CQ Politics VP Madness Round 2
- Posted by Beth on May 9th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, General, John McCain, Politics VP watch
CQ Politics has Round 2 of VP Madness up–you’ve got until Monday to get your picks in. Here’s how it looks after Round One:
Can’t say I agree with ALL of those picks, but whatever. ;-)
(I almost missed this, buried beneath 8000 other emails in my inbox - as it is, it came in two days ago.)
Lord Bitememan says:
Cool. So far my picks have been matching up pretty well with the results. Have to say though, I way disagree on the popular trend on Ridge vs. Hutchinson. Hutchinson has a mug that freeze a clock. That’s not a great quality in a VP pick.
PaulW says:
…Rice beat out Hagel…?
I am slightly miffed that Crist has the drawback of being insufficently moderate on the abortion issue. Um, guys, abortion’s not even a Top 5 Issue this year for nationwide voters. There’s THE ECONOMY, IRAQ, THE ECONOMY, IRAQ, and Edward Norton’s questionable taking over of the Bruce Banner role in the upcoming Hulk sequel/restart. No, wait, topic Number 5 is AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE (or if you’re a racist like Tancredo, your Number 5 topic is Shipping all the Mexicans back to China).
Do you know people, Democrat or Republican, who cares about abortion right now as an issue? Me, uh-uh, no one. Everyone around here is worried about 1) keeping their jobs, 2) keeping their homes, 3) keeping gas from going over $8 at the pumps, 4) keeping their pill bills below $10k per month (this *IS* Florida, folks). Find a candidate who can deal with those issues, and you’ve got a winner.
sierrahome says:
“Hutchinson has a mug that freeze a clock”
So funny and so true LB
Beth says:
Is that what people don’t like about Crist? As for me, there’s just something about him I don’t like. I can’t put my finger on it at all, and it’s not because of his politics. It’s HIM. Regardless, I voted for JC Watts anyway. That was a no-brainer for me, although that’s just a personal preference. I’m not sure he’d be any better as a running mate than anyone else, considering his absence from the scene for the last several years.
Beth says:
Also, “Rice beat out Hagel?” THANK GOD. Chuck Hagel is an abomination. Condi has her issues (going native at State, basically), but Hagel? Ugh.
Beth says:
I picked Ridge over Hutchison too. I don’t see what she brings to the ticket at all (except for the mug–LOL).
TC says:
The Jindal vs. Steele pick was the toughest for me.
Beth says:
Me too. No fair having to pick between them!
it's vintage duh says:
The Steele vs. Jindal thing isn’t tough. He’s signed up with Christie Todd Whitman to start the Republican Leadership Council, basically another version of Whitman’s It’s My Party, Too PAC. Steele is way more liberal than people think.
Beth says:
Well, it was tough for me for a couple reasons. Jindal is perfect, but he’s still just a LITTLE too “new.” I want him as President some day, and I don’t think running as VP now is the path to it. I could be wrong about that, of course. I LOVE Bobby Jindal though, and he’s my sentimental favorite pick. Just not my practical favorite.
Michael Steele IS less conservative than many others, but that’s okay with me. The reason why: the most important thing right now to do is “re-brand” the GOP. We can’t make an ideological push for conservatism or anything else we want as Republicans in general when the Republican name is in the gutter. Of course, both Steele and Jindal are precisely the prescription for the disease, but both have drawbacks. My biggest stumbling block for Michael Steele is that he lost his last election, although we all know why that is (Democrats play the race card for political reasons and then turn around and call black Republicans “Uncle Toms”). I still think that while he’s more moderate (not “liberal”) than many people realize, he’s incredibly intelligent and can bring more people over to our way of thinking from the other side. More so than Jindal, even. And incidentally, so can McCain, which is why he’s the perfect candidate this year, even if he’s not a perfect conservative. He is exactly what the Republican brand needs now to make the GOP respectable again. (Not that such disrespect for conservatism is deserved, despite the best efforts of the disgraced ones embroiled in scandal.)
These days, I don’t demand conservative purity, even though I’m a lifelong conservative and that hasn’t changed. I demand integrity and the ability to “sell” our side. Ideological purity can come after we’re appealing to others again–not the other way around.
raz0r says:
Crist made it through? Wasted my vote on JC Watts. ;-) Voted for Thune this time.
I had a hard time with Jindal v. Steele too.