Breaking: McCain To Announce VP Choice In Dayton On August 29th - Who Will It Be? Taking Bets! Tell Us Now!
In keeping with the status quo of how this campaign has been going, the other camp has answered back within hours…
Politico is reporting at this hour that John McCain will announce his choice for VP on August 29th in Dayton, Ohio.
Any guesses? Who’s it going to be folks?
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to celebrate his 72nd birthday on Aug. 29 by naming his running mate at a huge rally in the battleground state of Ohio, Republican sources said.
That’s a week from Friday, and the day after his rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, accepts the Democratic nomination at a 70,000-person spectacular in a Denver stadium.
The campaign has begun building a crowd of 10,000 for Dayton, Ohio, according to an organizer. McCain is scheduled to appear with his running mate at a large-scale event in Pennsylvania shortly thereafter.
Senior Republicans are in the dark about who he’ll name, although they say former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty are prime contenders after a trial balloon by McCain gave him very negative feedback about the idea of picking an abortion-rights running mate such as Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and the first secretary of homeland security.
Sources close to McCain say he has wrestled with the choice, torn between a high-stakes, high-reward pick like Ridge or Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman — the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000 — or a safer and more conventional selection such as Romney or Pawlenty.
Friends say he has yet to make a final decision, and is not expected to do so until after Sen. Barack Obama announces his choice.
McCain friends emphasized that he talks about the decision with almost no one, and could even change the announcement plans and go sooner.
“McCain views this as the one decision that he has total, utter, nonnegotiable control over,” one campaign official said.
The announcement strategy — provided McCain doesn’t change it — calls for naming the pick early Friday morning to try to suppress Obama’s bounce coming out of his convention.
“You’re going to own the weekend,” a McCain official said.
The Republican convention begins the following Monday — Labor Day — in St. Paul, Minn.
McCain advisers say they don’t think it would make sense to name the vice presidential designee earlier because the impact would get diluted by Obama’s selection. And because the GOP convention is second, they have the advantage of knowing the opposition ticket before showing their own cards.
“You can fire the bullet once,” said one key Republican. “You want the most meaningful target.”
Alex M. Triantafilou, chairman of the Hamilton County (Ohio) Republican Party, said in an exuberant post on his blog this weekend: “Sen. McCain is expected to host a rally on August 29 in Dayton and is looking for a BIG venue and for a BIG crowd. He’ll get it. This is not yet public. I guess I just made it so.”
The post has been removed without explanation.
PolitickerOH.com reported Monday morning that the event will be at the 10,000-seat Ervin J. Nutter Center, a sports and entertainment complex at Wright State University.
(Politico)
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Sarah Palin?
Probably not, but it would be nice.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:36 pmOh, cripes!
It had BETTER be someone to the right of himself …
August 18th, 2008 at 5:36 pmMichael Steele - former Maryland Lieutenant Governor and frequent Fox news contributer - a african american, would guarantee him a win.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:38 pmim hoping for Palin myself. i would like to see Romney but like people were saying, he would probably have to explain constantly about his religious beliefs. Mitt seems like a ‘take no shit’ kinda guy.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:41 pmTed Nugent!!!
As much as I want Palin or Mitt, I’m putting my vote on Pawlenty.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:43 pmMIKE PENCE!
August 18th, 2008 at 5:45 pmThe 29th eh?
August 18th, 2008 at 5:54 pmThen it’s probably still kinda dependent on the Dhimmi Veep nominee.
Joe Liberman
August 18th, 2008 at 5:55 pmMitt…. please
August 18th, 2008 at 5:59 pmSarah Palin or Mitt
August 18th, 2008 at 6:05 pmI won’t make a guess as to the person. With every “good” choice, there are drawbacks. But I think the choice will follow a few factors.
1. It won’t be a choice that rocks the boat, so no Palin or Jindal. There each have their own issues, minor as they are, that could be used against them. Also, they lack experience. They have more than Obama, certainly, but relative to McCain, they’re still babies. The Obama camp could use that to erode the experience argument, a la Dan Quayle.
2. Qualified or not, any candidate that is a woman or “ethnic” is going to be seen as pandering. The McCain camp as bent over backwards to make sure that any perception of race issues being involved in the campaign is removed. So, expect a choice from among the “old guard.”
3. To counteract the energy-sucking effect of point two, they probably won’t choose an “unexciting” candidate, which means, as much as I like Pawlenty (a two term governor who has been consistently conservative and kept taxes and spending down in Minnesota), I don’t think he’s going to get chosen. However, I think this one is also the one I’m most likely to be wrong on. Pawlenty is not only a solid conservative choice, but he’s been a long and strong supporter of McCain. That may benefit him.
4. Despite some non-committal statements from McCain and company, they’re going to choose a conservative, to make sure that conservatives don’t sit at home on election day.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:16 pmromney ftw
August 18th, 2008 at 6:49 pmsorry to post again
heh nutter center, thats where i graduated, OH
August 18th, 2008 at 6:50 pmSome liberal fag like Pawlenty or Lieberman.
Oh he’s got to be a Maverick!! got to get along with uncle keg.
What’s worse is my own nightmare Thune is in bed with him what a freakin let down.
You send them because they tow the conservative line but in Washington its all about power and to keep it you have to toss the chimps at home some crackers. MICRO PECKERS!
Senators don’t make good leaders because they are deal makers.
We are just so Dam screwed.
McCain has 3 things going for him. He’s a vet
He’s pro life.
Maybe theres a chance of him putting in a conservative judge.(maybe)
Pretty thin leadership resume.
And the other side has a lib or a Marxist depending on who can hijack their convention.
Say a prayer for the morning after.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:54 pmRegards
Storm 0311
Paul Ryan, R-WI
August 18th, 2008 at 7:09 pmLet’s really piss-off the American Left…
Dick Cheney
August 18th, 2008 at 7:25 pmHopefully Sarah Palin…But I will say I’m definitely going to be there to see what goes on in person.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:32 pmPalin or Nugent. Thompson would ensure my voting for the ticket as opposed to Mickey Mouse . . . Hell what am I saying, I need to cancel someone’s Obama vote.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:17 pm“…high-stakes, high-reward pick like Ridge or Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman”
High reward?!! Politico has to be out of their minds!!! Ridge and Lieberman would be rejected immediately by the conservatives and pro-life voters. A better description would be high-RISK, not high-reward. Just the sight of Ridge bugs me, and it isn’t just his stance on abortion. His personality is smug and strange all at the same time. I don’t like him.
Lieberman is way too liberal for the Republican party, in spite of his good work supporting the Iraq war effort and the troops. Make him the Defense Secretary or Homeland secretary or something nice and safe where he can’t do too much damage to the conservative cause, but not VP IMO.
August 18th, 2008 at 9:09 pmI’m not sure why they wait to announce VP’s. I’d think that the one who does it first will create the biggest buzz. Well, whoever announces it first is a smart guy.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:25 pmYeah, that would be pretty much everyone on in the GOP…
I say Romney would be good…”it ’s the economy stupid!” In addition; I think that Mitt would be strong on Nat Defence and capable if something did happen to McCain, health wise.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:55 amFor what it’s worth: Mitt.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:15 am1. Lawn signs springing up like mushrooms: NO MITT, NO MONEY;
2. Mitt put his money machine behind John and works tirelessly for him;
3. Mitt’s actions speak to his concern and patriotism for this country and John is a patriot;
4.Ann Romney (recovering from MS) has become close friends with Cindy McC (recovering, herself, from serious illness) –and this is a most important connection.
5. Romney appeals to both men and women, as does his strong family values.
6. The Left hates and fears Mitt.
Smoking Joe Liebermann
August 19th, 2008 at 7:52 amsteele would be a good choice
August 19th, 2008 at 9:25 am