Gan
07-12-2008, 08:04 PM
Just as Barack Obama (http://search.politico.com/results.cfm?subject=Barack+Obama) and John McCain (http://search.politico.com/results.cfm?subject=John+McCain) are making subtle and not-so-subtle moves toward the center in preparation for the general election, another group of candidates is also repositioning, apparently with an eye toward November: their prospective vice presidential running mates.
In ways both trivial and significant, even as they downplay their interest in the job, the politicians shortlisted for the vice presidential nomination seem to be making the adjustments widely perceived as necessary to preserve and enhance their chances of landing on either the McCain or Obama tickets.
In some cases, the fine-tuning has been as superficial as a new haircut. Minnesotans accustomed to Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s “hockey hair (http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/16583211.html)” noted its replacement by a more conventional, close-cropped cut (http://www.minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3867) this spring amid speculation about the governor’s national profile.
Yet the repackaging usually takes more substantive form, such as the reversal of a long-held but politically disadvantageous position or a bolstering of credentials.
One frequently mentioned vice presidential prospect, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who opposed offshore oil drilling in his 2006 campaign, raised eyebrows recently by becoming a convert (http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0608/Crist_gets_with_McCain_on_drilling_moratorium.html ) to the cause not long after McCain’s own conversion on exploratory drilling (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11154.html).
Perhaps not by coincidence, Crist also recently announced his impending nuptials (http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0708/Crist_getting_hitched.html), removing what was widely thought to be one of the main obstacles in his path to the McCain ticket — his bachelorhood.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is another prospect who finds himself more in tune with McCain these days. Though one of McCain’s sharpest critics during their contentious primary tussle, he is now working the talk show circuit and campaign trail for his former foe.
Romney has even gone out of his way (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,378486,00.html) to laud McCain’s economic plan, which his campaign had dismissed (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/8154.html) as “McCainonomics.”
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, whose support for abortion rights is considered an impediment to his chances, recently reconciled his position with McCain’s opposition to abortion.
After "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace said “handicappers” consider abortion rights Ridge’s “biggest problem” in landing on McCain’s ticket, Ridge explained that “the vice president's job is to support — once a decision is made, whether it's on social issues, economic issues or diplomatic issues — the position of the president of the United States.”
Last month, Ridge filed overdue papers disclosing a contract he’s had for two years to lobby for Albania — work that may be just as damaging to his chances as his abortion stance, given McCain’s positioning as a reform-oriented candidate.
Meanwhile, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican recognized as a leading fiscal conservative, this year has taken more aggressive stances on social issues. He allowed a bill that created Christian "I believe" license plates (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jpCRa_2onj6TwJ2DCIlU7OPlswnAD918PTT05) to become law, signed legislation permitting the public posting of the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer, and signed another bill that required women seeking an abortion to first be told they can view an ultrasound of their fetus (http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080530/NEWS01/805300348/1013/NEWS).
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11679.html
__________________________________________________ __________
Disclaimer : Any one of these issues that the potential VP candidate's are undertaking (listed above) can be discussed here without the fear of derailing the thread or crying "off topic".
In ways both trivial and significant, even as they downplay their interest in the job, the politicians shortlisted for the vice presidential nomination seem to be making the adjustments widely perceived as necessary to preserve and enhance their chances of landing on either the McCain or Obama tickets.
In some cases, the fine-tuning has been as superficial as a new haircut. Minnesotans accustomed to Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s “hockey hair (http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/16583211.html)” noted its replacement by a more conventional, close-cropped cut (http://www.minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3867) this spring amid speculation about the governor’s national profile.
Yet the repackaging usually takes more substantive form, such as the reversal of a long-held but politically disadvantageous position or a bolstering of credentials.
One frequently mentioned vice presidential prospect, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who opposed offshore oil drilling in his 2006 campaign, raised eyebrows recently by becoming a convert (http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0608/Crist_gets_with_McCain_on_drilling_moratorium.html ) to the cause not long after McCain’s own conversion on exploratory drilling (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11154.html).
Perhaps not by coincidence, Crist also recently announced his impending nuptials (http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0708/Crist_getting_hitched.html), removing what was widely thought to be one of the main obstacles in his path to the McCain ticket — his bachelorhood.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is another prospect who finds himself more in tune with McCain these days. Though one of McCain’s sharpest critics during their contentious primary tussle, he is now working the talk show circuit and campaign trail for his former foe.
Romney has even gone out of his way (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,378486,00.html) to laud McCain’s economic plan, which his campaign had dismissed (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/8154.html) as “McCainonomics.”
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, whose support for abortion rights is considered an impediment to his chances, recently reconciled his position with McCain’s opposition to abortion.
After "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace said “handicappers” consider abortion rights Ridge’s “biggest problem” in landing on McCain’s ticket, Ridge explained that “the vice president's job is to support — once a decision is made, whether it's on social issues, economic issues or diplomatic issues — the position of the president of the United States.”
Last month, Ridge filed overdue papers disclosing a contract he’s had for two years to lobby for Albania — work that may be just as damaging to his chances as his abortion stance, given McCain’s positioning as a reform-oriented candidate.
Meanwhile, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican recognized as a leading fiscal conservative, this year has taken more aggressive stances on social issues. He allowed a bill that created Christian "I believe" license plates (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jpCRa_2onj6TwJ2DCIlU7OPlswnAD918PTT05) to become law, signed legislation permitting the public posting of the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer, and signed another bill that required women seeking an abortion to first be told they can view an ultrasound of their fetus (http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080530/NEWS01/805300348/1013/NEWS).
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11679.html
__________________________________________________ __________
Disclaimer : Any one of these issues that the potential VP candidate's are undertaking (listed above) can be discussed here without the fear of derailing the thread or crying "off topic".