Posted on 06/23/2008 6:22:52 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
While the vice presidential slot may be John McCain’s best means of wooing those Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters who remain loath to embrace Barack Obama, the Republican party is a thin source of politically viable women, leaving McCain with few top-tier options.
The most-mentioned potential running mates — former Republican candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty — are all men. Yet no clear front-runner has emerged, and there are at least three women McCain might select to fill out the ticket. All three would mark a symbolic turn away from Vice President Dick Cheney, the ultimate D.C. old-boys-club insider.
One obvious choice is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She’s as near to Cheney on policy as she is far from him symbolically. Rice, however, has consistently denied interest. While such denials are par for the course for prospective veeps, if Rice is indeed out of the mix, that would leave McCain with three other likely female running mates to consider:
Sarah Palin
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may be nationally unknown, but in her state she is nothing short of a political phenomenon.
Palin, 44, would add youth to the GOP ticket. As governor she has shown a willingness to veto some of the state’s large capital projects, no small plus for fiscal conservatives. But it’s her personal biography, which excites social conservatives, and reformist background that might most appeal to McCain.
She’s stridently anti-abortion, and recently brought to term her fifth child — who she knew would have Down syndrome. A hunter, fisher and family woman with a rapid professional rise, Palin is a natural for Republican framing.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Didn't HP fire her because they tanked under her "supervistion"?
Rice? A Bush appointee? That will attract those deciding whether to abandon the GOP.
Palin - simply because she's anti-abortion?
This idiot's on drugs.
All three are far better than anything the rats have to offer.
Palin would really chaff the left’s butts. I like it!
Yeah, obviously terrible.
And unlike Carly, never screwed up any American treasures.
I don’t know about women. The women who have high positions in government are not the ideal. Pelosi, Feinstein, Murray, Clinton, and so many others. Power does something unflattering to women. I think they are best spiritually supporting the men in their lives. The world was better when this was the norm, IMHO.
Personally, I think Palin would be perfect. Not because she’s a woman but because she’s a conservative in every sense of the word and putting her on the ticket would give voice to a committed conservative whether McCain wins or loses. Her only drawback, and I think it’s minor, is that she’s from a state with few electoral votes that will go Republican in any case. I don’t think that’s a show stopper though. She’s a compelling personality.
Palin would nail down the crucial electoral votes of Alaska.
And let’s see John McCain reverse his position on ANWR drilling which I’m sure Pallin is a proponent. Good decisions and much improvement all around.
Forget everything that the Dems said when Ferraro was the VP pick. If the GOP picks a female for that position, it’ll be, “Sure, leave it to the Republicans to put a woman in a do-nothing post, the office with the least meaning and power.”
I don't disagree. But I think the abortion issue should simply by left out.
Palin, not experienced enough.
Rice, forget it. RINO. Way in over her head as Sec of State.
Fiorina, WTF ? Major league left-winger and incompetent.
Palin was discussed on MSNBC. They freaked saying she was “wayyyyyyy too pro-life” for the ticket. Thus she skyrocketed in my eyes....
Palin wouldn’t be a bad choice. She’s a governor so she has executive experience. She seems to be a lot more conservative than McCain and she has charisma and family values. I also like Kay Bailey Hutchison a lot. The person who wrote this article, is at least not choosing female RINOs. I like both of those two ladies better than I like McCain. But this Carly Fiorina person would be a pretty terrible choice in my opinion. She doesn’t even have any experience in politics at all and her business record is really mixed.
Which is exactly why McCain would never pick her. She would greatly overshadow him vis-a-vis conservatives.
Pallin Alaskan Governor
Could articulate why Drilling in ANWAR is Good better than anybody! Oil Exploration and Gas Prices Could be the Pivot subject in this election!
Those women are all Democrats though. Their men aren’t much better when you think about it.
Yeah, but I bet the printers at the White House would never run out of toner ever again.
I know a woman who can sew up the election for McCain:
He needs a female VP pick who will appeal to people who don’t like Obama.
He needs a female VP pick who will both pander to the left, and make him look conservative.
He needs a female VP pick who will reach across party lines.
He needs Hillary!™...
I like Her. More than mc lame
Carly Fiorina’s problems started when she made the decision to have HP merge with Compaq. The Packard family were vehemently opposed to the merger, and a rebellion occured in the ranks of the board of directors.
In the engineering world, Carly is known as the “bimbo that couldn’t”.
Condi Rice should stick to teaching. The only reason folks get a hardon over her is because she is black and a female.
yes let’s be PC.
She's way more qualified than the "presumptive nominee", and he probably has a hazy idea of that fact.
All women politicians have a liberal agenda except for Lady Thatcher:
WOMEN
Bangor Daily News
Lauren Smith
Boston University Washington News Service
11/15/06
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 – Women senators of the upcoming 110th Congress met for the first time Tuesday to discuss agendas and welcome new members.
They sat in a tight circle in the office of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), drinking coffee and calling themselves the “Sweet Sixteen.” (snip)
http://www.bu.edu/washjocenter/newswire_pg/fall2006/conn/Women1015.htm
Wouldn't she have to quit her current post as Saudi Ambassador?
Her second key qualification, which would answer the "Alex Ad" and compliment McCain is that like McCain, she has a son in active service in the military. That gives both her and McCain a lot of credibility on the Iraq War and totally demolished the liberal argument about politicians sending their own kids to Iraq.
Finally she could do the rounds of campaign appearances in three key areas for the conservative base and women. First, she's a mother of 5, including a handicapped child. Second, she can credibly appear at outdoors, gun, and sporting appearances with her husband, helping fill in for McCain's poor physical presence by looking young and full of vitality. Third, she's solidly pro-life and could speak to that as a woman, bypassing the complaints about men opposing abortion.
Yes, I know she's lacking in experience but it would be stupid for Obama to raise the experience issue against her, and her experience is as an executive, not as a legislator. Yes, I know Alaska isn't a critical state but I think the healthy rugged outdoor personality that she and her husband project would play well in middle America and down South. And, yes, I know some Freepers aren't happy about some of the things she's done but Freepers aren't all that happy about McCain, either. Overall, I think her benefits outweigh her liabilities and I think that she'd provide some key help for McCain on energy and the war, two of the biggest issues of this campaign.
They left out Larry Craig.
If it comes from politico, it’s a trojan.
Clemenza forgets another root issue (pardon the pun)...her legs go all the way up to her ass.
I like Palin too.
But, he'll just as likely choose Hillary to chaff our butts.
I like Palin if Obama’s choice is Webb. I can’t imagine but that in the VP debate the old bull in the china shop will come off as so hostile to a poor li’l ole woman that even liberal women will be outraged. Hoisted on their own petard, as it were.
Who is going to feed her new baby?
Speaking of conservative women, and going back a few years, what ever happened to that Helen Chenoweth from Utah or somewhere out west?
Carly Fiorina was a huge, pathetic failure of a CEO. If she had a penis, she would have been long since forgotten by now.
Fantastic and gorgeous, but her accent sounds like she could have starred in "Fargo".
Lets face it, We all know McCain, a woman is in the running.
We better push for the best woman conservative candidate that we can field.
Hillary. The only person on the Republican ticket who would make me vow to renounce my citizenship and move to lower Elbonia.
Sad to say, Helen Chenoweth (right up there with Lady Thatcher) died in a car accident in 2006.
As for the other two, I don't see what they have to offer:
Fiorina? Didn't she got promoted to head HP mainly due to her gender, then proceeded to turn a company with a great cachet and brand image into another "me too, made in China"? She also earned an unceremonious pink slip.
Kaye Baily Hutchinson? Do the Republicans need help to carry Texas? What has she actually done? She may be nowhere near as short on brains as, say, Bob Casey Jr. or Patricia Bin Murray, but she's never shown a surplus of them either, has she?
How about Liz Chenney ? as VP ?
Two words: Margaret Thatcher
She would. What’s the point?
She would almost be as old as McCain today. What's wrong with somebody under 70?
You have a point there. The price of gasoline and diesel is a major wedge issue. Palin pushing for drilling would be a plus.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.