite vocal resistance from conservatives, with former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) very much in the mix, close McCain advisers say. Muzi.com News 10076775-0 (muzi.com) Under strong consideration: former Pennsylvania Republican Gov. Tom Ridge, and Lieberman, who was Al Gore's running mate in 2000. Muzi.com News 10076775-1 (muzi.com) Multiple GOP sources say that party officials in Washington and in the states have been contacted by the McCain campaign in the past two weeks and asked about the fallout from such a choice. One person familiar with the calls said the party was being instructed to prepare for different candidate prototypes — including one in the mold of Lieberman, who is an independent but still caucuses with the Democrats. Muzi.com News 10076775-2 (muzi.com) One obstacle for Lieberman may be legal. A GOP official said that since he is not a Republican, Lieberman may have a challenge being certified on some state ballots. Muzi.com News 10076775-3 (muzi.com) But GOP sources say McCain and his close friend Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) still haven't given up hope on making what some believe would be a game-changing decision by tapping Lieberman. Muzi.com News 10076775-4 (muzi.com) Lieberman's office declined to discuss the topic. “Those questions are best left to the McCain campaign at this time," said Erika Masonhall, Lieberman's Senate press secretary. Muzi.com News 10076775-5 (muzi.com) Ridge also appears to still be on the short list, GOP sources say. McCain likes the fact that Ridge is a Vietnam War hero with a working-class background. Ridge worked in the White House as Bush's homeland security adviser before becoming Secretary of Homeland Security, and could help McCain with his further reform of the nation's intelligence apparatus. Muzi.com News 10076775-6 (muzi.com) “He's McCain's kind of guy," said a close friend of the candidate. Muzi.com News 10076775-7 (muzi.com) McCain, who in the past had said it would be hard to choose a supporter of abortion rights, told Steve Hayes of The Weekly Standard last week that he would not rule it out. Muzi.com News 10076775-8 (muzi.com) One source close to the campaign who is sympathetic to such a plan sketched out a scenario in which Lieberman was the choice. Muzi.com News 10076775-9 (muzi.com) “First, if your instinct is to run on experience, it doesn't hurt to have a vice president who's got it, too," said this source, a conservative. Muzi.com News 10076775-10 (muzi.com) But more than that, according to this source, picking Lieberman would dramatically support McCain's theme that he puts “country first" above all else. Muzi.com News 10076775-11 (muzi.com) “It would fit well into the narrative of his not having any politics in the White House," said the source. “No more Dick Morris, no more Karl Rove — we're governing here. It's an easy, natural message for McCain and it implies a one-term pledge without actually saying it." Muzi.com News 10076775-12 (muzi.com) As for the inevitable blowback from the right, this person acknowledged the convention would be “a messy week," representing a “shock to the system of a pro-life party." Muzi.com News 10076775-13 (muzi.com) But would it be worth it? “The question is: On Sept. 15 or 25, is he in better shape or not?" the source asked. Muzi.com News 10076775-14 (muzi.com) McCain allies are hopeful that the candidate's strong statement on abortion Saturday night at Rick Warren's California church could assuage any concerns from the right-to-life community about what a supporter of abortion rights on the ticket would mean. Muzi.com News 10076775-15 (muzi.com) “I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies," McCain said at Saddleback. “That's my commitment; that's my commitment to you." Muzi.com News 10076775-16 (muzi.com) Others in the party — including several veterans of President Bush's past campaigns — say such a choice would be untenable and are dreading the prospect of what Lieberman, or perhaps even Ridge,would mean to a base that is already less than enthusiastic about McCain. Muzi.com News 10076775-17 (muzi.com) “Lieberman would blow things up," said the American Conservative Union's David Keene. “That would be like Obama picking some right-winger that agrees with him on one thing." Muzi.com News 10076775-18 (muzi.com) As for the convention, Keene said Lieberman's selection would set off some sort of “protest" among the party's rank and file. Tapping Ridge, Keene said, wouldn't be as bad, but would still “overshadow" St. Paul. Muzi.com News 10076775-19 (muzi.com) Already, one website has begun a petition aimed at dissuading McCain from tapping a supporter of abortion rights. Muzi.com News 10076775-20 (muzi.com) “Please keep Senator McCain and his key advisers in your prayers as he nears a decision on his VP pick, and please sign the petition and pass on to like-minded pro-lifers," Billy Valentine, a young Republican and former supporter of Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback's presidential bid, writes above the petition on “Catholics for McCain." Muzi.com News 10076775-21 (muzi.com) Muzi.com News 10076775-22 (muzi.com) Muzi.com News 10076775-23 (muzi.com) Muzi.com News 10076775-24 (muzi.com) Other Republican regulars, speaking anonymously so as not to anger the party's nominee, warn of the consequences. Muzi.com News 10076775-25 (muzi.com) Another well-placed Republican official who is in regular contact with McCain's campaign predicted a contentious gathering in St. Paul. Muzi.com News 10076775-26 (muzi.com) “You will not have a unanimous vote at the convention, that much I can tell you," said this source. “There will be some blowback." Muzi.com News 10076775-27 (muzi.com) Many leading conservatives have strongly pushed back on McCain's suggestion that he might choose a pro-choice running mate. Muzi.com News 10076775-28 (muzi.com) For the third day in a row, talk radio guru Rush Limbaugh castigated the idea Tuesday on his radio show, saying the mainstream media — “the drive-by media," in his parlance — is enthralled by the idea. Muzi.com News 10076775-29 (muzi.com) “The drive-bys are just hoping for it, because they know the base will totally turn on McCain if this is the case," Limbaugh said. “If he picks a pro-choice running mate, it's not going to be pretty, and the drive-bys know it." Muzi.com News 10076775-30 (muzi.com) “The question is how to get the message to McCain," he said. "You don't get in McCain's face and say, ‘Don't do it.' That's a dumb thing to do. [You have to say something like] ‘Sen. McCain, we know you're smart … and we know you don't want to lose.'" Muzi.com News 10076775-31 (muzi.com) The answer to what McCain is thinking could come soon. Republicans were told that barring a change, McCain plans to appear with his pick at an arena in Dayton, Ohio, on Aug. 29 — a week from Friday, and the day after Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination in a Denver stadium. Muzi.com News 10076775-32 (muzi.com) Campaign advisers said Obama's performance is likely to be so strong they think it will “scare" Republicans, and they're eager to change the conversation to their own No. 2 the next morning. Muzi.com News 10076775-33 (muzi.com) Obama is likely to make his pick this Friday, Saturday or Sunday, according to advisers. But they warned it could come any time. Muzi.com News 10076775-34 (muzi.com) ALSO DRIVING THE VEEP CONVERSATION: Muzi.com News 10076775-35 (muzi.com) • Tom Ridge gets hit from back home, as Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, says the GOP would not accept a vice president who supports abortion rights. Muzi.com News 10076775-36 (muzi.com) Gramley: “The last time I checked [there] was still…a pro-life plan in the platform, so he needs to do some research, I believe, in where his party stands on the issue of life." Muzi.com News 10076775-37 (muzi.com) • Obama hasn't notified his future running mate of his decision. Muzi.com News 10076775-38 (muzi.com) • The Associated Press reports Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is headed East this weekend on what looks like one more leg of a veep audition tour, heading to Ohio and Pennsylvania to stump for McCain. Muzi.com News 10076775-39 (muzi.com)
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