The Veep Debate

I didn't see it, I was at a C.E.R.T. class.  And anyway, it seems that historically Vice Presidential Debates Rarely Influence Voters.

 Whatever. But I did enjoy reading this:

 Vice President Jerk: The return of Smirky Malarkey McSmirk

Who knows what the MSM will say tomorrow. I suppose we shall see.

Debate Reveals "Top Things That Make Biden Laugh", viewers reminded of proverbs 29.9

When "Boring" really is Better

Why Mitt should pick a boring Veep:

Romney, make a boring pick for VP

[...] Vice presidential picks are not an opportunity to make a game change, at least in a positive direction. When McCain turned to Palin, he did so in an effort to overcome many of his perceived weaknesses against candidate Obama -- his inability to attract the base of his party, fears that he would appear to look like the "older" candidate in the race, as well as the concern that he was a less charismatic candidate in the eyes of the media.

Clearly the Palin pick backfired. What can Romney and others learn from this episode?

The first lesson is that vice presidential picks should be boring. In the end, Mitt Romney must overcome his weaknesses as a candidate by what he does on the campaign trail, not by who he picks as his running mate.

Having the right person stand beside you rarely will change the way the public sees you. But calling on the wrong person can draw all the focus away from the campaign's main themes and raise serious concerns about the competence of the candidate.

Very often, less than exciting candidates -- Dick Cheney in 2000, Sen. Al Gore in 1992 or George H.W. Bush in 1980 -- turned out to be perfect primarily because they didn't cause much of a stir. When it comes to vice presidential candidates, less attention is better.

A second lesson is that candidates must make sure that their running mate can handle the national spotlight in the modern media age. It's far different to be a rock star in Anchorage than it is in Washington.

With all the outlets for news today, with cable television, the Internet and social media constantly finding and supplying information, it is very difficult to contain charges or gaffes before they go viral.

And despite all the criticism that our current politics are shallow, the fact is that competence can matter very much when candidates stand before the media. When Palin stumbled in her interviews on national television about basic foreign policy questions, the media immediately exposed her flaws.

Katie Couric's questions did huge damage to Palin in 2008 in a manner that most Democrats could only have dreamed of doing.

A third lesson is that appealing to the party's base during the general election is not always the best move to make. After all, Romney's chief asset remains the fact that he is the moderate Republican in the campaign, the Republican who has the best chance to win over independents and disaffected moderate Democrats in November. [...]

Read the whole thing. And lets remember, Obama also made a boring Veep pick, and it worked out well for him.

Sometimes boring really IS the better choice.
     

"McCain-Spears" better than "McCain-Palin"?

With all the talk about why McCain lost, has anyone considered, that it might be because he picked Sarah Palin instead of Britney Spears?

Spears beats Obama

Hey, why not, after all, Britney is a Republican.

Of course I'm kidding. About her being Veep. I'm just wondering, as time goes on, and the Republican Party desperately needs to attract the youth vote, if the day will come when the party has to appeal and reach out, in some way, to the "Britney Spears Republicans"?

In 2004, the party said "no":

Republicans not voting for Britney Spears

But if the Republican Party isn't able to grow and diversify, including attracting younger voters with liberal social values, they may have to rename themselves "The Incredible Shrinking Party".
     

Joe Biden's many... "errors" in the debate

Some people might call them "lies" rather than "errors", but I'll be charitable. But should I be? What he said about McCain's plans for health care couldn't have been farther from the truth. Ditto much else he said.

Sarah did pretty good, but I would have liked to see her tackle some of those questions more directly. Many on the Republican side are claiming she beat Joe Biden. I would say so, but I doubt anyone with strong partisan opinions was swayed from what they already believed. It will be interesting to hear how the swing voters see it.


Related Links:

The debate - some second-hand opinions

Sarah Palin: Shock and Awe at the VP Debate!

[The truth about] Mac's health insurance plan

Why Mac isn't beating the CRA(P) out of Obama

Palin: "Alaska's Promise for the Nation"
     

Wow! What a Great Choice!

I hadn't considered Palin much, because conventional "wisdom" on Veep matters had it that McCain had to pick his Veep from a key swing state. Leave it to John McCain to do something unconventional.

I saw her speak this morning, it was wonderful. The more I hear the more I like what I hear. I'm very enthusiastic about this ticket. Hooray for us!


Related Links:

It's Palin!

Fred Thompson on Palin

Palin for America: A true conservative: “She knows when to stand up and doesn’t let anyone tell her to sit down”
     

Select Marsha Blackburn for Republican Veep

At least she ought to be seriously considered. Her name is being kicked around a lot, and she certainly would be a great choice in many ways:

Marsha Blackburn's Biography

Marsha Blackburn is an established, conservative, results-oriented legislator who solves problems. She was sent to the U.S. House of Representatives at the start of the 108th Congress where she was one of only a few newly-elected congressmen selected to serve as an assistant whip on the majority whip team and the first female in Tennessee elected in her own right to the US House.

Blackburn was elected State Senator in 1998, becoming the first woman to represent Tennessee's 23rd Senate District. While in the Tennessee Senate, Blackburn led a statewide grassroots campaign to defeat the proposed state income tax. Her frequent appearances on talk radio and positive mention in national publications like the Wall Street Journal made her a recognized national anti-tax and government reform advocate. She quickly earned a reputation for keeping her legislative focus on defending and expanding individual freedom and free enterprise.

Blackburn willingly accepts the responsibility of helping shape American fiscal policy as a member of the exclusive House Energy & Commerce Committee. For 208 years, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the oldest legislative standing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, has served as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public’s health and marketplace interests.

Representing both a portion of metropolitan Nashville and the suburbs of Memphis, Blackburn has strong ties with some of the nation’s premier songwriters and performers. In 2003, Blackburn founded the Congressional Songwriters Caucus to give the nation’s creative community access to Capitol Hill. The caucus focuses on the protection of intellectual property and tax policy.

Blackburn was selected to serve as an Assistant Majority Whip in the 108th Congress and an Assistant Minority Whip for the 109th Congress. Whip Roy Blunt has recently selected Congressman Blackburn to serve as a Deputy Whip for the 110th Congress .

She has been named the Communications Chairman for the Republican Study Committee, a large group of fiscally conservative Republicans that make up a majority of Republicans in Congress . Blackburn was also named by Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) as the Communications Chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which recruits and supports Republican candidates for the United States Congress .

A graduate of Mississippi State University and a small business owner, Blackburn has been actively involved in Tennessee grassroots politics and civic organizations for more than 25 years. Blackburn was born on June 6, 1952. Marsha and Chuck Blackburn have been married for thirty-two years. They have two children, Mary Morgan Ketchel, and Chad Blackburn.

Beauty, Brains, Experience and Competency. A winning combination! Marsha has also made some great comments about Hillery Clinton's complaints about being treated differently because she's a woman candidate.

You can look at some more potential Veeps here:

John McCain's Top 24 Potential Picks For Vice-President

[...]

Marsha Blackburn: The TN Congresswoman is attractive, has a superb personality, and has a 97% lifetime ACU rating. She would be a fantastic choice if McCain wanted to reach out to conservative voters and women voters at the same time. Of course, Blackburn has only been in office since 2002, but that still makes her more experienced than Barack Obama. How seriously McCain would look at Blackburn is hard to say, but at first glance, she would appear to be an excellent choice for Veep.

[...]

Jim DeMint: DeMint is relatively young, feisty, is a decent speaker, and is extremely well liked by conservatives. He would be a good choice to shore up McCain's right side. However, DeMint has yet to finish his first term in the Senate, which may keep him from getting serious consideration as Veep (He has already spent 3 terms in the House though).

[...]

Tim Pawlenty: Pawlenty is the governor of Minnesota, which could be a key swing state in 2008. He's also relatively young, conservative, and endorsed McCain early on. You have to think that Pawlenty will be one of the candidates who gets a really hard look from McCain.

[...]

Have a look at the whole list. Who would you pick as the best Veep for McCain?
     

John McCain and the Veep Question

I'm skeptical about polls, especially in absolute terms, although they often show which way the wind is blowing. Someone named Frank Newport at Gallup.com is claiming that Huckabee has the support of as many as 1/4 of Republicans nationally:

Gallup Daily: Tracking Election 2008
Based on daily polling conducted Feb. 8-10, 2008

[...] We will know more after the results of Tuesday's voting have filtered down to Republicans nationally, but several things are clear at this point from the Gallup Poll Daily tracking of Republicans' preferences. McCain is holding on to the support of more than half of Republicans nationally and maintains a lead of more than 30 percentage points above his nearest competitor. But, despite widespread discussion of McCain's status as the presumptive GOP nominee this year, the rise in support for him after Mitt Romney dropped out on Feb. 7 has essentially stalled -- at least for the moment. Despite Huckabee's slim mathematical chances of receiving enough delegates to win the Republican nomination, he has been able to hold on to the support of about a quarter of Republicans nationally. -- Frank Newport

I'd like to know exactly where he got that figure from, before I'd believe it. I admit I don't WANT to believe it. If Huckabee were chosen as veep, I think it would further alienate much of the conservative base who are already balking at McCain. Yet if they continue to balk, he may have to consider other options... might Huckabee be one of them? Lets hope not.

The Veep question is one that's on a lot of people's minds. Lisa Schiffren at NRO has a look at some of the possibilities available for John McCain, and weighs their strengths and weaknesses:

McCain’s Veep
The right No. 2 could help John McCain.

Because he is not the first choice of the conservative base, and enthusiasm for his candidacy is, to say the least, weak, presumptive GOP nominee John McCain should use the occasion of choosing his running mate to show us he cares. Instead of the verbal bouquets he’s begun tossing, the ideal Valentine should be something more solid — like picking a real conservative to round out his ticket. In the interests of balance, his running mate should not only be a staunch conservative: he or she should be younger; be more ideas-driven; boast an executive record; and — ideally — have the capacity to carry a major swing state or region. This year, race and gender could also be factors to consider.

What’s good for the GOP ticket today is good for America tomorrow. A running mate who performs well either becomes vice president — a job in which he or she may influence the administration considerably — or, if the ticket loses, becomes the presumptive candidate in 2012. [...]

She asked readers of NRO's The Corner to make suggestions, and it's those suggestions that she examines. There were too many interesting men and women to list them all here - I suggest following the link to have a look.