Then again, maybe not

John McCain will be announcing his running mate soon. Even if he’s made a final decision, I assume McCain will be classy enough to wait until the Democrats have finished their convention to make his announcement.

The two names we hear the most these days (and for some time) are Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney. Pawlenty is the safe pick; Romney the higher risk, higher reward one. I admire Romney to be point that I supported him for president. But I’m less than fully confident that he will connect with voters during these relatively bad economic times

Meanwhile, I feel I owe readers an update on my discussion of former Michigan governor John Engler as a possible running mate for McCain. I managed to overlook the following facts: Engler campaigned hard for George Bush and against McCain in the hotly contested 2000 Michigan primary; McCain won anyway; and exit polls suggested Engler’s support for Bush helped McCain (this was an open primary). By 2000, it seems, Engler was no longer popular in the state.

I still think Engler would be a good choice. He was an effective governor, and nearly a decade of Democratic rule in Michigan has reminded voters in this important battleground state why they once liked Engler so much. But to the extent that 2000 sticks in McCain’s mind – and the Senator is known to have a long memory – the chances that he’ll consider Engler don’t appear to be good.

To comment on this post, go here.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses