Posted on 02/08/2008 1:49:32 PM PST by NormsRevenge
NORFOLK, Va. - On his first full day as the likely Republican presidential nominee, John McCain fended off discussion of specific potential running mates but made clear he sees no requirement to pick someone from a different region.
"I don't want to in any way sidestep the candidacy of Governor Huckabee," McCain said told reporters here before flying off to Wichita, Kan., and Seattle. "He's in this race, and for me to dismiss him would be inappropriate and unrealistic."
Nevertheless, the Arizona senator did offer his view that regionally balanced tickets may be a thing of the past. Since McCain's chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his campaign Thursday, some party figures and commentators have suggested McCain might select Mike Huckabee as a vice presidential nominee to benefit from the Arkansas governor's proven appeal in the South, where McCain has less support.
"From a practical standpoint, I think former President Clinton and Vice President Gore showed us you don't have to be regionally different," McCain said. "I think America is such that, quote, regional differences don't play the role that maybe they did in earlier times." Clinton, who was Arkansas governor, and Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee made the first national ticket entirely from the South.
"The fundamental principle behind any selection of a running mate would be whether that person is fully prepared to take over and shares your values, your principles, your philosophy and your priorities," McCain said.
A day after a conciliatory speech to conservative activists, many of whom distrust him, McCain acknowledged to reporters, "I know that we have a lot of work to do to unite the party."
He held a morning round-table discussion on national security in the Navy town of Norfolk, Va., and the one-time Vietnam prisoner of war stuck to military issues, which have helped him make inroads with his conservative critics.
McCain said it shouldn't be difficult to expand the U.S. military despite a shortfall in recruitment.
"The military is much smaller than it was at the time of the first Gulf War, and we are a country of 300 million people, so to somehow think we can't recruit and retain an all-volunteer force flies in the face of history," McCain said.
Asked at a news conference afterward about Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, McCain said: "They want to set a date for withdrawal from Iraq that I believe would have catastrophic consequences."
"I believe al-Qaida would trumpet to the world they defeated the United States of America, and I believe, therefore, they would try to follow us home. There would be catastrophic consequences in the region, and we would be back."
"That is going to be, I think, a major issue in this campaign."
Later in Wichita, Kan., he called the difference on these issues "as stark a difference as any contest we've ever had, and I am proud to carry the banner of a conservative Republican, with a record of conservative thought and voting into this election in November."
Ok McCain, but could you tell us, will it be someone shorter than you?
Maybe he's just being kind, but he's lying here.
Oh c'mon. This is standard political speech. Don't mean nothing. Get used to it, because you're gonna hear it for the rest of your life.
wire pieces get updated , sometimes frequently, I have seen 3, 4, and 5 versions in a short period of time pop up on the wire..
I can’t think of a conservative that McCain could pick that would make me think of him any differently. Or a conservative who I thought would have any influence over McCain on any policy. The guy is a megalomaniac with a foul temper.
Plus, I don’t know of any conservative who would like to sacrifice his career and his principles to sign onto a guy who wants to do what McCain already promised he would do to us.
On the other side, who thinks that Hillary would pick somebody who was going to be anything more than a puppet for her to do what she planned to do anyways. Clintons are all about Clintons and I think McCain has never been about anything other than McCain. I’d actually bet that McCain is seriously thinking about picking somebody hispanic.
Besides Hillary gets 20 per cent of the born again vote.
I don’t think they are too picky....eh?
Ignoring his poor record on immigration, Martinez is still a mediocre first term Senator who was a failure as RNC chairman, and best remembered for being so incompetent as Senator that he "accidentally" handed the GOP "talking points" memo on Terri Schiavo to the RATs. He wouldn't even be Senator today except for A) Making a career out of being a Bush yes-man, and B) Being selected on the basis of his ethnicity because the GOP officials wanted to have a "Hispanic Senator" to showcase "diversity" in the party.
If he were any other first term Senator which such a laughable record on "leadership", his candidacy would be a joke. You don't see the Dems discuss Mark Dayton for V.P., do you?
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