Free Republic

(This is the sixth Veepstakes article. Already profiled have been Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Ohio Rep. Rob Portman and Rep. Paul Ryan.) A former lieutenant governor tapped to run for Vice President two years after losing a U.S. Senate race? the idea seems outlandish. But, sure enough, Michael Steele -- Maryland's lieutenant governor, the state’s second-highest elected official from 2002-06 -- is quite often mentioned on lists of potential running mates for John McCain. And to those who point to Steele's 55%-to-45% loss to Democrat Ben Cardin in Maryland's nationally...

While Democrats duel, the unofficial Republican nominee considers a vice president. John McCain should start by asking what he needs. The admiral’s son fits two legs of his own party’s three-legged stool: foreign policy (zinging terrorism) and economic (scoring spending). Alas, he is out to sea with social and cultural conservatives, the one group without which national Republicans once routinely lost, and will surely lose again. According to a new Pew Research Forum poll, 44 percent of the electorate terms itself “born-again.” Politically, these Christian, mostly Protestant, evangelicals are the Republican Party’s largest block: 35 percent of George W. Bush’s...

Alan Keyes on short list to become John McCain VP pick for the Republican ticket. McCain camp will not deny.

Right Wing News emailed more than 230 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a ranked list of 1-5 people they'd most like to see as John McCain's Vice-President and the 1-5 people they'd least like to see as John McCain's Vice-President. Representatives from the following 45 blogs responded... The Anchoress, Argghhhh!, AtlanticBlog, The Baseball Crank, Blonde Sagacity, Bluey Blog, Boi From Troy, Bookworm Room, Classical Values, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, The Club For Growth Blog, Conservative Grapevine, Damian Penny, Drumwaster's Rants, Elocutio, Eternity Road, Musings, Fetching Jen, Cassy Fiano, Fraters Libertas, GraniteGrok, GayPatriot, IMAO, Jeff Gannon - A Voice...

I have done three searches and have found no discussion of this. Surely there have been some 'leaks' or 'trial balloons floated'.

ABCNews’ Mary Bruce Reports: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is actively courting the Vice Presidential nomination, according to Republican Strategist Dan Senor. “Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this,” Senor said this morning on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” According to Senor, Rice has been cozying up to the Republican elite. “There's this ritual in Washington, the Americans for Tax Reform, which is headed by Grover Norquist, he holds a weekly meeting of conservative leaders, about 100, 150 people, sort of inside, chattering, class types,” Senor explained. “They all typically get briefings from political conservative...

When, and if, it comes time to look for a running mate, Barack Obama will be looking for "somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not an expert on.'' This was the senator's word at a closed-door fundraiser last night in San Francisco, the Huffington Post reports. Obama fielded a question on what he's looking for in a running mate, HuffPo''s Mayhill Flower writes. "I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on," the senator is quoted as saying. "I think a lot of people assume that might be...

"John McCain won the Republican presidential primaries by running as a pro-life Reagan Republican, committed to low taxes and a strong defense. We assume that he will therefore pick a running mate who shares these views and whom conservatives can eagerly support. We assume, as well, that he is more interested in winning the White House than in redefining the Republican party, and will not try to make the party platform reflect each of his views. Should McCain’s judgment err in these respects, however, conservatives will not be powerless. Securing the vice-presidential nomination requires a majority of delegates to the...

Former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney continues to lead the GOPNation.com Vp Stakes poll, which ends on Sunday. Readers are asked to pick their top choices from a list of sixteen possible candidates. Beginning next week, the poll will be revised so that the top eight choices move onto the second round. To date, just over 9500 votes have been cast. The top three: Romney (2459), Michael Huckabee (1492) and Condi Rice (1416). Vote Today!

On WLS-AM radio in Chicago, the Don Wade and Roma show played audio of TV segment where Condi Rice's physical shape was discussed and they said she can do 40 push-ups. Anyone have this video? Seems Condi is realy pushing herself for the VP slot.

An analysis of possible McCain running mates, in three parts (but I don't think I can put all three links in the "Source URL" box): "The Conservatives" (discussed are Portman, Pence, and Cox) "The Rivals" (discussed are Thompson, Huckabee, and Romney) "The Governors" (discussed are Crist, Sanford, and Pawlenty)

SENATOR MCCAIN MULLS RUNNING MATES – Political Satire UPee (Arizona) – Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP Presidential nominee is in the process of choosing a running mate. However, at Senator McCain’s age, a walking mate might be a better choice than a running mate. “I don’t run as fast as I used to, but I’d still like to pick a running mate who can keep up with me. Just because my name happens to have the word ‘cane’ in it, does not mean that I’m too old and that I use one.” McCain said during a Town Hall...

Despite saying she wants to return to Stanford University, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has let it be known in Republican circles that she would consider running for vice president if asked. One source told Newsmax that she expressed interest in the possibility when Rudy Giuliani was running for president. Another source said she has more recently let her interest be known discreetly within top Republican circles, presumably including John McCain�s camp. Fueling speculation that she would consider being on the ticket, Rice appeared for the first time this week at the so-called Wednesday meeting run by Grover Norquist, president...

...At the close of the Clinton administration, Richardson signed on as a senior managing director with Kissinger McLarty Associates, the advisory firm formed by Henry Kissinger and former Clinton chief of staff Mack McLarty, and promptly joined the boards of three large oil companies: Houston-based Diamond Offshore Drilling, a company once run by George Herbert Walker Bush; Denver-based Venoco; and Valero, North America's largest independent refinery. Until recently, Richardson held Valero stock worth between $100,001 and $250,000 and options valued between $250,001 and $500,000, according to disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission. He divested himself of his stake in...

Finally, the Barack Obama campaign has found a big gun to help shoot down Hillary Rodham Clinton's self-proclaimed foreign policy experience. And he may be the wackiest gun of all: Sinbad, the actor, who has come out from under a rock to defend Obama in the war over foreign policy credentials. Sinbad, along with singer Sheryl Crow, was on that 1996 trip to Bosnia that Clinton has described as a harrowing international experience that makes her tested and ready to answer a 3 a.m. phone call at the White House on day one, a claim for which she's taking much...

Democrat Barack Obama ridiculed the idea of being Hillary Rodham Clinton's running mate Monday, saying voters must choose between the two for the top spot on the fall ticket. The Illinois senator used his first public appearance of the week to knock down the notion that he might accept the party's vice presidential nomination. He noted that he has won more states, votes and delegates than Clinton so far. "I don't know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to the person who is first place," Obama said, drawing cheers and a long standing ovation...

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: While in Casper, Wyo., today Sen. Barack Obama ruled out the possibility being a vice presidential candidate during an interview with CBS' Montana affiliate KTVQ. Here is a transcript of what he said. Q: You’ve raised $55 million in February and in your speech today you said "I was against the war in ’03, ’04, ’05 -- all the way on through 2010, and you specifically mentioned Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Could you ever see yourself on the same ticket as Senator Clinton? A: Well, you know, I think it’s premature. You won’t see...

A lot of speculation has taken place among the media’s talking heads as to who John McCain will pick as his running mate. As is the norm when mainstream pundits discuss Republican politics, their suggestions are not in the party’s best interest. Beyond that, they’re also lazy. The media looks at who is in the race, who was in the race and a few other national leaders of prominence and keeps speculation to within those small groups. That’s the equivalent of a corporation picking its company president out of a hat. Vice Presidents are chosen based on geographic or national...

Who will be Senator John McCain’s running mate for the race to the White House. A question a lot of us on the right, middle, and the left are starting to ask.McCain’s choice of running mate is an important one especially with the perception in the party that McCain is not truly a conservative in the mold of Reagan instead a moderate (an image that he crafted throughout much of his political career). One way is to pick a running mate that holds many of the ideas that are at the core of the conservative movement - pro-life, limited government,...

For months, Gov. Charlie Crist has insisted that New York socialite Carol Rome is just "a friend," but Tuesday night at a soiree in the Governor's Mansion, he introduced her as "my girlfriend," says the Tallahassee Democrat, which snapped the picture above. In November, the New York Post reported that Rome, in the midst of divorcing Bluestar Jets CEO Todd Rome, was dating Crist. Then, the governor's staff said Rome, a mother of school-age girls, was just "a friend." Still, last month Crist took Rome to the White House for a dinner with President Bush. So far, that's two high-profile...

The purpose of this petition is simple... to convince Senator John McCain to put former Congressman JC Watts on the Republican ticket in 2008. Congressman Watts is a man of high character, a committed social and economic conservative, a business man, a former national leader in the Republican Congress, a spokesman and advocate of Republican ideals, and uniquely prepared to be the President of the United States. JC can unite the Republican Party by bringing together conservatives of all stripes and bridging the gap between Senator McCain and many in his own party that have disagreed with him in the...

s John McCain inches closer to the 1,191 delegates he needs to secure the Republican nomination, attention has turned to the vice presidential sweepstakes. Who should McCain pick as his running mate? The answer will be especially important if the aging four-term senator's general election foe is a youthful freshman agitating for change. Sarah Palin, the beautiful conservative Republican governor of Alaska, would be an ideal choice to help McCain slay this unholy ObamaOprah beast which is set to rake in nearly $50 million a month in campaign donations alone, and has intense auxiliary support coming from the unions, George...

Ridge for VP, Cont'd Mike Goldfarb is right that Tom Ridge will be among those John McCain's seriously considers as his runningmate. As Goldfarb notes, Ridge is from the electorally important state of Pennsylvania. McCain not only respects him, but he considers him a friend, and he was happy to have Ridge with him for a spell on the road during the primaries. But there are other reasons Ridge would be a surprising choice. The fact that both would be perceived to have strong national security credentials would argue against a McCain-Ridge ticket. In some ways, they're too much alike,...

Byron York interviewed two of the men mentioned most often as potential running mates for John McCain, governors Tim Pawlenty and Mark Sanford. Both men enthusiastically supported McCain in the primaries, but both men have significant policy differences with McCain on the nominee's signature issues -- immigration and campaign-finance reform. How they reconcile themselves to McCain may prove instructive to the rest of the field, and may give conservatives reason for hope in both men: On Sunday, I spoke with two leading contenders for the McCain ticket, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, both in Washington...

Vice President Kay Bailey Hutchison. The possibility of John McCain selecting the Texas Senator as his running mate is floating out there somewhere.When I studied political science in school, we were taught the veep candidates were chosen because they could balance a ticket ideologically or geographically, or because they could carry a prized State. Those are old-school rules, but I assume they are still in vogue (if we add a gravitas balance rule). Other factors like age, sex, race, rural v. urban, experience with Congress, issue strengths, criminal record, etc., are also factors.The ideological balance rule might be important here,...

Before Senator John McCain had a chance of becoming the Republican Party’s 2008 Presidential nominee, Minnesota’s Governor Tim Pawlenty offered him loyal support and became one of his most vocal campaign volunteers. When the contest seemed to be a horserace between McCain, Romney, and Huckabee, speculations about Tim Pawlenty’s chances to change addresses quieted, though he continued to travel on behalf of the unpopular McCain. Now, since McCain has all but become the GOP’s Presidential nominee, Pawlenty’s name is coming up again. He showed in a surprisingly tough State of the State speech last week, why he should still be...

For over a year, Tim Pawlenty has supported John McCain through thick and a whole lot of thin. The two-term Minnesota governor became one of John McCain's first major endorsers in January 2007, and even at the time speculation began that Pawlenty could make a good running mate for McCain. Jonathan Martin at Politico has heard louder rumblings of consideration among the GOP base for Pawlenty, who could make a good presidential candidate anytime in the next twenty years: Even through the McCain campaign’s darkest days in 2007, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty remained a steadfast ally to the Arizona senator...

Now that the GOP nominating process is all but over, pundits are buzzing over potential vice presidential candidates. Many of the suggested running mates would hurt more than help (Huck? Are you kidding me?) while truly excellent choices are barely mentioned. Don't worry McCain campaign — we're here to help! Like any presidential nominee, McCain has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses heading into November. Although few vote for the second banana, a bad choice can create serious headaches down the road (:cough: Dan Quayle :cough: ). But in our 50/50 political world, a great pick could make the...

there's increasing speculation in Washington and among McCain's supporters that the Arizona maverick will instead run to the center and pick a more liberal vice presidential candidate. The theory goes like this: Barack Obama has become his party's front-runner because he has expanded the Democratic Party. His big rallies draw crowds of nearly 20,000, unheard of for a primary campaign. In 2004, President Bush beat John Kerry by expanding the GOP base in conservative areas. This is a strategy that simply won't work for McCain because there is a certain bloc of core, loyal and principled conservatives who will never...

I know, there are already 100 different threads (it seems) about who might be a good VP. This post will be an attempt to collect, without indication of preference, all the potential possibilities. In a later post i will probably express my opinions on these, right now I'm just trying to list every single possibility I can think of (not counting outlandish suggestions like media personalities, or Democrats - except Leiberman of course) Former candidates: (8) Huckabee (will be soon enough), Romney, Paul, Thompson, Guliani, Hunter, Tancrado, Brownback Governors: (10) Tim Pawlenty, Mark Sanford, Haley Barbour, Charlie Crist, Sarah Palin,...

John Nance Garner, who held the position of vice-president under Franklin Roosevelt, memorably dismissed the job as “not worth a pitcher of warm spit”. Actually, that is the sanitised version of his comment. There are plenty of people who believe that the original version referred to a different bodily liquid. Put it this way: he might have been taking the spit out of this office. John McCain, by contrast, has to regard it far more seriously. He is within a few days of becoming the de facto nominee of the Republican Party. Mike Huckabee is enjoying his swansong, but after...

Yes, yes, yes, it's much too early to start thinking about running mates. Too bad. People are doing it anyway. And even though they won't admit it, odds are that Sens. John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are giving it at least some thought. So, too, are people who turn up their noses at the suggestion they might be a good fit, yet secretly harbor ambitions of getting the nod. Veepstakes speculation - always an undercurrent with a presidential election afoot - intensified this past week after Mitt Romney dropped out of the race, helping to clear McCain's...

With Romney's pull-out (suspension, anyway), and barring huge unforeseen events, the GOP Pres nomination will go to McCain. I didn't see any prior threads devoted to discussing a range of VP options. (I did see some suggesting particular people, like Condi Rice.) As I see it, McCain SHOULD want to address three factors with his VP pick, although the 3d is far behind the first 2: 1. Ideological Balance. Someone to McCain's right on those issues where McCain is left, such as Amnesty, Gore-Bal Warming, Judges. 2. Relative Youth. McCain's age is a factor, making his VP pick more important...

The snow doesn’t seem to be slowing down Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He plans to leave Thursday on another out of state trip. It is just one of several 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has followed over the last couple of months—fueling speculation of a Vice Presidential nod. Aside from his day job at the capitol, Pawlenty’s side gig as John McCain’s national co-chair has him crisscrossing the nation almost every weekend so far this year. Take a look at his itinerary: Dec. 29: Pawlenty was in New Hampshire. The next week, to the Iowa caucuses. Then it was off to Michigan. And...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Politicians make a lot of ambitious election-year promises, but Thursday night, Barack Obama is making a few he might have some trouble keeping: if elected president, he’ll rename the tenth month of the year "Barack-tober" and choose Oprah Winfrey as his vice president. The Illinois senator floats these and eight other "campaign promises" tonight as he counts down the daily Top Ten list on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

AS DEMOCRATS revel in the riches of diversity, they must also wonder at the cosmic alignment that produced both a minority and a woman as viable candidates. A bonanza on the one hand; a bit of bad luck on the other. Someone, after all, has to lose. Why couldn't it have been one or the other, but not both at once? Or best of all worlds, both in one person? Alas, Condi Rice is a Republican and she's still not running for President. That hasn't stopped Crystal Dueker, a 50-something volunteer from North Dakota, and Rich Holt, a 20-something African-American...

Unlike in the 2004 campaign, when a still-angry McCain allowed rumors of a second-slot deal with John Kerry to percolate just a little before denying them, the McCain campaign wants to scotch rumors of a similar deal with Senator Joe Lieberman. Robert Novak reports that Team McCain emphatically denies any suggestion that Lieberman would get selected as his running mate if McCain wins the Republican nomination: Close advisers of Sen. John McCain say there is no possibility that Independent Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman would be McCain's vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket. McCain credits Lieberman's endorsement for president...

I have no idea who is going to win the Democratic presidential nomination, but lately I've been wondering whether, if it is Barack Obama, he might want to consider keeping Dick Cheney on as his vice president. No, I personally am not a Dick Cheney fan, and I know it is absurd to even suggest, but now that I have your attention, here's what's on my mind: After Iraq and Pakistan, the most vexing foreign policy issue that will face the next president will be how to handle Iran. There is a Cold War in the Middle East today between...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've noted in presidential campaigns present and past that most viable candidates are always looking to "enlarge their territory" by appearing before groups that may not be obvious constituencies. To wit: Seven short years after referring to Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and other evangelical leaders as "agents of intolerance," John McCain was the commencement speaker at Falwell's Liberty University this past spring. This is referred to in political circles as expanding your base. Or mending fences. To wit again: Rudy Giuliani, America's mayor, who has not been known as a friend of the Second...

In his new book, "The Age of Turbulence," my longtime friend Alan Greenspan argues that President Bush's economic and budget policies have been fiscally irresponsible. I've known and admired Alan for years, and I believe he was a great chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. But I think his assessment is off the mark. Alan tells of his first meeting with then President-elect Bush on Dec. 18, 2000, at the Madison Hotel in Washington. I recall this breakfast meeting very well, especially Alan's comments on the state of the economy. The Fed chairman told the president-elect and our team that...

There has been plenty of speculation about who the presidential nominees will be, but not much about VP candidates. So I thought I'd throw out some names, maybe take an informal poll of Freepers. A. Dick Cheney B. Ted Nugent C. Dennis Miller D. Dennis Hopper A) will certainly be the favorite of the conspiracy crowd. D) might be a way to pull in Hollywood money. C) would be dynamite in debate against any democrat. B)...well...at least there'd be plenty of venison burgers to munch on while riding the campaign bus. Any thoughts?

The Post's recent series on Dick Cheney's vice presidency certainly got my attention. SNIPBut it wasn't until Jimmy Carter assumed the presidency that the vice presidency took on a substantive role. Carter saw the office as an underused asset and set out to make the most of it. He gave me an office in the West Wing, unimpeded access to him and to the flow of information, and specific assignments at home and abroad. He asked me, as the only other nationally elected official, to be his adviser and partner on a range of issues.SNIP Our relationship depended on trust,...

Vice President Fossilman? Greg Raymer, a name made famous worldwide the day he won the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event, has been in contact with Libertarian Party officials and is seriously considering a vice presidential run in 2008. the offer. He will not make his decision until spring 2008, just before the Libertarian National Convention, but said he'd be willing to discuss the option and his platforms with anyone during downtime at the 2007 WSOP. "I had a conversation with one of the top guys in the Libertarian party who wanted to get a famous poker player involved,"...

http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2007/05/fred-thompson-speaks-to-oc-lincoln-club.html#links

Lou Dobbs is taking on the illegal immigrants issue in America with a ..with quite some gusto. One thing Lou Dobbs stated when he countered the argument of a pro-illegal-immigrant guest; "the wages for jobs has declined over the past thirty years. Due to companies being able and allowed to hire cheap, undocumented labor. No wonder, the average American citizen is unwilling or unable to do the jobs. Lou went on at one point about a city in Georgia, that was forced by the gov. to stop employing the illegals for its chicken processing plant. The company was then "forced"...

This interesting tidbit from the Tennessee Politics blog…. Thompson Spotted at Dinner with Romney Consultant — Lamar Alexander and Fred Thompson are close … really close. If anything disqualifies Thompson from running for President, it’s Lamar’s soft commitment to Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign. The presence of Alexander staffers at Romney events in Tennessee before talk of Thompson entering the fray popped up signaled his soft support. So there may be something big to this tidbit that Thompson was spotted at dinner with Romney strategist Alex Castellanos. Can we say most valuable Vice Presidential candidate?

>>Mitt Romney Considering Jeb Bush As Possible Running Mate (Bluffton, SC) -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has dropped the name of Jeb Bush as being among a list of possible running mates for his campaign. Florida's former governor has largely been out of the public spotlight since Charlie Crist was sworn into office. He hasn't publically commented on Romney's announcement.

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and Mrs. Bush left for Camp David yesterday, where the likelihood is that GWB is working on his State of the Union Address. The President has accepted an invitation from House Democrats to speak at their annual retreat in Williamsburg, VA. Virginia is home to Norfolk Naval Base and other important military installations, so the President will use his appearance at this event to speak about the war, as described in the following article: President Bush To Speak in VAWASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush is coming to Virginia. Democrats in the US House...

SUGAR LAND, Tex., Oct. 30 -- President Bush said terrorists will win if Democrats win and impose their policies on Iraq, as he and Vice President Cheney escalated their rhetoric Monday in an effort to turn out Republican voters in next week's midterm elections. [Snip] "However they put it, the Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses," Bush told a raucous crowd of about 5,000 GOP partisans packed in an arena at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, one of his stops Monday. "That's what's at stake in this election. The Democrat goal is...