[stevio]

I’m not sure about #1, but I believe #2. To all who think the democrats will be disjointed are naive.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I'm prepared to believe that Obama might at some point in August and/or September poll well against McCain. I am not prepared to believe that even 45% of the country at large will go into the privacy of the voting booth on November 4 and vote for "Reverend Wright" Obama.

And that is an excellent reason for McCain to choose a black conservative running mate - to give moderates and nonblack liberals permission to vote against Obama, and to ameliorate the reaction of the Obama supporters (including Big Journalism) to Obama's defeat.

McCain should brook no criticism of the black conservative's thin credentials for POTUS, but simply insist that his running mate would be a better POTUS than either person on the Democratic ticket - and that that, and unifying the country, are the only two criteria that matter in a VP nomination.