If McCain picks a woman, then he would have too also. Seriously some feminists are starting to make me angry. I understand that they want a woman as president, I get that. But Hillary Clinton is not the right woman for the job. That is, in my opinion.

I think McCain will pick Huckabee, Hillary has shown that Obama's Achilles heel is with the white working class, Huckabee is populist and a great campaigner. He also has shown that he can do a lot with practically no money and the Republicans are at a disadvantage there this year.

Condi Rice would be a terrible pick, she is Bush's office wife, and wouldn't draw a single black vote against Obama.

It would be a shrewd move by McCain, however I don't think he'd personally want it as much as it would be pushed on him by the party. However given McCain's age concerns his VP will be under much more scrutiny for the CIC test.

I still say it's going to be Pawlenty out of Minnesota.

If Hillary's supporters don't care that the Supreme Court will be stacked with neocon appointees, and that Roe v. Wade will be overturned in the summer of '09, then by all means, they should vote out of spite and vindictiveness and keep the Bush/Cheney regime in the White House for four more years.

One of the crazy things about this election year is the possibilities are... well, crazy!

I think it's plausible for McCain to pick Lieberman as VP. It would certainly shake things up, especially if the Dems take both houses in Congress as expected.

In a similar vein party-bending manner, I think that Christine Todd Whitman (who is mentioned above) would also make a possible running mate for Obama. I'm a big fan of her -- she really tried to run the EPA honestly and quit when the administration wouldn't let her. I think McCain should consider strongly choosing her, what's not to like? Executive experience, moderate, obviously against Bush, national experience.

I guess Libby Dole is too ancient?

I think much depends on the woman whom McCain might choose. He has problems with his base - neither the evangelicals nor the National Review economic conservatives are particularly fond of him, although they'll probably fall in line. But recall the ruckus they made over Harriet Miers - something similar may happen from some corners on the right if Whitman, who is pro-choice, is the pick. So I strongly doubt McCain would go there.

It would be an interesting gambit, similar to suggestions that McCain might want to tap an African-American if Hillary is the nominee, to try to tap into discontent among the losing candidate's supporters. While there are certainly differences between Obama and Clinton, they pale in comparison to the ones between either and McCain. So from a rationalist perspective, Democrats should rally around the nominee, whoever it is.

That said, maybe I'm too dense, but if anything, it seems to me that Obama has a stronger claim to feel disrespected by Clinton than the opposite: Clinton was floating the idea that Obama should be her running mate when Obama was leading the race. Clinton has publicly states that McCain passed the "Commander in chief" threshold, while pointedly refusing to say that Obama had.

In my opinion, Clinton simply had the misfortune to run against a stronger candidate. In most years, she would have run away with the Democratic nomination. This year, however, she is being beaten by an even more effective candidate and campaign.

I think McCain would pick a woman VP when hell freezes over. The GOP is trying to remake its image, but it won't go that far. My guess is Huckabee. He brings with him all those evangelicals that McCain can't seem to excite.

Kinkistyle, you say:

"but lets face it, there are some women Democrats out there who have been disillusioned by the primaries and might just just cross-over if given a carrot like the first female Veep."

I have to disagree with you here. I truly believe that no Democrat woman, ideologically Democrat, can vote for McCain. (Maybe abstain...)

I have stated in a few occasions that I could never vote for Hillary. As turned off by Hillary as I have been during these Primaries, I realize clearly now that if push came to shove, I would certainly, absolutely, vote for her.

Not because I would find Hillary tremendously engaging all of a sudden. It has much more to do with reality kicking in. Once you let the dream of getting-your-best-choice die, all you are left with is the factual choices available in November.

No matter how big my wish for vengeance towards Hillary may be, my wish for progress is bigger, way bigger!

I may not believe that real change will come from Hillary, but I am 100% sure that with McCain we are going backwards.

(PS: I was about to write a post releasing this confession of mine; but your words prompted me to it on the spot.)

Remember that Christie Whitman lost a lot of clout when a photograph of her smiling while frisking an African American man in Camden was revealed in 2000. This was a publicity stunt that had a ruinous effect on her.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/071100-02.htm

If she's part of anybody's ticket, that photograph will play a major role in the campaign.

Of course, the NJ governors since her have had their own scandals!!!!

Christine Todd Whitman his highly-disliked by the Right Wing of the party; the term RINO is thrown her way quite a bit. I remember hearing a couple of the wackos on AM radio given her a hard time when her book came out a few years ago.

Sorry, I think the choice of Condi is laughable. Really. She is so tied up with Bush, that she will never pull in any of the Independents he desperately needs. McCain can say he wants us to remain in Iraq and win by 2013...well he is trying to fix the mess created by Condi. Any debate can focus on the large millstone around her neck that is the search for WMDs, and the many things that Condi said in front of Congress that turned out 110% wrong.

A woman VP on a ticket that would still pick SC justices that overturn Roe and gut anti-discrimination legislation.

I don't think so.

"I think McCain would pick a woman VP when hell freezes over. The GOP is trying to remake its image, but it won't go that far. My guess is Huckabee. He brings with him all those evangelicals that McCain can't seem to excite."

That's right. They'd have problems choosing a woman because they are prejudiced. Both the GOP and their voters. That's why they chose the GOP, because that is what they represent.

Also McCain wants to attack Obama as unworthy of CinC status, but a woman on his ticket would have trouble fitting that bill according to the likelihood she's not a 70 year old former POW male, the GOP's current definition of possible CinC.

There's way too much triangulation in this thread. Yes, a VP is one way to shore up support in your weak areas, but don't forget the VP has to take over the presidency if something happens to you. At the end of the day you can't choose a VP that wouldn't fully represent your views.

I think picks like Whitman for Obama and Huckabee for McCain are not fitting at all in that regard.