I wanted McCain to pick Bobby Jindal as his running mate, but back in July it became clear that Jindal, who took office as Louisiana’s governor in January, intended to stay in Louisiana. Joe Lieberman would also have been a good choice. But all the indications are that the GOP has successfully steamrolled the fiercely independent John McCain into playing ball with the religious right. It looks as though he’ll be choosing Mitt Romney. Or maybe Tim Pawlenty. Either one will be poison for the Republican ticket. Either one will insure that the GOP loses the White House. The GOP theocrats have utterly underestimated the group of people who have stood by John McCain longer than anyone else—the irreligious independents, people who may believe in God but who certainly never wanted religion to become the focal point of any political campaign. One of the things that we have loved about McCain, and indeed the very thing that made us turn out in droves to support him during the Super Tuesday primary in February, is is stubborn refusal to be co-opted by the likes of Ralph Reed. If McCain picks Romney (or Pawlenty), he will send a clear signal to conservative-leaning independents that the GOP is pursuing business as usual and that the independents are of no concern—and that signal, this year in particular, would be a huge mistake. This election will be decided by independents and it will be decided largely on the basis of the presidential candidates’ vice presidential picks.
On Feb. 6, I walked over to my local coffee shop with a bounce in my step, extremely proud of a country that could produce two such impressive and honorable front-runners, John McCain and Barack Obama. The two of them, I have often said, would actually make the best ticket for America, a co-presidency of youthful hope and seasoned wisdom. Unfortunately, our political system doesn’t work that way. These two good men respect each other and that has been clear from the way they have gone about their campaigns. There really have not been the personal attacks that we have become used to seeing in our politics. I expect that to continue, not only because they’re both good guys, but because an attack wouldn’t work to either one’s advantage. Attacking an older person is in bad form, as is attacking a minority. That being said, this election will be won or lost on the VP pick. Obama’s pick of Biden was a terrible gaff. Joe Biden has chaired the foreign relations committee during a dark chapter in US foreign relations. He’s such an inept bugger that he voted against the first Gulf War, when America handily pushed Iraq out of Kuwait (he voted for the present Iraq war). The only way that McCain could fail to use Biden to his advantage would be to make a pick who’s even worse. Against all odds, it appears that he may do exactly that. Romney is too religious, he has absolutely no foreign policy experience whatsoever, and his wealth shows that he probably doesn’t have much in common with average voters. He’s also Mormon—and, since I was raised that way myself, I go into more detail about the problem with that in my column this week. To pick Romney is to insist on doing business as usual at a time when business as usual will not do the job. The religious right’s power has shrunk, the truth is there are more deists than evangelicals in this country and many of the evangelicals have gone over to Obama already. To pick Romney is to fail to appreciate the crucial power of independents in this year’s election. To pick Romney is to lose.
Lieberman would have been a good choice. In lieu of him, Tom Ridge will do.