Democrats versus Republicans

[sck5]

Republicans dont like Biden? Why am I not surprised? I actually think he is an OK guy and so would you if he were on your side.

But the bottom line is that who gets picked for Veep doesnt matter much at all except to the news people who need something to talk about. I suppose you could make a case that it matters a bit more for McCain because he is old but even then his Veep isnt going to swing the election.

Just think of Dan Quayle. He was the sorriest excuse for a Veep in living memory (even more ignorant and pampered than W if that is even possible) and he didnt keep Bush Sr. from winning.

[PBzeer]

How about you explain how Quayle was such a sorry VP? Just what exactly is it he did or didn't do, to earn such a designation?

[erps]

Maybe because he didn't invent the internet?

[camaraderie]

Beez...you forgot...the media views ALL republicans as either dumb or evil. You can be dumb (Quayle)...you can be Evil (Nixon)...or you can be dumb and evil ("W") but you can't possibly be anything else cause all the smart people who want to DO GOOD are democrats. Case closed.

[sailaway21]

The plagiarist meets the candidate of perpetual change. Oh, and Joe Biden voted against the Persian Gulf War and every previous successful war yet for the Iraq war. Regarded on both sides of the aisle as a genuine nice guy he's also a windbag and prone to the stunning gaffe. The question that not more than a few sober voters will have is why biden is not the presidential candidate with junior the veep?

This is now McCain's election to lose.

He'll do it by courting the so-called moderates. Picking Joe Lieberman would be a sure death sentence, aside from just plain stupid. The man is a card-carrying liberal on every single issue but one. Pick Joe and half the conservative electorate stays home.

My wife says that Romney is "too plastic" and she doesn't trust him, in the same way that she does not trust Al Gore. Now my wife does not stay up on politics to the extent that I do and she certainly does not understand each pol's positions on every issue, but I never, ever, argue with her on her judgements of people-she's never off the mark. If she doesn't trust Romney, Romney is either untrustworthy or there's something about him that will make the rest of the American people feel the same as my wife. I'm tellin' ya, when it comes to these things I'd bet a potential Flicka in my future against a kitchen any day-the gal never misses!

If McCain wins this election it will be as a conservative and not running towards the middle. It's an older lesson than the election of '06 but the same lesson; if Americans want a president or officeholder that acts like a Democrat-they'll pick the Democrat over the Republican every time. McCain does not have to run to the center, he merely has to explain why the Dem's description of conservatism is inaccurate. The reason HW and W Bush had such close elections was the use of such phrases as "kind-gentler conservatism" and "compassionate conservatism". These merely signal the voting populace that even the Republican candidate believes the liberal descriptive litany about Republicans.

For instance, on the mortgage foreclosure issue a conservative such as McCain purports to be should tell the American people that help, in terms of the approximately 1% of homes that are in foreclosure is not on the way. But he must do it in such a way as to explain that he is not going to increase the taxes on the 98-99% of people out there who are paying their mortgages so as to pay off the mortgages of people who either bought too much house or engaged in fraud with their bankers. The former position sounds callous, the latter sounds like the position most Americans have on welfare in general. We've had enough of "conservative" candidates who are only masquerading as such. You'll pick up the indecisive moderates and the independents by clearly enunciating a conservative position that contrasts with the libs feel-good pablum. Pander to the middle moderate
and you're done.

Palin has some legal troubles up in Alaska with her husband and she's inexperienced to boot. Same with Bobby Jindahl. Tom Ridge adds nothing to the ticket other than to alienate conservatives. John Engler, former governor of Michigan brings more to the table but, speaking of the table, I'm not sure the voters want someone that shall we say, chubby? Why, oh why, is no one talking about my man Fred Thompson? He and McCain are buddies, too. Carrying on with the straight talk theme I'm advising McCain to pick Ben Stein for veep-why can't we have funny with our brilliance? The debates would get better ratings than Monday Night Football! "The American People's Money" starring Joe Biden and Ben Stein. We'd lock up the fiscal conservatives, the dog lovers, and the Jewish vote in one swipe so who am I missing? Right, that about covers it as far as getting elected goes.

[wind_magic]

Originally Posted by sailaway21

He'll do it by courting the so-called moderates. Picking Joe Lieberman would be a sure death sentence, aside from just plain stupid. The man is a card-carrying liberal on every single issue but one. Pick Joe and half the conservative electorate stays home.

Your feelings about Lieberman are so surprising Sway, I never would have guessed.

Picking Lieberman would send tremors through both parties ..

[sailaway21]

Originally Posted by wind_magic

Your feelings about Lieberman are so surprising Sway, I never would have guessed.

Picking Lieberman would send tremors through both parties ..

I actually like Joe Lieberman a great deal but then, I'm also a strong supporter of Israel as is he. Picking Joe would send a tremor through only one party or have you forgotten that Joe is an independent? The Dem's wrote him off in '06 backing Ned Lamont with their nomination and so Joe ran and won as an independent. He continues to vote liberal on most issues so the Dem's have about 7/10's of their pie in any event. I doubt that Joe would bring a great deal of Democratic support with him to the McCain ticket, not even Connecticut Democratic support.

[PBzeer]

In many ways, McCain's pick will tell us if it's more important to him to be the "maverick" and go his own way, or to win the election. He doesn't have to so much, please the base, as not get them mad. An energizing pick that would excite the base, could put him over the top though.

A picture of two old white guys, is not going to cut it. Nor will a RINO pick like Christie Todd Whitman. Like Sway's suggestion of Ben Stein, I think he needs to go outside the established politicians for his pick.

[chucklesR]

If McCain goes conservative he will loose because the moderate majority that gave him the nod instead of the conservative challengers WILL stay home. The more vocal, and minority conservatives that stay home because they won't vote for a moderate republican ticket are in fact voting for Obama. I've met some rather quaint conservatives with a rather stiff notion of the world that is, but most of them are not that stupid.

The world, and the majority is going moderate, middle of the road. That's the true lesson this election is driving home.

Maybe I'm just dreaming here, but the numbers seem to support my view.

[Sailormon6]

Originally Posted by sailhog

I hope it's Lieberman. McCain truly likes him, and he truly dislikes Romney. If he picks Romney it would look like he's being too calculating. LIeberman's more qualified to be pres than Romney... in my opinion.

Lieberman is a nice guy, but there's one good reason why he shouldn't be chosen as VP on the Republican ticket - he's not a Republican. This is the Republican convention, and it's the Republican ticket. If President Mc Cain would not be able to fully serve his term in office, wouldn't it be a bit bizarre for the Republicans to have elected a very liberal person to replace McCain, whose policies contravene practically everything the Republicans stand for? It isn't going to happen.

While there are lots of Republicans who could serve as Vice President, I haven't heard any reports that Barack Obama was seriously considering any of them as His running mate. If Barack is truly intent on change, then perhaps He should start by having a Republican running mate. It might help to heal the long-standing rift between Republicans and Democrats. [Note: Pronouns are capitalized in deference to the Messiah.]