John McCain,  President 2008

John McCain Watch: Vetting a Vice President

April 2, 2008 /

Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain carries a football given to him by students during a town hall meeting at his alma mater, Episcopal High School, in Alexandria, Virginia, April 1, 2008.

Presumed GOP Presidential nominee and Senator John McCain has initiated the selection process for his Vice President.

Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he has begun “getting together a list of names” to choose a vice presidential running mate, and hopes to make an announcement before the Republican convention in early September.

“I’d like to get it done as early as possible. I’m aware of enhanced importance of this issue given my age,” said the Arizona senator, 71.

McCain wrapped up the Republican presidential nomination a month ago.

Interviewed by radio talk show host Don Imus, McCain did not offer any details of his search for a running mate.

“We just started this process of getting together a list of names and having them looked at,” he said.

“If I had a personal preference I’d like to do it before the convention to avoid some of the mistakes that I’ve seen made in the past as you get into a time crunch and maybe sometimes don’t make the announcement right or maybe they have not examined every single candidate.”

McCain is smart to begin the process early rather than later. Team McCain can “LEAK” a name a week and have the press and public vet them.

Flap’s best guesses:

Both of these candidates are McCain loyalists who are young, articulate and will appeal in the general election race.

2 Comments

  • SJ Reidhead

    April 2, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    I find the constant addition of Mark Sanford to the VP list to be rather amusing at best. Sanford did not endorse McCain until everyone and their brother in SC had done so – after McCain had won the nomination. If you do a little digging you will find that Sanford is terribly incompetent when compared with some of SC’s more successful Republican governors. There are also rumors of a couple interesting scandals that, if what I hear is true, will basically rule Sanford out for any administration roll. You might want to follow The Palmetto Scoop, a SC blog with a McCain slant. If half of what they come up with it true, Sanford would be the worst possible choice.

    SJR
    The Pink Flamingo