Democrats & Liberals: Archives

There are so many excellent Democratic VP candidates, that I don’t see the point in discussing McCain. However, I would put money on him being Defense Secretary during the Kerry Administration.

Gaelen, that’s an interesting proposition. McCain’s certainly qualified for such a position and William Cohen, who served as Defense Secretary under Clinton was a Republican, too. However, rumors of cabinet appointments wouldn’t have the same benefits in November…

Why do we like Cain? Because he tells it like it is. We believe him. Therefore when he repeated says he will not take the VP nomination on the Democratic ticket and that he supports President Bush in the next election, why in the hell don’t we believe him? It only makes the VP candidate who is finally chosen look like the second choice.

Kerry has said that he would choose McCain if he promised never to appoint a judge who would overturn roe v. wade. Such a statement shows that he wants McCain for his vote-attracting ability, not for his willingness to stick to his ethics. McCain, like other pro-life people, believes that an unborn child is a human being. For Kerry to say that McCain has to promise to never appoint a judge who would disturb the judicial determination that unborn chidlren, for some judicially detemined reason, can never be human beings before the law, shows that he doesnt really want McCain, the man of principle, as VP. Heck, even Hillary said she would be ok with a pro-life VP- it shows how far left kerry is on this issue.

Nice daydream, but ain’t gonna happen.

Blipsman - Kerry’s been calling for Rumsfeld’s resignation for months, long before this (apparently widespread) prison torture scandal broke out. His main beef with Rumsfeld is that he so badly botched the planning for the war in Iraq. Sure, he beat the virtually non-existant Iraqi army, but he didn’t plan one wit for the occupation. In fact, he ordered underlings not to read plans presented by the Dept. of State and the Army War College (probably because they called for 300k+ troops).

When this prison scandal broke out Kerry was of course asked about Rumsfeld, and he stated that, among others, he would support McCain in Defense, and that with him in the position now he wouldn’t even have to replace the Secretary of Defense appointee when the Kerry Administration takes over. I know that doesn’t make as strong an impact as a fusion VP ticket, but I think it’s still significant. Most importantly, it shows that Kerry is someone who stands a real chance of being a uniter.

McCain is just as likely to end up Bush’s running mate this year as he is Kerry’s (translation: not gonna happen).

McCain likes to tweak Bush, because they arent friends and most likely, never have been. Especially not after the 2000 primaries.

Kerry is a friend of McCain’s on a more personal level, which puts McCain in a bit of a hard spot. Hmmmmm, loyalty to my party or loyalty to my friend. Which to do?

I’d suggest it is not all a bed of roses for McCain, as there can be some danger in flirting with both sides. Sometimes the girl who plays two guys off each other finds that both guys decide on someone else.

I’d suggest McCain make up his mind about his allegiances and then hold true to his mindset.

Joe, I wonder how McCain could be clearer. What part of NO doesn’t Kerry understand?

Whoever gets the VP nod now is going to have to deal with the “Well, he’s good but he’s no John McCain” problem. To me, this is just dumb politics by the Dems. It also raises McCain’s stature to the point where when McCain goes on to stump for Bush—as I fully expect to happen—it’s going to swing a lot of independents and undecideds. McCain, by many accounts, wants the 08 Republican nomination. What better way to not only angle for but practically ENSURE it than flirt with Kerry now but then come out strongly for Bush before the election.

The reasons Dems love McCain so much is that he’s been a thorn in Bush’s side—they’d love him considerably less if he were the loose cannon rolling on around their decks.

I’d suggest McCain make up his mind about his allegiances and then hold true to his mindset.

I’d suggest McCain stay true to himself. If either party doesn’t like it, then screw ‘em.

And that, Martin, is why both Democrats and Republicans, like McCain. He doesn’t let party politics get in the way of common sense. That’s why you hear a lot of centrist Democrats say they’d have a hard choice if the Republicans ran McCain instead of Bush.

blipsman, I’d be against Cohen as Sec Def. I read Wes Clark’s’ “Waging Modern War” a while back, and unless he’s learned a lot of lessons, Cohen doesn’t sound like the kind of guy we need in that position.

I’d be interested in hearing McCain’s ideas on what our military should look like before I give him the nod.

The new Sec Def will have to address the Pentagon’s response to counter-terrorism and Kerry’s proclivity towards multinational forces. Kerry’s choice for that post is going to be very important in letting voters know he understands the challenges facing America.

Personally, I like Clark. He’s got experience working with NATO and the UN, and as a candidate he immersed himself in the military’s response to terrorism.

American Pundit,

I never suggested Cohen as Sec. of Defense! I was simply stating that Clinton had crossed party lines when he appointed Cohen, a Republican, to his cabinet. Suggests that even McCain wouldn’t run with Kerry, there’s some precidence that suggest he could end up in his cabinet.

misha-
where and when did kerry say he’d choose mccain if he promised to never appoint a pro-life judge? how did I miss that?

The same CBS poll showed Kerry/Edwards winning by 10%.

I rarely suspect the Democrats of being this organized, but one theory I have read is that the Kerry people are feeding speculation about McCain being a VP candidate simply so that people will associate Kerry with a more popular politician.