McCain-Powell?

McCain doesn't have the nomination yet but if he gets it there's a compelling argument for him to pick Colin Powell as his veep. The conventional wisdom is that McCain will need to secure his right flank and select an undisputed conservative. But McCain could take a page from the Clinton-Gore campaign and choose amplification over diversification. In 1992, Clinton chose a moderate southerner from a neighboring state no less who was in his age cohort. Powell would buttress McCain's national security credentials and echo his political philosophy, although I suspect that Powell is probably to the left of McCain on abortion, taxes and the like. McCain and Powell are personally close and while it's not essential to choose someone you like and respect--JFK and LBJ come to mind--it's not a bad thing either and it has the air of authenticity which is supposed to be John McCain's claim to fame. If he were to pick someone who disagreed with him on campaign finance reform, a gay marriage amendment to the constitution and global warming it would be hard to mount the Straight Talk express in quite the same way.

Of course, Colin Powell isn't what he used to be. Like Tony Blair or Tom Friedman, he suffered from the Bush war in Iraq. Powell may have been appropriately skeptical about the war but he promoted it and didn't speak out publicly against it and so his élan isn't what it was the last time everyone talked about Powell as a veep.

Race, though, makes Powell a compelling choice. If Clinton gets the nomination, African American voters are going to feel disappointed at seeing someone of their race get so close and then be deprived of the nomination.

For more, go here.

Comments

[ArizonanRevealsMcCain]

Senator John McCain is doing a very poor job of representing Arizonans who are fighting to save their taxpayer benefits from being stolen by illegal immigrants. His report card on betterimmigration.com is a whopping "D" and that's putting it mildly. He’s pro amnesty and fought Prop 200 which voters overwhelmingly passed in 2004. He rarely listens to us. Mark Levin nationalreview.comm) summed it up when he said McCain is, “Flip-flopped on open borders. He’s flip-flopped on tax cuts. And yet he would use the full power of the federal government, in my view in an un-Constitutional way, to control the oil companies, to control the pharmaceutical companies, or any other company that happens to tick him off on a given day.” Pat Toomey of cfif.org states, " But of all his infringements on personal freedom, Sen. McCain's persistent attacks on political speech are the most worrisome. (Folks, our 1st Amendment is under attack right now under S. 1959). His record goes on and on, and he’s on a one-way road to the North American Union (along with Clinton and Guiliani). This is one candidate I have to warn the people about.

[dgscol]

Powell is not interested. His son would be, but he is a crook.

[celticjag]

McCain and Powell! Oceana and eternal wars!
Be afraid, be very afraid!

[JimR]

That is a very intriguing possibility. That would be a strong ticket.