Veepstakes: Romney, Pawlenty Fade; New Focus on Palin

WashingtonWire-Wall Street Journal ^ | 8-29-08 | Elizabeth Holmes

[STARWISE]

Elizabeth Holmes reports from Dayton, Ohio on the presidential race. Who will be in Dayton Ohio with John McCain when he announces his running mate later today?

[STARWISE]

BREAKING: Pawlenty won't be in Dayton today, says "was honored to be considered

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said this morning that he will he not be in Dayton, Ohio, today and strongly suggested that he won't be John McCain's running mate.

"I'm going to be at the [Minnesota] state fair," Pawlenty said on WCCO just minutes ago.

"I will not be in Dayton, Ohio, so I think that's a fair assumption," he added in an interview with the Twin Cities radio station, when asked if this was an indication that he would not be chosen.

He added: "It was an honor to be considered."

Asked if he was relieved "that the whole thing was over," he joked: "I'm glad you guys will quit following me around so much."

UPDATE: Pawlenty also told the station that the speculation ""became a bit of distraction here locally in Minnesota" and that the was happy now to just become another McCain supporter.

[STARWISE]

Hazelbaker: McCain Will Choose From The Heart

29 Aug 2008 07:54 am
Here’s a rush transcript of what McCain communications chief Jill Hazelbaker told the Early Show’s Maggie Rodriguez:

Ms. HAZELBAKER: Well, I know that John McCain is going to make the choice from his heart. He’s going to choose someone who can be a partner in governing. He’s going to choose someone who brings character and principle to the table and who shares his priorities and I’m confident that he’s going to make a great pick.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/08/hazelbaker_mccain_will_choose.php

****

Romney’s Not In Dayton

29 Aug 2008 08:45 am
Two sources say Gov. Mitt Romney is in Boston, not Dayton.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/

[STARWISE]

Fun With FlightAware, McCain Edition
29 Aug 2008 07:15 am

Thanks to the readers who pointed me to the journey of a sturdy Gulfstream 5 with the tale number of N22GY. Anchorage, Alaska to Hook Municipal Field in Ohio. Nearby Dayton. 30 miles away. And the plane was in Flagstaff, AZ recently.

And where was the plane registered?

To an entity called Gypsy Two LLC. It shares an address with a tax exempt organization called the Dean Weidner foundation. Dean Weidner is a Republican donor.. and a guy named William Weidner, the CEO of Las Vegas Sands corp, is a McCain bundler.

[11th Commandment]

FOX NEWS reporting http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/29/mccain-to-name-running-mate-on-friday/

FR users traced the flight at 1:30am .....

[STARWISE]

A conflicting report to the Palin selection

~~~

McCain VP Contender Palin in Alaska, Not Ohio - August 29, 2008 8:54 AM

[STARWISE]

Minnesota’s Pawlenty Gets Call: He’s Not McCain’s VP Pick

August 29, 2008 9:19 AM

ABC News’ Jan Crawford Greenburg Reports: Scratch another one from the McCain veepstakes list. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has received a call from Sen. John McCain and has been told he’s not going to join the Republican contender on the GOP ticket.

McCain, R-Ariz., is in Dayton, Ohio, awaiting a high noon event at which the campaign has said the Republican contender will announce his running mate.

With Gov. Sarah Palin in Alaska, speculation is narrowing to a even smaller list: former Govs. Mitt Romney and Tom Ridge, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, the only presumed contender who is actually in the Buckeye State at this hour.

But could the wily McCain be planning a surprise for his 72nd birthday? It’s anyone’s guess (and, despite Barack Obama’s historic nomination acceptance speech last night, EVERYONE is guessing).

Stay tuned ...

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/08/minnesotas-pawl.html

~~~~

Please ... please ... let it NOT be Little Lindsey.

[DJ MacWoW]

Posted by another Freeper.

http://www.mccainpalin.com/

[SE Mom]

Anyone see Tommy Franks or Pete Pace around town? Is Cantor defineitely out?

Or..is McCain doing a dark horse?

[Miss Didi]

Now they say Sarah is in Alaska and that leaves Joe and Meg Whitman. I’m going to cry.

[Bahbah]

Oh dear, if it’s Linseed, I will have to slit my wrists...metaphorically, of course.

[longtermmemmory]

NBC said Whitman is in Calif.

[Yo-Yo]

Posted by another Freeper.

http://www.mccainpalin.com/

LOL! When I clicked on it, there was a MoveOn.org banner ad giving away Obama buttons!

[STARWISE]

I’m Getting a Couple of These this Morning [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

As much as I loathe Obama-Biden, I can’t in good conscience vote for a McCain-Palin ticket.

Palin has absolutely no experience in foreign affairs. Considering both McCain’s advanced age and the state of the world today, it is essential that the veep be exceedingly qualified to assume the office of president.

I simply don’t have any confidence in Palin’s ability to deal effectively with Iran, Russia, China, etc. I certainly will not cast a vote for Obama-Biden, but nor will I vote for McCain-Palin.

Looks like I’ll either sit this one out or vote for Bob Barr. Why, o, why, didn’t McCain listen to Rove and just pick Romney?

08/29 08:38 AM

http://corner.nationalreview.com/
~~~~

Wow .. she sounds over the edge.

[DJ MacWoW]

It works for me. I have the page up and keep refreshing it.

http://www.mccainpalin.com/

[longtermmemmory]

I think this whole thing boils down to how much does mccain want to be president vs how much does mccain hate conservatives.

I see the ardent pro life people happy with palin as a pro-life choice.

this leaves McCain to stick it to conservatives by picking a weak prolifer or pro-abortion person.

Feminists will hate Palin because 1. she is pretty 2. she married a man 3. still married to the same man still 4. has children with her HUSBAND, with whom she is still married.

how much does mccain hate christian conservatives?

we will know in a moment.

[penelopesire]

Here we go again....conservative commentators dividing our party right before a major election.

Can you say 2006?

Oh joy...(eye roll)

[del4hope]

The number ONE reason feminists will hate Palin is that she is prolife.

The hypocrisy of the feminists will be exposed.

It is not as much about having a woman leader as much as it is about women having a right to kill their unborn children.

[STARWISE]

Another name for VP spot surfaces: Rob Portman of Ohio

Is John McCain preparing to pull off a surprise to slow Barack Obama’s post-convention bounce by naming a low profile former congressman-turned Washington lobbyist who worked in both Bush White Houses as his running mate?

That’s what some McCain advisers and GOP insiders think might happen as they discussed the possibility Thursday that McCain could confound the political experts by choosing former Ohio Rep. Rob Portman as the GOP vice presidential candidate.

Speculation that Portman may be McCain’s choice was sparked by the news that the Arizona senator will appear with his running mate Friday at a campaign stop in Dayton. Ohio, a must-win state for McCain, as he heads for next week’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

“I know for a fact that Portman is in the running,” a Republican lawyer with close ties to McCain told me Thursday.

While Portman, who spent a dozen years in Congress before heading the Office of Legislative Affairs for the first President George Bush and serving as U.S. Trade Representative and White House budget director for the second, isn’t among those most frequently named as McCain’s likely choice, he would bring considerable strength to the ticket.

Portman, now a partner in a Washington law firm, could boost McCain’s election prospects in several ways. At 52, he’s 20 years younger than McCain, and his quiet manner and button-down style could serve to soften McCain’s combative and sarcastic manner.

More importantly, Portman has tons of expertise in an area where McCain, by his own admission, is weakest, on economic policy.

His work on foreign trade also boosts his diplomatic credentials and ability to deal with NAFTA and other issues of a globalized economy, while his conservative record on social issues would appeal to a party base that can’t stand former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and isn’t crazy about former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, two of the names on McCain’s VP short list, along with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman

Finally, Portman would more than hold his own in debating Barack Obama’s golden-tongued running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, after standing in for George W. Bush’s and Dick Cheney’s opponents in their 2000 and 2004 debate preparations.

But, like anyone McCain might pick, Portman has some negatives that Democrats would be quick to exploit, especially his close ties to George W. Bush at a time when McCain is trying to distance himself from Bush’s record unpopularity. Portman’s hometown paper in Cincinnati once called him “a talking head for the Bush agenda,” and he is not well-known statewide.

But even though Obama and Biden have stepped up their attempts to portray McCain as a Bush clone, they’re also going to have to focus on economic and trade issues, where Portman can more than hold his own.

Portman, who stepped down as Bush’s budget director last year, is an avid outdoorsman and board member of the Nature Conservancy, which would serve him well in dealing with energy conservation and environmental issues. And he’s got a spotless family life that would appeal to Middle America. And although he failed to endorse McCain in 2000 or this year, he said before the March 4 Ohio primary that Republicans would have a better chance of carrying the Buckeye State in November, and with it the presidency, if the nominee is someone like McCain who attracts independents.

Admittedly, Portman is a long shot, but McCain just might decide to roll the dice and create some excitement in the wake of the Democrats’ successful convention in Denver.

http://www.minnpost.com/alberteisele/2008/08/29/3200/another_name_for_vp_spot_surfaces_rob_portman_of_ohio

~~~~

I’m speculating O*H*I*O being a key state ... ;) Carl Cameron saying it looks like a done deal for Palin .. based on the report about the planes at Cook Airport (2 of them).

[DJ MacWoW]

Hon, we sent an actor up against the USSR. How’d that work for us?

[STARWISE]

Palin’s Parents Told To Listen To Radio
Posted by Ryan Corsaro

From CBS News’ Ryan Corsaro:

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s parents were called early this morning at their home in Wasilla and told to “listen to the radio” by Palin’s husband, Tim.

Palin’s father, Chuck Heath, says he and his wife were caribou hunting when they were told to come home and tune into their local radio station to hear “exciting news,” but said he did not know if his daughter was the choice for John McCain’s vice president.

“The river was swollen, so we almost didn’t get back,” Palin’s mother, Sally Heath, told CBS News.

The two said they said the call was “a wonderful surprise.”

“I am shocked!” said Mrs. Heath.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/08/29/politics/horserace/entry4395877.shtml

~~~~~

ALL: I’ve got my Yahoo group freerepublic2 site open .. expecting FR to crash any second. Let’s post there, if this gets worse .. it’s much smoother and less aggravating.

You have to join the group ....

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freerepublic2/

[Bahbah]

She’s conservative!!!! Praise the Lord!!!

[AlaskanIndependent]

I’m with Starwise on this one. Palin’s a fine governor, and a breath of fresh air in the state party. But she doesn’t have the rigor for the international stage.

If Palin’s the choice, I have to wonder if it isn’t somewhat about the kids. Biden’s got a kid shipping off to Iraq. Since Palin does too, it preempts the charge that the GOP ticket lacks a personal stake in the matter.