Now that John McCain has the Republican presidential nomination sewn up, speculation turns to his VP choice.
Mitt Romney seems to be actively campaigning for it, but that’s really been Mitt’s problem all along. He seems to want it too much. There’s nothing wrong with ambition, but the American public is turned off by someone who is so openly consumed with getting to the presidency. Mitt is obviously capable enough, he just strikes me as that guy in high school who always wanted to be class president and campaigned a little too much on his own behalf. What we’re really looking for is a bit of a reluctant candidate.
Everyone had all but written Condi Rice off because she had rebuffed any overtures of running for president. However, Dan Senor, a Republican strategist, revealed on ABC’s “This Week” that Condi is actively pursuing the second spot. He used the word “campaigning,” but that may be a little strong. Condi Rice doesn’t strike me as someone who would campaign to be chosen for anything. However, Senor broaching her name brings up a very interesting proposition.
Most pundits are looking to Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota or Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina as possible McCain running mates. The problem with those two is name recognition. Of course, once you’re in the spotlight name recognition can come pretty quickly, but not the comfort level the Republicans need.
Why does the VP matter this year when it hasn’t really mattered since the JFK/LBJ ticket? Well, this year and this candidate are very different. For starters, McCain, if elected, will be the oldest person ever elected to the office in the first term. Although age certainly translates into experience, especially when compared to Barack Obama, it is still a factor in the minds of the American voters. What if something happens to John McCain? Who will be there to take charge? Do the voters want a relative unknown or someone who’s been in the public eye for 8 years? Condi has the foreign policy experience that gives the public a high comfort level should she have to take over.
Yes, she’s inextricably tied to the war, but I think in a good way. She’s not associated with the foibles and missteps that President Bush has made, but is seen as someone who wants to win and get out.
Geographically, she helps McCain being from Birmingham. Naturally, being black and being a woman blunts either or both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama being on the Democrat ticket. Her father was a minister in Birmingham and one of her best friends was killed in the infamous Birmingham church bombing at the height of the civil rights struggle.
She is a determined and accomplished woman who not only represents the country well on the world stage, but can speak for blacks and women, not from a position of being a victim, but from a position of confidence and self-assuredness. To my knowledge, she doesn’t attend a church where the preacher hates white folks and wants to turn America into a socialist nation. I don’t believe she’s ever lied about coming under sniper fire or has made obscene amounts of money in cattle futures. She, in fact, may be too clean for American politics but that, in and of itself, would be refreshing. The short list for the VP is actually quite lengthy but it would behoove John McCain to chunk that list if Condi comes calling. A more solid running mate he will not find and she’s someone who’s ready to be president on Day One.
Phil Valentine is an author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host with Westwood One. For more of his commentary and articles, visit philvalentine.com.
