Pick A Chick

I loathe identity politics, but with Obama's flaccid choice of Biden, isn't it now obvious that McCain ought to select a female running mate?

The opportunity to pick up those female voters that actively have indeed engaged in identity politics by bitterly clinging to Hillary is ripe. Their allegiance is not to the Democrat party, but to their shared demography. Kinda like another Democrat voting block that escapes me at the moment.

Anyway, they're pissed.

So, off the top of my head, here are three choices in no particular order. Be advised, I'm no vetter. So if a couple of these have unreported contributions to Planned Infanticide of Illinois or a family of Mexicans chained to their pool house, forgive me:

Gov. Sarah Palin

• Executive experience in the largest state (area) with the largest degree of Federal interference (Uncle Sam owns 60% of the place).
• Energy independence advocate. What better ANWR drilling cheerleader could you find?
• Mega-soccer mom. Five kids, one in the Army, one just born with Down syndrome.
• Pro-life.
• Lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.
• Babe.

Meg Whitman

• Executive experience. As president/CEO, grew eBay from 30 employees and $4 million in revenues to the $32 billion juggernaut it is today.
• New Economy experience --- a HUGE gap for McCain, who has admitted to limited econ knowledge and has an unshakable wrinkly-old-dude-who-prints-email vibe to him.
• Smartypants. Princeton undergrad, Harvard MBA.

Carly Fiorina

• Executive experience. Moved up the management ranks at AT&T from trainee to VP, engineered its IPO spin-off of Lucent. Went to lead Hewlett-Packard as Chairman/CEO, merged it with Compaq becoming the largest PC company in the world.
• New Economy experience. Continuing the HP saga, she squabbled with the Board as the merger sputtered and got the boot. Has experienced the extreme highs and lows of modern American capitalism firsthand. Like Whitman, she negates the McCain-as-Luddite charge.
• Saaaaay, she kinda looks like YouKnowWho in that pic. That's good for about 2% of the clueless voters.

Executive experience, of course, is the leading theme here. NONE of the candidates have it, including Hillary herself. Perish the thought that the Executive Branch is helmed by an actual executive.

No executives. No women. And the most tech-savvy person is the guy who can't pull off a mass text message.

It's a gap screaming to be filled.

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey links (thanks!) from a post with McCain's new fratricide-inducing Hillary "Passed Over" ad. Stir that pot.

UPDATE: Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic hears rumblings for Meg Whitman. More on Meg here.

Comments

[Ted]

Despite the Dems and the allied main stream media’s desperation to see Romney as McCain’s Veep, Mitt is clearly out, with (1) Obama doubling down on the class warfare theme (McCain’s 7 houses) and (2) McCain doubling down with ads showing the hypocrisy of Biden attacking Obama in the primaries — Romney did way more than that contra McCain.

This leaves only Govs Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty. Pro-abortion Ridge and Dem-Lieberman were never real considerations, despite relentless media goading. Pawlenty’s lackluster TV performances, coupled with Palin pizzazz, the primacy of oil drilling and the ticked off women/Hillary voters, does now portend a McCain/Palin checkmate on the Dems. This is so albeit the Dems and liberal media dare not mention Palin’s name, that is, everyone but…..

And if there’s any question as to Palin being uniquely positioned and able to more than nullify Biden in debate, see the excellent discussion at palinforvp.blogspot.com

Team McCain, well done!!!

[VOTE PEDRO]

I agree he should pick a woman or someone outside of Washington. I didn't vote in the primaries nor do i call myself a democrat or republican. But i did vote for Bush in 2000 and stayed home 2004.

I see people mentioning Mitt, Rudy and Huck. These are republicans already voting for Mccain saying this. So its not going to bring new voters or convince anyone.

Yeah he should pick someone who agrees with him on key issues and who can make a well rounded ticket.

But Mccain is missing the exciting factor. If he picks anyone he ran against in the primaries he will not gain new voters.

I would probably stay home if he picked another guy who is wealthy, big city or similar to him. There is nothing exciting or new about that ticket.

[dee4usa]

If he picks a woman, I'll drop everything and go work for Mccain full time.

Hill fan here.

[Shoebox]

It's clear that the Biden choice really opened the door for McCain to go a variety of directions with his VP pick. I don't see him picking a pro-choice candidate. Nor do I see him picking Mitt any longer...would appear too similar to the Biden pick. That pretty much leaves Pawlenty out of the current crew. That said, you raise an interesting point.

I don't think Palin passes the "do no harm" test until the troopergate issue gets settled...I don't know if it's real or not but it will certainly be a distraction.

Whitman has risen in visibility within the campaign. She could be the stealth pick.

Fiorina would be a horrible choice. The only thing she has succeeded at is managing entities to their lowest common denominator.