Lots Of Baggage, Lots Of Excitement

Condi Rice for VP?  Black, female, single (nudge...) - these are the groups Democrats and the MSM (pardon my redundancy) love as long as they are properly aligned.

Can't say she lacks for qualifications, either.  On the other hand, she is closely aligned with an unpopular President and a dreadfully managed war.  Dems would use her candidacy to refight every word uttered in 2002 and 2003, and that would probably not work for Republicans (Could it work?  Well, if the Dems come off as obsessed with yesterday instead of tomorrow, maybe.  But yesterday is when Ms. Rice established her bona fides, or lack thereof, so a backwards-looking obsession by a wary public is not unwarranted).

I thumped Ms. Rice's lackadaisical effort in the summer of 2001 back during the 9/11 Commission hearings.  Add to that her inability to referee the Rumsfeld-Powell dispute about who would take charge of post-liberation Iraq and you have a pretty unimpressive record.
For my money, McCain could do better.

Nominations are open.

Comments

[PaulL]

Tough, pre-2004 Condi would be great.

I-Can-Relate-To-Your-Situation, post-2004 Condi, no thanks.

[bgates]

Joe Lieberman for VP
Lindsey Graham for AG
Chuck Hagel for State

-but at least the Democrats won't be in charge. Nominally.

[centralcal]

bgates, there is nothing funny about your suggestions!!!

They make my head and my tummy hurt.

[Sue]

Condi has said repeatedly no thanks. It won't be her. I'm still holding out hope for a JC Watts or Michael Steele.

[Ralph L]

I thumped Ms. Rice's lackadaisical effort in the summer of 2001 back during the 9/11 Commission hearings
Well, you got me to open the link to see if Condi or you had time-traveled.

I think McCain needs a tested, unwet conservative for VP. Jesse Helms is tanned (not too much), rested, and ready. Of course, if McCain can't win the Carolinas on his own, he ain't gonna win, period.

[centralcal]

test

[Elroy Jetson]

I like Chris Cox for VP. Romney might be a good choice, but I think McCain can't get over the animosity he felt toward Mitt. Romney might make a good UN ambassador. I think Rice needs time off from DC. He might try to keep Gates as SecDef.

[PaulL]

Hey, how about Jeb Bush? Give him a leg up to continue the dynasty and make it clear that McCain will continue the best of George Bush's policies.

[Sara]

Condi lost my support when she started abandoning Israel and playing kiss-up with Hezbollah, etc. Her performance since the war between Israel and Hezbollah has been less than stellar. IMHO, of course.

[clarice]

I have big doubts about McCain but I have never had any doubts about Michael Steele .

[centralcal]

I completely agree about Michael Steele, Clarice!

I do so hope McCain picks someone for VP that I can enthusiastically support (because it sure isn't him).

[Porchlight]

I like Cox or Steele. Please no Graham or Crist.

[Bill in AZ]

What dreadfully managed war? The one the MSM invented?

[Joan of Argghh!]

I do agree. I love Condi, but for someone with a background in Russian studies and history, how did she not see Putin's impunity?

[Cecil Turner]

Sarah Palin (makes McCain look good . . . because who'd be looking at McCain?); Fred Thompson (makes McCain look . . . well, a little younger maybe); Condi; Giuliani (Lord help us!) . . . dang, the bottom of that barrel came up pretty quick.

[Soylent Red]

Chuck Hagel for State

Nonsense. Chuck Hagel may think that's where he belongs, but he is viscerally hated by the party in his home state. If he ran for re-election he would lose to nearly everybody.

And his whole "publish a book and wait to endorse" strategy emanates from a guy who is painfully unaware of how insignificant he really is. Despite being a media darling for Bush bashing.

Steele or JC Watts for VP. Condi, I don't think, really wants it. I know she isn't interested in the Presidency, and we need to be setting up our next shot.

[narciso]

In her defense, her specialty was more about Russian maneuvers in the Warsaw
Pact (Czechoslovakia). Michael Scheur,
the great Bin Laden expert, dissertation
was on some obscure Canadian diplomat.
Considering that the vaunted Aug. 6 PDB
was even less specific than the December
1998 one, which seems to be based on the debrief of Ali Mohammed, that the Gorelick rules, made it prohibitive for the CIA to contact the FBI about the whereabouts of Almidhar & Al Hamzi. There really wasn't much she could do

[sbw]

Hegel was on NPR yesterday. Flunked every question.

[Rick Ballard]

"What dreadfully managed war?"

I think it might be the one against the horrific scourge of Anthropogenic Global Warming, Bill. We weren't even able to get off a significant shot. Had we just thrown a few trillion at the problem, the earth might be cooling already.

[clarice]

Listen, I am unaccountably depressed today and I'm warning you, the very thought of Hegel on the McCain ticket is enough to make me consider a permanent exit from this vale of tears.

Just saying..

[Neo]

US: Saddam paid for lawmakers' Iraq trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California.

[glasater]

I just don't think that McCain can take bunch of conservative (well you know what I mean regarding Graham) senators out of commission where they are needed--and that's in the US Senate.

Michael Steele would be a very good choice. But the main thing McCain needs is money and Romney--despite hard feelings from the campaign--can certainly be an advantage in the finances department.

[Rick Ballard]

"Hegel was on NPR yesterday. Flunked every question."

Well, he has been dead since 1831. Not that he got much right while alive.

/tiny poke

[SteveMG]

Stop that. He's not picking Hagel.

No, no, no.

He does that, I'm writing in Tom's name.

Lousy president; great press releases.

[PeterUK]

"Listen, I am unaccountably depressed today and I'm warning you, the very thought of Hegel on the McCain ticket is enough to make me consider a permanent exit from this vale of tears."

Retail therapy - Florida - antiques - Bahamas - sunshine.

[Bill in AZ]

"Had we just thrown a few trillion at the problem, the earth might be cooling already."

and without spending hardly a dime - well, 'cept for what socialist republik of Kalifornia foolishly insists on spending - we're cooling anyway...

[dualdiagnosis]

First choice- Sarah Palin- Mother, Alaskan Gov.,hunter,conservative, strong winning choice. (and she's hot)

2- Condi
3- Michael Steele
4- Chris Cox

[GMax]

Hagel might be a good choice for Obama. Balance out the ticket, A looney lefty and a backstabber. Seems the perfect compliment.

[hit and run]

Soylent:
Steele or JC Watts for VP. Condi, I don't think, really wants it. I know she isn't interested in the Presidency, and we need to be setting up our next shot.

I think this is an important point. I love love love Cheney -- and perhaps this time it is beneficial that someone not in the administration is heading the ticket. But the vp should help groom for the future.

Cheney is the exception to the rule.

Hey, how about Cheney?

[clarice]

***Well HEgel on the ticket would be something. Of course I meant HAgel** Never mind.

[Bill in AZ]

I suspect Hegel would make both McCain and Thompson look young... fortunately, he ain't around anymore, though Hagel seems to have picked up his torch.

Just trying to cheer you up clarice... No?

Well, maybe some sane thinking will. Perhaps this is the Rice they're talking about as a potential running mate.

[reliapundit@msn.com]

demint

[Sara]

Palin just announced she is pregnant, I doubt she is looking to be a VP candidate or the campaigning later this year.

[ben]

"Palin just announced she is pregnant, I doubt she is looking to be a VP candidate or the campaigning later this year."

Well a pregnant VP candidate would just about dominate the entire newscycle until the election....which could be good or bad depending what other news is out there...

[GMax]

Apparently ten of Hill's top donors have written a letter to Pelosi telling her to shut up about the pledged delegate count and superdelegates or find the donations spigot turned off for the DCCC. Now that is some hardball. Amazing that the letter has surfaced, so either the writers or the receiver obviously wanted it to be known. Question is which and why? Isnt this whole thing just like midafternoon soap operas?

[GMax]

In other potential bad news for democrats Mike Gravel became a Libertarian today. If he ends up their nominee, it will give disgruntled Democrat of which ever of the two remaining liars loses out, another Democrat on the ballot to vote for as a protest vote. Ralph Nader and Mike Gravel. Bet they dont get 1/2 million votes between them but as we have seen a few hundred votes in a single state could make a big electoral college difference.

[Ranger]

Don Clintonlione: Nancy, that's a really nice majority you have there in the house. It would be a shame if anything happened to it.

[Jim in Chicago]

Does TM really believe the "dreadfully mismanaged war" schtick? Thought he was too intelligent for that.

Heck, we're not even in a war. We won that handily. A counter-insurgency is a different animal entirely, and it's not at all clear that that was mismanaged. One can argue that the Rumsfeld hands-off policy gave AlQ just enough rope to hang itself in Iraq.

I'm not even sure about the unpopular President meme either. Someone help me out, but there was a poll a week or so ago and even though Bush was at 30% or whatever, he was over 50% on many of the important policy questions, as well as on whether he was liked personally by the respondants.

And given that he's outpolling congress by 10% or so, maybe the problem is people fed up with politicians . . . or pollsters.

[Other Tom]

GMax, where did you see that letter? That is potentially a very substantial biggie, I should think.

Condi would be a terrible choice no matter who the Dem is. If Hillary is the Dem, Steele as VP would secure a landslide; if it's Obama, I think he doesn't help.

Cox is my former partner and I like him a lot, both personally and politically. I doubt his presence on the ticket would carry California, even though he's an SC Trojan good old boy. He's young, conservative, smart and good-looking, and I'd be astonished if he has any baggage at all.

I'm going to consider that all the discussion of Hagel is jocular--I wouldn't be able to bear it. I know McCain is kind of friendly with him, but he also knows very well that he needs his base and Hagel is as toxic to that base as any Republican since the frighteningly corpulent Lowell Weicker.

[SteveMG]

Does TM really believe the "dreadfully mismanaged war" schtick?

Sorry, we lost 1-2 years messing around not securing large areas of the country. State and Defense were pointing fingers at one another while the country was falling (further) apart.

Al-qaeda was able to sneak back and use the territory to conduct operations against us and the Iraqis.

And yes, I think securing captured territory is part of the war.

[clarice]

GMax--any cites? A Brit paper (the Times I think) compared the Dem nomination fight to Dynasty

[Peder]

How about Bob Barr?

[hit and run]

GMax:
Apparently ten of Hill's top donors have written a letter to Pelosi telling her to shut up about the pledged delegate count and superdelegates or find the donations spigot turned off for the DCCC.

And you saw this from Althouse...

Althouse's son, who was selected as a Hillary delegate on primary night in TX received a mailing from Obama saying he should support him at his county convention.

Flip for Obama!

[hit and run]

Here's the love letter to Pelosi

via hotair

[clarice]

Thanks, Hit. I found an AP article which cedited TPM as breaking the story. Of course, John Marshall is very close to Hill hatchetman Sidney Blumenthal.
Oh were, did TPM get the memo?
And why was it given to him? (To set an example for the others.)

[clarice]

**Oh wHere did TPM***

[hit and run]

For the record, it was Greg Sargent that wrote that post...

[Sara]

Saddam paid for 2002 Congressional junket to Baghdad

[clarice]

Yes, but tpm is Marshall's n'est pas?

[clarice]

My point is, it is important to know who released this--and it clearly was Hill. From that you can figure out WHY it was made public--it's a shot across the bow from Camp Clinton warning those who might go for Obama that they may have big financial consequences.