Posted on 08/26/2008 2:17:50 PM PDT by MeanWestTexan
“a Cantor selection could put Virginia in the McCain column. “
This is the only thing disagreeable with this article.
That statement is not really true. Cantor wont get him much in VA (but then McCain will carry VA on his own, or he’s toast overall), and polls showed Cantor added nothing to McCain in VA.
Romney will be a bit better for McCain electorally, eg, in MI and NV and CO. Cantor is less experienced and well-known but is a more reliable and purer conservative.
Because he’s more conservative, I would prefer Cantor, but the only electoral advantage would be the interesting possibility of driving up Republican Jewish vote.
See, I think Romney would be a disaster because (ignoring merits, as they are fruitless), right or wrong a good percentage of the Republican base despises Romney.
Same with Huckabee, or any other also-ran.
Shaving off a percent or two would be a disaster.
I like Palin, but I think he clearly is. Eight years in congress with a leadership position, a decade in business before that, and a law degree and an Ivy League business degree (in real estate) are all real qualifications. Big government executive experience? But he’s already well ahead of a couple of years as governor of Alaska.
I want Palin to be prominent for years to come, whether just as a governor or senator—or as a veep or prez. But she hasn’t got the resume for it now, and would take away a big advantage over Obama.
Palin and Jindal aren’t quite ready and picking them would be perceived as pandering. Cantor I think is the better alternative on both counts.
You are projecting your own biases again. Romney has higher unfavorables *outside* the Republican party, but not in it. Romney has the highest acceptability numbers of any VP choice inside the GOP:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/huckabee_lieberman_have_highest_favorables_among_possible_mccain_veep_choices
“Among Republicans, Romney is the leader, with 34% who view him Very Favorably, and another 35% seeing him in at least somewhat favorable terms. Huckabee is close, with 68% who rate their opinion of him as at least somewhat favorable, including 27% who rank it as Very Favorable. Again, Lieberman is next, with 58% of Republicans saying their view of him is at least somewhat favorable, including 13% who say it is Very Favorable.
Thirty-six percent 36%) of Republicans have at least a somewhat favorable opinion of Jindal, with 13% ranking their view as Very Favorable. But again 48% of Republicans say they are not sure what they think of the Louisiana governor. Crist is next among Republicans, trailed by Pawlenty and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. “
Like I said, I’d prefer Cantor myself, but dont say things that arent true to make the case.
Big victory for conservatives, perhaps with the needle nudging because of the silly ‘# of houses’ issue. But that’s alright. I think Cantor’s hard social line would be an issue for some of McCain’s beloved independent-moderates, whose votes he needs, but if the campaign does its job and proactively makes it a race on economic issues that can be tempered. I like it.
Cantor is an interesting choice, but I’ve seen polls suggesting he has a ‘disfavored son’ effect in his home state of Virginia.
Unless having him on the ticket tipped the Jewish vote to McCain so that he could carry New York, a downside in Virginia would be disaster.
I still favor Palin (or maybe Kay Bailey Hutchinson).
Romney also has some staggering “very unfavorables” -— 21% ranking their view of Romney as Very Unfavorable.
It’s those folks who would stay home.
McCain just can’t afford that.
Of those mentioned, I think Cantor is far and away the best choice.
To be fair, anyone posting here knows that Romney is viewed very unfavorably by some of our base. Just because he also has high name recognition and a relatively high percentage with a favorable opinion of him doesn’t make the former any less true.
And as the conventional wisdom goes, with a veep selection first do no harm (and you don’t have opportunity to do much good anyway). Thus a relative unknown isn’t a big issue, but someone with high negative ratings is.
“I like Palin, but I think he clearly is. Eight years in congress with a leadership position, a decade in business before that, and a law degree and an Ivy League business degree (in real estate) are all real qualifications. Big government executive experience? But he’s already well ahead of a couple of years as governor of Alaska.”
Well, Palin has been around more than “a couple years as governor.” As far as I can tell she has been a public servant since at least 1992. Eventhough it was local government stuff.
Also, Ivy League-ism is what the Dems have. Whats wrong with the U. of Idaho? : )
“Palin and Jindal aren’t quite ready and picking them would be perceived as pandering. Cantor I think is the better alternative on both counts.”
So picking and Indian conservative or a woman conservative is pandering, but picking a Jewish one is not. Makes sense to me.
Again, I like her and I want a big future for her (and Jindal). If you put in a decade as mayor to a few thousand people you’re probably doing some good and honing some skills. But you’re neither out making your way in the private sector nor gaining international-vote legislative or ‘big bureaucracy’ executive experience.
And I’m fine with U of Idaho too! ;-)
Eric Cantor is the dullest politician alive out there.
He puts me to sleep in 30 seconds when he starts talking.
Biden will eat him alive in debates.
Let me spell it out.
If the candidate isn’t yet smooth with the press and speaking, which Jindal’s not, or has no international and just a little gubernatorial experience, which is Palin’s situation, female/minority status will just confirm in too many voters’ eyes that it is a pandering response to Obama (and Hillary).
I think Cantor’s got enough experience and background and Jewishness is a small-enough ‘first’ (remember Lieberman already ran in the slot) to keep that accusation from sticking. In fact, his Jewishness is probably just significant enough to keep the ticket from being dismissed as a “typically Republican two white guys ticket”.
It’s only one debate, and dull wonkishness is okay coming from the younger guy in this circumstance, I think. It’s a way a younger guy can show ‘youthful gravitas’.
“Again, I like her and I want a big future for her (and Jindal). If you put in a decade as mayor to a few thousand people you’re probably doing some good and honing some skills. But you’re neither out making your way in the private sector nor gaining international-vote legislative or ‘big bureaucracy’ executive experience.
And I’m fine with U of Idaho too! ;-)”
Regardless, I’d rather a Governor over a state Rep. And if experience is what you are looking for, how can Jindal not be more impressive than Cantor? (And as a Baton Rouge native I am a homer : P) His experience:
1996: appointed Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, an agency which then represented about 40 percent of the state budget. During his tenure as secretary, Louisiana’s Medicaid program went from bankruptcy with a $400 million deficit into three years of surpluses totaling $220 million. Jindal was criticized during the 2007 campaign by the Louisiana AFL-CIO for having closed some local clinics to balance the budget. In 1998 Jindal was appointed executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, a 17-member panel charged with devising plans to reform Medicare.
In 1999, at the request of the Louisiana Governor’s Office and the Louisiana State Legislature, Jindal volunteered his time to study how Louisiana might use its $4.4 billion tobacco settlement. In that same year Jindal was appointed to become the youngest-ever president of the University of Louisiana System. In March 2001 he was nominated by President George W. Bush to be Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation. He was later unanimously confirmed by a bipartisan vote of the United States Senate and began serving on July 9, 2001. In that position, he served as the principal policy advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He resigned from that post on February 21, 2003, to return to Louisiana and run for governor.”
Beats the crap out of Cantor. How is Jindal less experienced?
You should be proud of Jindal. What he’s done is truly impressive. Truly.
But he’s still super-extraordinarily young for the VP-Pres positions, and he’s just not smooth and strong yet in dealing with the national press.
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