oh my, a definite purple alert!

Pennsylvania is now decided by the eastern part of the state and McCain is going to lose there by a very wide margin. Obama will take Philadelphia county by more than Gore or Kerry won in 2000 and 2004.

Tom Ridge, much like McCain, is passe’. The social conservatives already are lukewarm about McCain and don’t like Ridge. He needs them a whole lot more than this state.

pd

Take all the time you’d like discussing the merits of one VP choice over another, but at the end of the day Obama defeats McCain in PA hands down.

For the good of this nation, I hope you are right. The nation cannot afford four more years of Bush which McCain represents.

What if the Republicans had an equally energizing candidate – would anyone on here consider voting for a Republican?

How much of the last eight years is an indictment of the candidates (Bush,Cheney); how much responsibility goes to the Republican ideology?

Would be hilarious! This would be on The Daily Show every night. I still laugh at how ridiculous Ridge was in that role.

I like Tom Ridge, a lot. I wish that he were the candidate for President, instead of McCain. Or I wish that he were the candidate for VP with Obama (I know, two Harvard grads on the same ticket wouldn’t fly). But I think that McCain’s campaign already is toast, and that no VP nominee can change that. It is a shame that McCain was not the Republican nominee 8 years ago (I am proud to have supported McCain against the fool now in the White House), and it is more of a shame the the John McCain running today is not the same independent thinker and iconoclast whom I supported 8 years ago.

It’s time for a change, and it is time to impose some accountability on the Republicans for this disastrous administration.

And being on the ticket here won’t change McCain’s chances. People liked Ridge because he seemed to be a likable guy (and was when I met him) but his time as the czar of the color-coded terror alerts really hurt his credibility.

In addition, adding another “old white guy” to the ticket just isn’t going to cut it this time…

Pilt

Neither Ridge nor McCain cares much about anything but being important.

Mr. Ridge, because of his pro-abortion views, was not even allowed to take Communion in his own diocese. Sacrificing both the teachings of his own Church, and human lives, for political expediency turns off many faithful believers.

First, while I didn’t always agree with some of his calls and stances as either a member of Congress or governor, I like Tom Ridge and feel that he had a largely successful political career. Note the word ‘had’. Aside from Joe Lieberman, the one other individual John McCain is reportedly itching to put on the GOP ticket is Ridge. I understand why, but I don’t understand why the McCain camp figures their strategy would work. Ridge was a terrific campaigner who was able to “connect” with voters of all demographics, but especially the much-analyzed “Reagan” Dem voters so critical to GOP electoral fortunes here in Pennsylvania. Like McCain, Ridge is a Vietnam vet, which would theoretically add more stature to the GOP ticket. As a former member of Congress and two-term governor, Ridge would also add more experience to the ticket. However, the downsides to adding Ridge outweigh the pluses, at least for me. His stint as the first Homeland Security czar, well, didn’t exactly go splendidly. As much experience and regional competitiveness that Ridge may deliver for McCain, some voters might not be able to get the infamous “color-codes” out of their heads when listening to Ridge, and the last thing anybody wants from their new executive team is the prospect of another federal debacle like that. For his running mate, McCain needs someone that neutralizes his still-noticeable rifts with the right, not someone who accentuates them. As a social liberal, Ridge would do nothing to “fire up the base”, as the phrase goes. In fact, he’d give them all the more reason to sit on their hands come Election Day. All things equal, while Ridge might help pick up votes in some suburban areas, any vote gained there would probably be lost elsewhere. Lastly, while he experienced success in the past, Ridge ran his last campaign nearly 10 years ago. Some say good politicians never truly lose their political instincts, but as the underdog in this race, McCain can’t take a chance on someone who has been on the bench for so long. Speaking as a conservative, I’d argue that McCain’s criteria for VP should be threefold:

1) They should exist outside the Washington Beltway. With Obama positioning himself as the “outsider” in the race, McCain needs to balance this largely unfounded criticism (nobody has pushed harder to reform the way Washington does business than McCain) by selecting a governor, preferably from a battleground or Dem-leaning state.

2) They should be younger (preferably substantially younger) than McCain. ‘Nuff said there.

3) They should be someone who has shown the ability to reach across the aisle to Dems while still maintaining good relations with the conservative base (sometimes not the easiest balancing act). They should have a substantial record of accomplishment as governor (strengthening McCain’s experience argument) and have the personality traits to contrast with McCain’s sometimes gruff demeanor. They should also have the ability to connect with the blue-collar voters McCain is aiming for in talking up Ridge.

In my mind, that leaves two names for McCain to chose from: former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.

Cheers.

McCain is an oldman and an old republican at that. His ideals, like all of the the republican ideals, are outdated and only serve the purpose of the wealthiest americans. Anyone over 50, of which I am one, is now entering the twilight years. It is time to let the next generation choose a president with a fresh perspective. I don’t believe for a minute that Obama is the next JFK or is even the perfect choice. He is however, not a republican. As for the McCain age question,I do know that after two terms of Ronald Reagan, the last thing this country needs is another doddering old fool playing president. As for the republican aspect, well after two terms of GW…I mean really. The man is an ass. He has no business being president of a little league, let alone our country. Sure, I know he is just the figurehead put in place by the real power mongers, but damn it man, he has the title and he represents this nation on the world stage. He is perceived as an unqualified fool and the world takes that view of our nation. The republicans made themselves very wealthy over these past eight years, all at the expense of the middle and lower classes. A John McCain administration will only be more of the same. As for the “why bother,” that’s for the Tom Ridge part of this. He was a lousy governor and made an ass of himself in that homeland role. So why bother saying anything more about him.