VP questions hound McCain
done
LAS CRUCES, NM - The questions came from both sides of the room at a town hall meeting, during a national radio interview and during a campaign conference call that was intended to focus attention on other issues.
With rumors still swirling that McCain is considering selecting a pro-choice running mate, including Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman, the presumptive GOP nominee did his best to mollify concerns on his right flank about his eventual VP selection Wednesday.
His morning appearance on the Laura Ingraham radio show set the tone for the day as the conservative talk show host repeatedly pleaded with McCain to choose a pro-life VP.
“I’m just going to tell you from the conservative perspective we are literally imploring you to not turn your back on your great pro-life record over decades,” Ingraham said.
McCain said last week that he doesn’t believe pro-choice views should disqualify any potential vice president but demurred today when asked again if abortion was a “non-negotiable” issue.
“I have not made the decision and we’re in the process, and if I say anything more than that I guarantee you there’s going to be another one of these firestorms,” McCain told Ingraham, though he also assured her millions of listeners that, “I have a pro-life record, that I have pro-life policies and my administration will have pro-life policies.”
An hour later at his town hall in Las Cruces, two of his first five questions were about his VP choice - voters curious to know whether he would break tradition and select a number two that does not ascribe to the entire GOP platform.
McCain initially avoided the first voter’s question about whether a pro-choice candidate was under consideration, touting his long pro-life record and telling his longstanding joke that a VP has two duties–breaking a tie in the Senate and inquiring daily about the President’s health.
That answer was not satisfying enough for some individuals in the audience as less than 10 minutes later, McCain faced a second inquiry.
“Are you going to pick a vice president that conservatives can actually rally around in the future or are you going to give us someone who will cause us to want to stay home?” one man asked, after noting that McCain had “alienated” conservatives with some of his past votes.
“(I) will nominate a person to be vice president, my running mate who shares my principles, my values, and my priorities and that’s the best that I can tell you,” McCain said, noting that the key issues he will use to energize conservatives will be fiscal responsibility and national security.
At that point, McCain was done with questions, even starting off his subsequent Politico interview by saying “let me just begin by saying that to save you some time, I’m not going to comment on the vice president.”
However, reporters were still not done. Next up, an afternoon campaign conference call hosted by Rudy Giuliani intended to focus on an Obama adviser’s trip to Syria and the Democrat’s foreign policy weaknesses.
After Hizzoner’s opening statement on the Syria meeting and one obligatory question on the topic, NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell asked the pro-choice Giuliani how the GOP would react to McCain choosing a VP with similar views.
“It would seem to me that the Republican Party is not as far as I can tell, and I traveled to thousands of places last year, not a one issue party,” the former presidential contender said. “I know John McCain, his seriousness, his love of country, he’ll select the person who is best. And if that person happens to be, among other things pro choice, the party will support that.”
When a second reporter tried to follow up with yet another running mate questions, a campaign spokesman cut him off.
“We could do a call all day on Senator McCain’s VP choices,” said spokesman Michael Goldfarb, who suggested reporters keep their questions focused on foreign policy.
But still no luck with the topic du jour. Even though the next question came from McCain-friendly blogger, it dealt with campaign lobbyist ties.
After a quick response from Giuliani, the operator informed reporters the Q and A session was complete after only four questions. No more answers today from Camp McCain but with nearly 10 more days before he is likely to announce his running mate, the questions aren’t going anywhere.
Tags: john mccain, runningmate, vice president, Vice presidential picks, vp
Share
Clearly, a pro-choice VP selection such as Ridge, Lieberman, or Romney would lose the election for McCain. He needs to look at the candidate with the most favorable ratings and the one who took second in the delegate count - a real pro-life man, Mike Huckabee.
Let me get this straight…
REPs won’t vote for McCain if he picks a pro-life VP… WHO are they going to vote for then? Obama? The REP party is in taters… just like the DEM party in 1996. We need a “LEADER”… not a talking point
Hopefully the rallying is for ROMNEY!?!!!! McCain has many strengths and Romney would add to the ticket. McCAIN/ROMNEY 2008!!!
ROMNEY is impressive, classy, dignified with a GREAT FAMILY! 5 good young men so obviously he and his wife did many things RIGHT along with governing & business strengths.
Why did you not mention that McCain is thinking on the DRAFT, this guy all he is thinking about is WAR. He is reckless!! He is not going to get my granchildren to go fight a war we did not have go to. Who does he think he is? He needs for us to vote for him first. I will not vote for McCain.
If McCain picks a pro - choice VP my family of eight will not vote for him. Many people believes like I do regarding this subject.
For the sake of the economy, ROMNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!
Forget the VP, check out this exchange at this same NM town hall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVmi_j-UWQY
Romney was against Abortion before he was for it.
If McCain chooses Romney, their will be 2 liberal candidates on the Republican ticket.
It will be hard for conservatives to swallow this..
For the sake of this country Obama
Romney makes me throw up in my mouth. He’s boring and a flip-flopper. He spent millions of dollars in the primaries and still lost miserably. He adds nothing other than a politician who ran from a re-election contest that he knew he couldnt’ win, and a man who as recently as 2005 was pro-choice. He’s going to add nothing other than to excite the establishment.
McCain needs a fresh bold conservative choice…Gov. Sarah Palin!!
Romney makes me throw up in my mouth. He’s stale. He’s a flip-flopper who was pro-choice as recently as 2005. He spent millions of dollars in the primary and lost miserably. He adds nothing. McCain needs a bold, fresh, exciting conservative pick…Gov. Sarah Palin!
McCAIN/ROMNEY 2008 IS THE ONLY TICKET I WILL SUPPORT
Romney makes me throw up in my mouth. He’s stale. He spent millions on the primary and lost miserably. He’s a flip-flopper on almost every issue. He was pro-choice as recently as 2005. He’s not going to do squat for McCain. McCain needs a bold, fresh, conservative choice…Gov. Sarah Palin!
Obama 08!!!!
Come on, People. What’s the big deal? The vice president has ONE job - Chairman of the Senate. Dick Chaney is completly out of bounds. The VP cannot make policy, save the economy or anything else. He can influence the Senators and swing them to the side of the president because of his close relationship to them, but he cannot introduce either the president’s or his own bills in the Senate.
Does the VP running mate make that much difference after the election?
With Obama spirling downward in the polls, McCain could chose Larry Craig as his running mate and still occupy the Oval Office for the next four years. And I suspect there are a number of Senators who wouldn’t mind that choice.
I keep thinking McCain is going to choose someone who’s not on the media’s list. What a media frenzy that would cause!! We haven’t heard a thing about John Kasich, but he’d be a great choice: 18 years in Congress, Chairman of th House Budget Committee, congressional committee member that changed welfare system, does investment banking on Wall Street and he sits on the board of a few large businesses. He’s from Ohio, was born in PA, and does guest lecturing in PA. Seems to fit, doesn’t it??
Hey Kathy, you better get all the facts straight on the DRAFT thing. Another one of those MSNBC
sound bite quotes that are taken completly out of context. These are the kinds of things that make folks seem so totally folish when the entire truth comes out. One question I would ask is what is the
Democratic candidate going to do to give my state (Virginia) one million new jobs. He has stated he
is going to create 5 million new jobs in Michigan or is it four million there and one million here? This
is like his budgetary numbers, 10 Billion here, 10 billion there, and then again the same 10 billion
some place else. Well I guess that middle class tax cut just went down the tubes.
Romney would make a good cabinet member for McCain but not VP. Mike Huckabee is the “WOW” factor for McCain. I agree with the post from Patty - if he chooses a pro choice VP I will not vote in this election. I would rather see a Democrat win, screw up the country for 4 more years and then get another Republican elected in 2012 rather than see McCain destroy the basic beliefs of Republicans and serve as President. You may think this is a bit radical but I hope McCain does not under estimate the anger that would cause with social conservatives. I just hope McCain doesn’t do something stupid and get an unknown VP like Sarah Palin, who is under investigation herself. Mike Huckabee will energize the party, Romney won’t. I would probably support a McCain/Romney ticket but McCain will not get any contributions from me and I will not work to get him elected.
Do conservative right republicans realize that not voting or voting for a 3rd party candidate is just liek voting for Obama himself? Who cares if the VP is pro-choice, McCain is not, and he is the one who nominates Supreme Court justices is elected president. I’m an independent voting for McCain, and a staunch pro-life advocate, but a pro-choice VP, who has no say in the matter since he does not appoint justices, will not sway my vote in the slightest. The other option is infanticide supporter Obama.
IS PRO-CHOICE PRO-GAY RIGHTS MITT FLIPP PHONEY NOW TURNED CONSERVATIVE IS ON THE TICKET, I WILL NOT VOTE…I THINK THE GOP NEED TO HAVE A SHOCKER LIKE OBAMANATION IN THE WHITE HOUSE TO TRULY RETURN BACK TO THEIR TRUE CONSERVATIVE ROOTS RATHER THEN THEY HAVE BECOME MONEY HUNGRY HOUNDS…MITT FLIP IS THE WORSE..HE GOT NOTHING BACK ON HIS INVESTMENT INTO THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE, AND HE LEFT MASS IN A MESS JUST CHECK OUT THEIREVER INCREASING BUDGET FOR HIS HILLARY STYLE HEALTH CARE PLAN.. OF GIVE ME A BREAK HE IS THE FACE OF WALL STREET AND HE WILL RECK THE PARTY..BUT THEN AGAIN, IT MAY NOT BE A BAD IDEA B/C TRULY ONCE HE IS OUT OF THE WAY, HE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN IN 2012 AND IT WILL LEAVE A CLEAR PATH FOR MIKE HUCKABEE AS THE FRONT RUNNER OF THE PEOPLE…IF MITT FLIP IS FORCED DOWN OUR THROATS, I SMELL A REVOLT COMMING IN THE REPUB PARTY THAT WILL HAVE FISCAL CONSERVATIVES HOLD THEIR NOSE TO VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE…
I don’t think picking a pro-choice vp will hurt Mccain at all. In the end, it is the president who makes the decisions, not the vice president. The vp can and will advice the president on issues, but that’s pretty much it. I believe that by keeping his cabinet diverse (politically), Mccain will not run a single issue, single agenda adminitration like our good-ole president Bush does. After all, we want the next administration to represent the WHOLE country as much as possible, not just a single party, or a single ideology. By including a VP who might lean pro-choice demonstrates that John Mccain is really the type of person to work across party lines so that the American people will get a government that works.
I am a moderate / conservative, but as much as I want Mccain to pick a VP who is pro-life, I also realize the bleak political environment for republicans this year. If John Mccain wins this election, he may likely face a democrat majority in house and senate. A VP who can talk in democrats’ language and a president who has a history of working across the aisle will ensure that we have an efficient government. If we have an administration dedicated 100% to conservative goals, and not willing to compromise, the democrat congress will be very unhappy, and we will have 2 more years of partisan gridlock.
Here is my look at potential vp candidates:
Mike Huckabee - Great politician, great person, but his faith might be too polarizing to win this election. His ideas though are very populist. This guy has been working well with a democrat congress in Arkansas as a governor, so I don’t think the national democrat congress will have a very ugly time with him.
Mitt Romney - I like him a lot. But his ties with big businesses might make him overly conservative for some democrats. But as a Massechussetts governor, he is like Huckabee in that Romney also worked closely with a congress dominated by the opposing party.
Rudy Guilianni - Not a good choice for VP.
Joe Lieberman - I feel that Joe might actually help Mccain win over the independent vote. But if it is the Lieberman factor that helps catapult Mccain to presidency, will most democrats hold a grudge against him in the future? Time will tell.
In the end, I believe we trust Mccain and let him choose who he wants as his VP. After all, we Americans want an independent leader who speaks his mind, and not his latest poll numbers.
Best wishes to Mccain!
Romney is the only choice. Sure wish Huckabee would just shut up and go home, and stop badmouthing Romney every time someone interviews him. So much for his “reverend” act.
Mccain! Don’t ever choose your friend, who are pro-choice!! You will lose a big fat votes!!
You don’t know how many Christians voted for you but now they decided to sit in the house!
You are the same group as Obama. Make up your mind!! You told us just last week that
Mccain! Don’t ever choose your friend, who are pro-choice!! You will lose a big fat votes!!
You don’t know how many Christians voted for you but now they decided to sit in the house!
You are the same group as Obama. Make up your mind!! You told us just last week that YOU ARE PRO-LIFE!! ARE YOU CHANGING YOUR MIND?
BY THE WAY!! HUCKABEE FOLLOWERS!! MIKE HUCKABEE IS A JEALOUS MAN WHO IS ALWAYS TALKS ILL OF OTHERS! WE DON’T SUPPORT HIM DUE TO BAD EXAMPLE AND MONEY HUNGRY !!
WE WANT MITT ROMNEY AND ONLY HIM!! HE IS THE BEST VP AND MCCAIN WILL CHOOSE HIM!!
ROMNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
FOR VP!!
ROMNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012!!
Pick a pro-life mate, John. You have to. Especially since you just told us that you would pick a running mate who shares your “principles, values, and priorities.”
Otherwise, I’m voting for Alan Keyes.
Mitt is pro-abortion? You’re a liar and you know it. Any falsehood to promote your bigot Huckabozo who believes that if you don’t follow his personal religious beliefs you are less of a American. McCain picking the Huckester is a guaranteed loss.
Does it really matter. This guy has sold out our country once to the vietnamese by (his own admission) our we really going to give him a chance to sell it out to big oil and defense contracts.
Hillary or John McCann.
We are 18 million votes.
PUMA.
If McCain loses the presidency because he loses Pennsylvania, which is quite possible, the republicans can rue the day that pro choice Tom Ridge was not the VP choice. He is tremendously popular in Pennsylvania, and extremely well qualified. If evangelist (the base) stay home on election day because McCain does choose a pro choice VP candidate, then by default they can hand the election to the pro abortion candidate Obama. Now that is really ill conceived, illogical, and completely non sensical. However, boy we showed him a lesson!
Ha. Mitt and his five fine strapping sons — none of whom are patriotic enough to volunteer to go to fight in Iraq. Want to end wars? Reinstate the draft. Man up or shut up.
To the partisan democrats and crazy Huckster supporters who are out attempting to discredit Romney better get their heads fixed. It still surprises me how people neglect researching candidates and get their info from the MSM. It’s interesting to note that those who actually research for themselves are all supporters of Romney. I, myself, have looked at several sources on Romney both primary and secondary and can say I know his record inside and out. He is not the flip flopped that liberals want you to believe he is. He only changed on abortion and explained that a visit to a stem cell research clinic opened his eyes to the true meaning of when life began. I researched his record as gov and found he always opposed not only abortion funding bills but also cracked down hard on illegal immigration. Those who continue to bash a conservative, moral, and genius person like Romney need to get over their jealousy and admit he’s the BEST choice for vp. In troubling times where Obama makes known his scary policies and associations with radical terrorists, our nation should be thankful we have such a excellent public servant with Romney. While most reps are rallying around Romney, I can only hope the rest of America will wake up. McCain/Romney 08