Romney is out

[timcrall]

I didn't see that coming

Comments

[tikiera]

Scarily, the articles I'm seeing hint that makes it very likely Huckabee will be the VP nominee.

[bellabrigida]

Yeah, well, McCain's working really hard to have conservatives follow him. And if it's not Romney, it'll have to be Huck. Or maybe someone else. Like Condoleeza Rice or something. But if she's smart, she'll stay away from McCain.

I like her. And I like to think she's smart.

Then again, maybe. I don't know. I'm so totally lost at this point. I mean, McCain/Huckabee?!?

[timcrall]

But does he HAVE to work hard for the conservatives anymore? Candidates always run to the center for the general anyhow. And despite their protests to the contrary, are they really going to vote for Clinton or Obama just to spite him? (And if they do, more power to them, I say)

[jamesofengland]

There are pretty good arguments for preferring Hillary/ Obama, and some people certainly will, but it's much more a question of donors, volunteers, and turnout. If he doesn't pick a reasonably reliable conservative, much of talk radio, in particular, won't be able to support him.

[jamesofengland]

Huckabee seemed more likely about a day ago. Hanging out with the McCain staffers, there wasn't a broad consensus, but Coburn seemed to be the lead choice. I'd be slightly surprised if this was an improvement from your perspective (totally an improvement from mine). Some happy dreams about Jindal, who we all agreed would be great, although he's a little young and a little too openly red meat and wonkish to be a mirror of Obama.

Is the Huckabee objection about his religion or is there a particular policy beef you have with him?

[diabhol]

I'd like to select Faith and Politics, Marriage, Sanctity of Life, Cuba and Judges.

Besides, according to him, there's no distinction between his religion and his policies.

[timcrall]

This thing keeps crashing my posts. Possibly too long.

Reasons why I think the Huckabee part of McCain/Huckabee is not necesarily in the cards:

1) McCain has not previously demonstrated a willingness to cander to his base despite its being in his political best interests

[timcrall]

2) While its natural to speculate as to primary candidates as VPs, because they've been in the news, just as often the nomines selects someone from beyond the primary scene such as a govenor or congressman who may be less known outside the party circle and a particular region but who brings something to the ticket

[timcrall]

3) As what's left of the primary goes on, Huckabee will have to be increasingly critical of McCain

[timcrall]

4) Since Romney has all-but endorsed (albeit reluctantly) McCain, maybe a deal is on the table there?

[jamesofengland]

Very unlikely. Not John's style to get over personal grudges, not Mitt's to make grubby deals.

[jamesofengland]

If Huckabee does not bow out before me in a few hours time, he's going to be staying in to make McCain look good (like a winner). There may be attacks, but likely none that really connect.

[jamesofengland]

The Huckabee speculation is because Huckabee could not win the race, but remained in to knock out Mitt. He and McCain had been increasingly close from Iowa onwards. Huckabee is certainly due some kind of reward, but it now seems likely that it won't be veep. If things had gotten to a brokered convention it would have been all but certain that it would have been.

[jamesofengland]

I think that this depends on what you consider pandering, and what you consider to be his base. If you think of the media as being his base, I suspect you'd have a tough time supporting the statement. When he talks about the tax cuts for the rich that he condemned in '00, '01, and '03, and wants to keep now, he's surely either pandering when he condemns them or when he promises to keep them. When he repeatedly assured people that he would not push for McCain Kennedy and had learned his lesson, right up until 3 hours after the race is conceded, when he says that he would, actually, push for McCain Kennedy, that seems like a pander. His absurdly unlikely to ever happen promises of a raft of tax cuts seem a lot like pandering. I can spit these out for as long as it takes

[timcrall]

Abner Coburn, Governor of Maine from 1863 to 1865
Braydon Coburn, Canadian hockey player
Frank P. Coburn, United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
James Coburn, American film actor
James Coburn (criminal), executed in 1964 in Alabama, United States
John Coburn, Australian painter
John Coburn (merchant), purchased the USS Alliance (1778)
Louise Helen Coburn, Maine writer and co-founder of Sigma Kappa sorority
Stephen Coburn, United States Representative from Maine in the 1800s
Tom Coburn, medical doctor and United States Senator from Oklahoma
Charles Coburn, American actor

I'm guessing you mean that one, but some of the other options amused me.

[timcrall]

Nope, looks like it wasn't that one, that one's dead.

Ah, there we go, it was Tom Coburn, medical doctor and United States Senator from Oklahoma