Romney publicly endorses McCain

[_Pokatator]

I think the point is McCain has warts, Romney has warts and Huckabee has warts. But when push comes to shove it won't matter when all those warts are in comparison to Obama or Hillary.

A common liberal enemy will soon unite the right.

[_Sethbag]

I am torn on this one. I think a Romney for VP move would be bad. The Huckabee tap would be a much wiser move. How many recent presidents have failed to carry the South in the election?

Do you honestly think that Clinton/Obama is likely to carry the South? Remember "The United States of Canada" vs. "Jesusland"?

I think that the key to the election will be the voters torn between Democrat and Republican. The hard core Democrats will always vote Democrat no matter what, and the hard-core Republicans will always vote Republican no matter what. It's the folks who could actually swing either way that will decide it. They tend to be more centrist, and do you think that Huckabee, the Jesus Freak, will be more attractive to the political center than Romney, the mere believer in a wierd religion? I'm not seeing it.

On the other hand, this may be the sop that the establishment conservatives demand of McCain for a kiss and make up. In this case I think it would still be a mistake to go with Romney. Better to have the conservative with a populist flair in a VP slot if you are running against either Hillary or Obama.

Not if you're wooing the centrists. Huck seems to have a more "hard core conservative" image, and I have a hard time seeing that being very attractive to the centrist voters most likely to swing this election to one side or the other.

[_Jason Bourne]

But is the South really all that big a deal for McCain? In the deep Southern states where EVs strongly prefer Huck over Mitt, is there much chance, going into the election, that they will rather vote for Barack or Hillary rather than McCain because Romney's his VP?

There will be so-called battleground states, which could go either way, and I can't recall any of the likely battleground states having preferred Huck over Mitt.

I think it will be very difficult for McCain to win without winning the southern states that have traditionally gone republican in the past. EVs are already very uncomfortable with McCain. Picking Romney will magnify that discomfort. I do not believe these people would ever vote democrat - but I think they could easily just stay home.

Many of the southern states, for years now (really ever since civil rights) have been comfortably in the republican fold. They can't afford to lose that.

I could be wrong, because McCain can sometimes be unpredictable, but I really think you're wrong.

EVs voted for Romney much more then you predicted. had there not been and SBC minister in the running they would have flocked to Romney much more. I think your analysis is in error.

[_Jason Bourne]

But is the South really all that big a deal for McCain? In the deep Southern states where EVs strongly prefer Huck over Mitt, is there much chance, going into the election, that they will rather vote for Barack or Hillary rather than McCain because Romney's his VP?

There will be so-called battleground states, which could go either way, and I can't recall any of the likely battleground states having preferred Huck over Mitt.

I think it will be very difficult for McCain to win without winning the southern states that have traditionally gone republican in the past. EVs are already very uncomfortable with McCain. Picking Romney will magnify that discomfort. I do not believe these people would ever vote democrat - but I think they could easily just stay home.

Many of the southern states, for years now (really ever since civil rights) have been comfortably in the republican fold. They can't afford to lose that.

I could be wrong, because McCain can sometimes be unpredictable, but I really think you're wrong.

I don't think Romney is a good VP candidate either - the same issues that have now quietly died down would only get brought up again, soiling McCain in the process. And not just the religion issue (but those same folks who wouldn't vote for a Mormon for president aren't going to want to vote for on for VP with a presidential candidate as old as McCain), but also his bona fides as a conservative. That was already in question - if McCain can't claim the conservative vote, Romney isn't going to help.

Maybe Romney is hoping for a cabinet post.

George Bush 1 and Reagan were bitter politcal opponents in 1980 yet Reagan picked him for VP.

[_Jason Bourne]

But is the South really all that big a deal for McCain? In the deep Southern states where EVs strongly prefer Huck over Mitt, is there much chance, going into the election, that they will rather vote for Barack or Hillary rather than McCain because Romney's his VP?

There will be so-called battleground states, which could go either way, and I can't recall any of the likely battleground states having preferred Huck over Mitt.

I think it will be very difficult for McCain to win without winning the southern states that have traditionally gone republican in the past. EVs are already very uncomfortable with McCain. Picking Romney will magnify that discomfort. I do not believe these people would ever vote democrat - but I think they could easily just stay home.

Many of the southern states, for years now (really ever since civil rights) have been comfortably in the republican fold. They can't afford to lose that.

I could be wrong, because McCain can sometimes be unpredictable, but I really think you're wrong.

I don't think Romney is a good VP candidate either - the same issues that have now quietly died down would only get brought up again, soiling McCain in the process. And not just the religion issue (but those same folks who wouldn't vote for a Mormon for president aren't going to want to vote for on for VP with a presidential candidate as old as McCain), but also his bona fides as a conservative. That was already in question - if McCain can't claim the conservative vote, Romney isn't going to help.

Maybe Romney is hoping for a cabinet post.

George Bush 1 and Reagan were bitter politcal opponents in 1980 yet Reagan picked him for VP.

[_Gazelam]

McCain and Romney