Veep short-listers mix positives and negatives
By TOM RAUM
Associated Press
August 20, 2008
Page 3 of 3
Still, questions remain about Romney's shifting stance on issues like abortion and gay rights as he abandoned once-moderate politics to court social conservatives.
And neither man appeared especially fond of the other during the campaign. Romney cast McCain as outside the GOP's conservative mainstream. McCain argued that Romney's equivocations and reversals indicated a willingness to change positions to fit political goals.
- Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, could bring McCain the support of conservative Republicans and help in a state that has supported Democratic presidential candidates since 1976. Minnesota has 10 electoral votes.
At 47, he is Obama's age. Growing up in St. Paul, site of the GOP convention, he has a blue-collar background and a reputation as a budget cutter and tax-cut advocate.
His veto of a string of bills has made him unpopular with Minnesota's Democratic-dominated Legislature.
While generally seen as a safe choice, Pawlenty is little known outside his home state. He also comes across to some as bland.
- Ridge, 62, is a popular former Pennsylvania governor and, like McCain, a Vietnam war veteran. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush named him as director of the Office of Homeland Security, and later secretary of the new Department of Homeland Security.
Ridge's biggest liability, from a GOP viewpoint, could be his support for abortion rights. McCain's recent comments that he might consider someone with such views generated a torrent of criticism from social conservatives. Still, Republican officials say top McCain advisers have been reaching out to big donors and high-profile delegates in key states to gauge the impact of putting an abortion-rights supporter on the ticket, underscoring how seriously McCain might be considering Ridge or Lieberman.
Such a choice could raise the prospect of acrimony at the GOP national convention next month.
- Picking Lieberman, 66, one of McCain's most outspoken campaign-trail partners, would signal a reach across the political aisle. Lieberman was Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000 and currently represents Connecticut in the Senate as an independent.
While the choice might be applauded by some as a bold bipartisan move, it could also trigger a backlash both among conservative Republicans and Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for instance, recently accused Lieberman of "totally irresponsible" remarks about Obama.
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