McCain-Lieberman?

The Comeback Codger is playing coy.

Comments

[Sandy Underpants]

I believe it was Alisissydair who said something a couple days ago on this very blog about the economy being fine.

"Inflation up by largest amount in 17 years in 2007".

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080116/economy.html?.v=8

The economy is in great shape though. Go back to sleep.

[Joe Loy]

General John may be playing it Coy but I kindof suspect that ~ all things Considered, under the ever-evolving Circumstances, things Being what they have Become and so on and So forth :} ~ if the offer Were to be made, Saint Joe might just Jump at it in a New Haven Minute. :>

Nor could I claim to Blame him. (After all, a guy can honestly tell some Blogger that "I think I've gotten the National Bug out of my system" but still be subject to an unexpected Relapse. :)

[Anonymous Hoosier]

Alas, given the state of the Republican party these days, I fear that even if Sen. McCain has some sweeping primary wins and runs away with the delegate count, were he to announce Sen. Lieberman as his VP candidate at the convention, there would be a revolt.

Best reason to root for Sen. Obama that I know of is because it makes the Republicans more likely to accept McCain-Lieberman.

[Brendan]

Best reason to root for Sen. Obama that I know of is because it makes the Republicans more likely to accept McCain-Lieberman.

I don't understand this point, Hoosier, can you explain? In my mind, a Hillary victory makes the GOP more likely to rally around whoever their ticket is (McCain-Lieberman, Huckabee-Romney, Jesus-Mohammed, whatever), simply because they'll want to defeat her so badly. Whereas I think if Obama were the nominee, more GOP voters would be willing to bolt for a third party (or just not show up on election day) and take the risk of electing Obama. Do you think I'm wrong, and that they'd be more anti-Obama than anti-Hillary, or is your train of thought something different altogether than I'm missing?

[Derek]

I don't see what Lieberman would bring to the ticket. Another centrist hawkish Senator? I suppose he can help in New England, but really, Lieberman's appeal almost entirely overlaps with McCain's appeal. McCain would need someone with deeper conservative credentials to rouse the base, significantly younger to allay age concerns, and possibly with executive experience. Huckabee, Pawlenty, and Coburn all fit many of those needs. McCain's doesn't need to attract moderates in the general election, because he already does that; he'd need to attract conservatives where he might face a revolt.

Brendan, in response to your point, I think many Republicans I've talked to are in rhetoric more anti-Clinton but in substance more anti-Obama--Obama has a far more liberal policy record, has far more skepticism of the "war on terror" concept, and far less experience. While the anti-Clinton crowd has gotten most of the popular play over the last decade or so, I think the tune would change should Obama become the nominee. That said, Obama's disarming personality and charm may not result in quite the same quantum of vitriol, or, indeed, the same quantum of criticism, but I think the typical Republican voter would be significantly more opposed to Obama's positions but slightly less inclined actually to oppose him.

[Mad Max, Esquire]

If John McCain picks Lieberman for his running mate I believe a big percentage of hard-core Republicans will stay home on election day. Many of them think the McCain isn't a true Conservative already. This will just reinforce it in their minds.

[Brian Foster]

Concur with Derek and Max. The only way McCain picks Lieberman is if a) he fails to get the GOP nomination, and b) he decides to run as an independent. While a) is quite possible, b) almost certainly is not.

On the other hand, if McCain were to win the general, I would not be a bit surprised if he asked Lieberman to join the Cabinet. SecDef, perhaps?

[Alasdair]

Sandy Underpants - perhaps you might try considering sending the URL to Brendan as a tip, a suggestion for a new topic, rahther than trying to hijack the McCain/Lieberman posting ...

Of course, when Brendan looked at the article, he would probably notice what escaped you ...

1) It's by the AP - hence of dubious provenance ...
2) Its headline doesn't match/agree with the content ...
3) Indeed, the text in the article explicitly contradicts the few words you cherry-picked from the misleading/inaccurate headline ...

Apart from that, Sandy U, 'tis surely up to *your* fine journalistic standards ...


And now, we apologise for the momentary straying off-topic, and we return you back to the relevant topical comments ...

[Anonymous Hoosier]

Brendan - I predict that regardless of who gets the Republican nomination -- including McCain -- the early polls will show a significant Obama lead that is fueled by enthusiasm among independent/crossover voters, as we can expect the "new politics" and "end to partisanship" rhetoric to be ramped up. (This assumes that Obama whips Hillary on Feb. 5 and pretty quickly clinches the nomination).

In that scenario, with McCain as the nominee, the odds are that he goes one of two ways: to someone who will really motivate the base, or to someone who can blunt Obama's message, i.e. the unity ticket.

With Sen. McCain, I would bet on the latter. But don't rule out the convention revolt!