John McCain's Vice President: Did Karl Rove Tell Joe Lieberman to Withdraw from Consideration?
McCain is Narrowing it Down to One
Since Karl Rove did not deny that he called Lieberman, Martin is sticking to his story.
With the Democratic National Convention in Denver over, all eyes turn to Dayton, Ohio as John McCain readies to take the stage at a political rally and anounce his choice for vice president. Although Senator Joe Lieberman undoubtedly has been considered as running mate material, the consensus among analysts and political experts is that the short list includes only two names: ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
But Pawlenty says it is a "fair assumption" that he will not be McCain's choice, since he plans to attend the Minnesota State Fair when things kick off in Dayton.
Lieberman's name is still mentioned as a possible choice, but only as a long-shot.
Which leaves Mitt Romney...
McCain's announcement of his choice for vice president is designed to do two things: the McCain camp hopes to blunt the momentum of the Democrats coming out of their convention and at the same time gain some momentum of their own going into the Republican National Convention in St. Paul which begins September 1. In fact, Senator McCain is foregoing his usual weekend off routine and will campaign in Pennsylvania and Missouri before going to the convention.
But the Karl Rove involvement story lends credence to the Democratic claims that the McCain camp is too closely aligned with the unpopular Bush administration. And Rove is not the only former Bush employee advising the McCain campaign. Ken Mehlman, the Republican strategist who headed Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, signed on as an advisor as well. Mark McKinnon, who worked in the Bush White House as a media consultant, has rejoined the McCain camp to help prepare Cindy McCain's convention speech. McKinnon left the campaign earlier this year, stating that he could not be involved in attacking Senator Barack Obama.
Some might consider Rove's phone call inappropriate and meddlesome. Those people would be wrong.
Informal advisor or not, Rove's job is to help get Senator McCain elected. Joe Lieberman, if Senator McCain was actually leaning toward choosing the Connecticut senator, would not be the optimal choice for the Republican vice presidential position. Lieberman is a newly self-proclaimed Independent. He was once a Democrat. This will not solidify the Republican voting base and Rove knows it.
Lieberman's break with his party on many issues, including the Iraq war, might be looked upon as disloyal, even if it is disloyalty toward the Democratic Party. But that would be the least of McCain's problems reconciling this choice to his supporters. Lieberman has an exemplary civil rights (particularly in gay issues) record. He has received an 'F' rating from the NRA for his stance on gun control and gun legislation. Lieberman also takes a pro-choice stance on abortion. Although these issues might bring in a few Independents and undecided voters, it would distance many among the Republican voter base, which has been reportedly unsure even about Senator McCain.
Whether or not Rove actually said that Lieberman would be a "disastrous" choice is irrelevant. From a conservative Republican standpoint, he certainly would be. And picking someone that would cause discord among the Republican voter base would definitely be something that Rove would advise against. If he could head it off by making a phone call, it is safe to assume that he would do so.
McCain is famous for making unorthodox decisions, but he is not known for being politically suicidal.
Published by Saul Relative
WVU graduate, with degrees in History, English, Secondary Education, Computer Programming, and Psychology (and nearly a degree in Political Science). Originally from West Virginia, with stints in Virginia,... View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentI wonder how many strings Rove is trying to pull in this election? The presentation has been quite Rovian, to say the least.
I don't know what poll they're using at Fox News, Javaman, because RealClearPolitics.com has Obama ahead on their Average Poll (combining all polls they track) by 3.9. In fact, McCain is winning only three of the major national polls: Zogby, Battleground, and Fox News. He's tied in the CNN poll. So, with Fox, you have to consider the source. But Zogby has McCain up by 5 points and Battleground by 1. Those are highly respected polls. Of course, Rasmussen has Obama up by 4 points and Gallup has him up by 8. Those are two well-respected polls as well. But as far as the McCain/Palin ticket goes, I am just disgusted with the outright pandering to the Hillary voters. How asinine to ask a Hillary supporter to cross over and back a gun-toting, pro-life, beauty queen (oh, but she has kids !!!) with virtually no track record. Talk about insulting. But on the flip side, she can shoot moose and is loyal to her family (got a guy fired over her sister's divoce, or so it is alleged). Oh,
If McCain wins, you can bet Lieberman will be Secretary of State.
Charlotte, McCain took a huge gamble because he knew that he had to. After the DNC, he knew he wasn't going to get much of a bump and have to fight an uphill battle for two months until the election, not to mention throwing down a ton of attack ads. This way he gets novelty and a bump. For about a week. Then, if Palin doesn't pan out or the media doesn't tear her apart or down, it will be even again. Then we'll see a dogfight until November. But I think he took a risk, trying to appeal to his conservative base (this woman is a good ole boy's wet dream) and to the disaffected Hillary women. He'll get the former but not the latter. They keep talking about substance in the McCain camp and he just threw in superficiality of the first magnitude. Still, it might work. I was leaning away from McCain and I still feel like I've been duped somehow. McCain would have been better off with Lieberman, who, by the way, sources told CNN he actually wanted to choose.
Thanks, News Team!!
Charlie, I have to disagree with you strongly about Lieberman. He is so pro-Israel he may as well invite the Israeli prime minister to run our foreign policy. Talk of him as Secretary of State frightens me. He is not also all that honest as I know from my tenure with the government. I am glad to see him not selected as VP (assuming the Palin choice is not a ruse) and hope McCain will not hand his good friend any other cabinet position.
The word is out that Palin was picked- could it be a leak to allow for a surprise Lieberman choice? Or is Rove running things- he came out strongly against Lieberman whether he made the call or not.
I like Lieberman a lot. I think he is fundamentally a good, honest man. That is quite a concept for a politican. However, I really don't think he would have been the right choice in this instance. Shakinig up your party is one thing but smacking them in the face by saying there wasn't a single Republican out there worthy of the VP spot so you had to choose outside the party; that's something else. I think it might have been political suicide even if Lieberman ultimately might have been the best person for the job (which I'm not saying is true or false). Of course choosing a little known woman governor is a big risk as well. I think McCain is grasping at straws and willing to take a big risk. I guess time will tell if it pays off or sinks him. At this point, I still don't have a candidate I'm willing to vote for.
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