78 Comments

1. Dave II:

“That said, the fact that a lifelong Democrat, albeit a now independent one, in national office would not just vote for McCain but campaign vigorously for him is remarkable.”

Let’s just leave it right there and let him do what he’s doing now… reminding Independent and Jewish voters that Obama is a sham and a fraud.

McCain needs to pick someone that will ENERGIZE the base…NOT throw mud in their eye and say thanks, but no thanks! Nice try, Jennifer, but let’s see some articles about people who will HELP in that regard, like Palin or Pawlenty…not drive away the slim (but existing) credibility McCain is hanging onto now.

Jun 20, 2008 - 2:35 am 2. Don:

What is scary for me is an absolute virulent Democrat I know is adamantly opposed to OB, to the point he will vote for McCain (the last time he was “kind” to Republicans was right after 9/11). He is “afraid” of what OBama is not as a Black man, but as a “Tool”. Joe Lieberman is not an ideologue, he is not so wedded to political concerns that he becomes ineffective (like most). He is a man of character and courage and the Dems showed the depths of their loyalty to one another when they turned their backs on him. It would be foolish if the the ideologically motivated in the Republican party chose to “sit this one out” if McCain has the “temerity” of picking Lieberman as his running mate (as in a petty “we’ll show them . . .Carter Two!”).

And at least he did not get a loan from Countrywide.

Jun 20, 2008 - 4:18 am 3. Sandra M:

The idea of two semi-democrats on the Republican ticket sends me into orbit — and I am a pro-choice Libertarian.

Joe Lieberman IS a Democrat on all matters domestic. His voting against Alito for the Supreme Court puts the final nail in the coffin for me. I know Buckley supported him over Lowell Weicker, but that endorsement never persuaded me. I can’t stand that awful whiney voice of his.

My choice is Bobby Jindal who is absolutely brilliant and although younger than Obama runs rings around him in terms of intellect AND experience, plus he has a great immigrant story.

Jun 20, 2008 - 6:00 am 4. A.M. Mallett:

Lieberman would make an excellent addition to the ticket however the key question is whether he would want to do that again. McCain-Lieberman would be a formidable team in anybody’s scenario. Unfortunately, that would mean we have two moderate Democrats in office if they win.

Jun 20, 2008 - 6:10 am 5. Saltherring:

Mallet,

Yes, two moderate Democrats representing the Republican Party would be a travesty, but much less so than the Communist the Dems are running.

Jun 20, 2008 - 7:17 am 6. bob:

Why in the world would we want to make another Senate supporter of the GWOT disappear? The ONLY thing that Lieberman is useful for is his national defense votes.

One ‘Reagan Democrat’ on the Republican ticket is enough.

Jun 20, 2008 - 7:34 am 7. Fat Jolly Penguin:

Rush keeps saying something to the effect that we don’t want to work with these people if they’re wrong, we want to defeat them. (That is the purpose of an election, no?) Lieberman’s only pro is his foreign policy; let us not forget that this was the man chosen by Al Gore in 2000 as a running mate, which tells us a great deal about his politics. This election’s too important to play politics with; bipartisanship, or the appearance thereof, be damned. Lieberman’s wrong on too many things for me to even consider voting for him. Global warming (co-sponsor of the McCain-Lieberman cap-and-trade bill a few years back), illegal immigration (strong proponent of last summer’s rightly failed attempts at amnesty), and quite liberal views on taxation make him far from moderate, if you ask me.

Jun 20, 2008 - 8:01 am 8. Bobby McGill:

“Joining America together,” says McCain. I think it is time to lower the retirement age for VP candidates.

idlewordship.com

Jun 20, 2008 - 8:03 am 9. david levavi:

More good stuff from the amazingly prolific Jennifer Rubin. Where does this lady get her energy?

Lieberman for veep is not a good idea as JR acknowledges. An honorable, talented man and a fine and courageous Senator, Lieberman would make an outstanding peacetime president. But we are in the early stages of a long, hot war (childish Democrat fantasies to the contrary) and Lieberman in the wings for the role of Commander in Chief is worrisome.

My point of view, I freely admit, is ethnocentrically Jewish. Even if Lieberman has the cold steel it takes to push American boys and girls into a Middle Eastern meatgrinder, there remains the matter of ant-Semitism. The howling gale of opposition to George Bush’s prosecution of this just and necessary war is nothing to what a President Lieberman would face.

African Americans take great pride in the thought of one of their own in the White House. Jews need to be wiser. The British left still hasn’t got over Disraeli and Disraeli was an Anglican Christian not an Orthodox Jew.

A Jewish Candidate for president or vice president must have ironclad right wing credentials. Alas, the current crop of Jewish politicians, Snarl Levin and Chucky Shvitzer prominent among them, are scurrilous, left wing hacks.

Personally, I like Mitt Romney if McCain can bring himself to choose him.

Jun 20, 2008 - 8:09 am 10. huxley:

A strong case can be made for a grand bipartisan experiment…but in the end may well be unworkable.

I feel like I just wasted my time reading this.

Jun 20, 2008 - 8:22 am 11. W. Keller:

It’s just a bit surreal to me that we are even having this conversation in the Republican Party at all. Of course, it’s hard to fathom that McCain is our nominee as well. How can it be that our party has become the Democrat party of the 60’s?? I admit that the Democrat party has moved so far left so as to be unrecognizable to anyone supporting traditional American ideals of independence, hard work and a strong national defense, but that has been going on for nearly a generation. The migration left for the Republican party has been astoundingly fast over the past two election cycles.

I find I no longer have a “home”. McCain does not see me as part of his “base”, his “base” are the P.U.M.A.s the are Hillary supporters and those terrified of BHO. In any other era, he would be a Democrat.

Liberman will not help McCain with conservatives within the Republican party. I think he is depending on the thought that he is such a better choice than BHO, that the conservatives will simply pull the lever for him. For me specifically, his VP choice is his last chance. He rejects my views on immigration, campaign finance, freedom of speech, border security, until recently – drilling for oil (and I am not confident he will follow through on his recent change of heart), on closing Gitmo, on his support of the recent SCOTUS decision to extend Constitutional rights to terrorists housed in Gitmo. If the Republican Party had deliberately set about to select the single most repulsive candidate to conservatives, they would have ended in the place they are today. If McCain does not find some candidate to balance out his leftist leanings, he will loose. No Republican can be elected without the conservative base and speaking simply for myself, he does not have my vote today.

For the record, November will be a blood bath for the Republican Party. In the event McCain wins he will enter office a lame duck and will have to slide even farther left to pass any legislation at all. Regardless, the beltway Republicans are about to pay a tremendous price for their foray into socialism.

Jun 20, 2008 - 8:22 am 12. AJ:

Not a good idea. I love Lieberman, but solely for his accurate views on the importance of the GWOT. Otherwise, he’s a big liberal. And with McCain being too liberal for many conservatives, how will this be a good idea? The Dems have the farthest left candidate in US history and we GOPers have a moderate. Exactly why must we “compromise” more, when they have no plans to?

Jun 20, 2008 - 8:30 am 13. Larry:

This is exactly what I expect to happen and I believe it is a travesty in the making. I am one of those who reluctantly accepted McCain. Now regardless of McCain’s running mate I will vote for him because Barak Hussein is the last liar on Earth that I’d trust.

This choice would hurt McCain’s chances because it would be the last straw for many Republican Conservatives.

I myself would like to see Newt Gingrich with McCain, I don’t think Newt would take any crap from Barak and Barak’s life would certainly ‘not be off-limits’. Newt says it like it is and we need that because McCain doesn’t.

Jun 20, 2008 - 8:34 am 14. dave:

Even as a conservative I have to admit that I like Joe Lieberman. If I had been a Democrat during the Democratic primaries when he was running I would have voted for him. His support of the troops and leadership style appeals to me, despite the whinny voice. If McCain were to select him, and he accepted, I would still vote for McCain. However…. Lieberman is still a democrat. His policies and voting record leave no doubt to that fact. We do not need to appeal to democrats or independents, they already have their candidate. What we need is to appeal to conservatives. McCain needs someone who can energize the conservative base. There are too many conservatives who feel (including myself) like conservatism has been put on a back burner in order to appease everyone. Appeasement will get you nothing. Senator McCain needs someone who will compliment him and make up for his shortcomings. Thats what will get him elected.

Jun 20, 2008 - 9:03 am 15. AJ:

Newt would be a great choice, but won’t happen. Too many people, of all political stripes, have the wrong, warped opinion of Newt, so he won’t help.

Let’s face it, too: it will NOT be Lieberman, for many of the reasons expressed here. The choice is Crist, Mitt, Palin and Jindall.

As for BHO, he’ll make the wrong choice, which again proves he’s clueless and another nail in his coffin.

Jun 20, 2008 - 9:33 am 16. David Thomson:

When will Joe Lieberman officially become a Republican? Only recently have I realize the necessity of his abandoning the Democrats. He needs to tell the American voters that the Democratic Party is beyond saving regarding national defense issues. Lieberman is only confusing everyone by remaining. John McCain cannot realistically consider the Connecticut U.S. senator as his running mate until this change takes place.

Jun 20, 2008 - 9:34 am 17. DrKrbyLuv:

McCain and Lieberman would be the dream ticket for Israel and a nightmare for the GOP and the American people.

Both are neoconervatives bent on democratizing the middle east through war, regime change, bribes and intervention. Both are aggressive Zionists. Both are open border “mavericks.” Both support having the US, Mexico and Canada form something similar to the EU. Both are sock puppets for AIPAC and McCain sock pockets for the despicable George Soros.

If you want war with Iran, Syria and Russia, this is your ticket.

Jun 20, 2008 - 9:39 am 18. J.G.:

This is a joke, right? McCain and Lieberman, the war lord and his squire. If it not a joke, then we should all start to build bomb shelters. Another business Halliburton can make money on.

Jun 20, 2008 - 9:53 am 19. Roark:

This idea is retarded, literally. I think that if Giuliani were the GOP candidate that he would be smoking past Obama, but alas the GOP is stuck with moderate McCain. As it is now, McCain may just barely eek out a victory over Obama bin Laden in November, but if the McCain-Liberman ticket were to really happen then Obama bin Laden wins by a landslide.

Jun 20, 2008 - 10:27 am 20. Anthony (Los Angeles):

And McCain might be wise to make a more concrete pledge to put him in a McCain cabinet, powerful evidence that he will reach across party lines to end the era of partisan bickering.

I think this is the much wiser choice. Much as I admire Lieberman for his stand against Islamic fascism, his domestic policies are very much opposed to my own, and I’m not even a social conservative. I’d much rather see him in a senior cabinet post, such as Secretary of Defense.

Jun 20, 2008 - 11:13 am 21. mezzrow:

Hmm… Jennifer Rubin’s been on a roll lately, and this is actually kind of an obvious choice if you are completely out of the loop on what the Republican “base” is all about. If you want to attract me, for example, this is just the thing. I’m a registered Dem (all my life) who voted for Gore in 2000 and Bush in 2004. I’m as generally depressed and pi**ed off as most everybody else is about current prospects on the political and economic front, and would be even happier to vote for Joe as VP today than I was in 2000.

But…

This is going to be a closerun thing, and McCain has really got to get it right. This will be the biggest style v. substance election we may have ever seen in the U.S., and it will tell us what we need to understand about ourselves as a nation.

If we go to Obama, we say no, we are not a serious place anymore; and then the ice cream really hits the fan. We will have shown those who would destroy us the crack in the wall, and they will rush in, posthaste. The scariest thing really isn’t how liberal Obama is, and he is… It’s how out of his depth this guy will be in the heat of the oval office. I don’t know how much to fear his socialist, top-down tendencies, but even this will cut no slack with those who see this country as the biggest obstacle between the way things are and the way they would like to see things become. That’s when it really goes up. Is this a serious country? That’s it, simply put. If the right end of the GOP takes a walk this year, it may be all Obama needs. Are they serious people, or do they see this as an opportunity to make things right within the party again. This is fundamentally unserious behavior in the current world.

What would this nation have been if Franklin Pierce had been President from 1861 to 1865? That’s what I’m talking about, here. He looked good, gave a nice speech, and was an effective front man with a notable degree of personal charm. He was also a disaster as a chief executive. Tell me you don’t think our next President positively won’t face problems every bit as tough as Lincoln did.

These are serious questions, and because I have thought about this election in this way, I’ll vote for McCain no matter who he selects. How many more hits from potential voters does TMZ get each day than PJM? These folks are going to put down the Red Bull and go to the polls this year, folks. It’s going to be as if you had a chance to vote for JFK again, by the time this media gets through with this election. The passing of Tim Russert, as much as many folks here (sometimes including me) have had problems with him, is a really bad omen. In retrospect, we may be pointing to it as a breaking point in the political media of the MSM. You’re not going to believe what’s next – I think we’ll see the peak of the sellout to the Democratic party from them this year. The media will make Obama a combination of Denzel Washington and Tiger Woods. Thet’s how these folks see him, and it goes just that deep, no further. That’s all they need to get up and vote, though.

Joe works for me, but do we here reading and commenting at PJM outnumber the folks who vote on style and grace alone. The memes have been crafted – we just need to look to see them. Sorry about the OT nature of this, but the stream of consciousness took over on this one.

Jun 20, 2008 - 11:23 am 22. Orion:

The Conneticutt governor is a Democrat and I can’t think of a single Democrat in Conneticutt who he’d nominate to replace Liebermann not to the left of Che Gueverez. Joe only got reelected as an Independent because the leftwing lunatic who beat him in the Demmocrat primary was, well, a leftwing lunatic and not even the Democrat voters could stomach him over Liebermann.

It’s an amusing idea but completely impractical.

Jun 20, 2008 - 11:35 am 23. juandos:

McCain-Lieberman?!?!?

Well that’s a truly sick idea, an idea that’s worth banishing to some dark and soon forgotten corner…

Two socialistic parasites trying to foist off their inane global warming agenda on a nation that needs another expensive crapola program like Custer needed another indian…

Screw them both…

Jun 20, 2008 - 11:47 am 24. Carl Pham:

This is silly. Haven’t you noticed that an empty suit is raking in $30 million a month and just trounced The Clinton Machine(TM) by running on a vague theme of Hope ‘n’ Change, and looking like a cool young GQ cover guy?

Joe Liberman is yesterday’s news — which is exactly what the people who aren’t going to vote for McCain right now think about the latter. We know who Joe is, we’ve been all through his “maverick” drama. Totally 20th century. Boring.

If McCain wants to move people who *aren’t* going to vote for him right now, he needs something other than a pale copy of himself. Vote For The Two White Guys Who Might As Well Be Your Father is not going to work.

Jindal would certainly neutralize the hey I’m cool I’m biracial Obama thingy. But folks are not going to vote for the ersatz when they can get the real thing, so that’s just a way to lose by a smaller margin.

My advice would be to pick a favorite son, a popular governor, who can bring home a swing state, or else someone who appeals to older married white women, Hillary’s natural demographic, and a group of people who, unlike their younger sisters, are not necessarily feeling like teenyboppers at a 1964 Beatles Concert when they contemplate Obama. McCain is only going to win if “serious” beats “cool” this season.

For that reason, actually, I also think on the issues he should instead of running on the Bush record, four more years, with wrinkles here and there, instead follow the Democrats hysterical cries of disaster just around the corner and *magnify* them — and then dare them to get concrete. The Democrats have tapped into a vein of vague anxiety among Americans. McCain can’t ignore that anxiety. It’s real, and it will sweep Mr. Hope ‘n’ Change into the White House unless a better alternative is available.

The *better* alternative would be someone with concrete plans, because where the Democrats are vulnerable is in the fact that no one really likes their concrete plans for solving problems. That’s why they stick to vague. People do worry about climate change — but whenever the Democrats suggest their favorite solution (living in huts and eating organic sawgrass) people get nauseous. People think not only that the price of gas is outrageous, but that there’s a problem with relying on fossil fuels. But when provided with Democrat “solutions” — *more* gas tax! Take the bus! Sue OPEC! — again, they gag.

John McCain should say: yes, folks, they’re *right*. All is not fine and dandy. The nation faces serious issues, and we thank our friends across the aisle for raising our awareness about them. But folks, their solutions stink. Maybe it’s not their fault, because they’re all trial lawyers and union teachers and bureaucrats, so all they can think of is meetings and new laws and more administrators, and they can’t imagine that *you* folks — plain folks, entrepreneurs with new ideas, businessmen with new businesses, heck even homemakers with ideas — are the most powerful agent of hope ‘n’ change we have. Not the government. Not the same old tired solutions from 1975 and 1965.

So what we *need* here is a way to unleash the creativity and power of the American people. Government needs to set up the framework, maybe, including lines of communication, formulate fair rules of competition, maybe provide a little seed money here and there, like the X-Prize that’s got private people designing better spaceships than NASA for a lot less money. But then government needs to get the heck out of your way. It needs *not* to be taxing away so much of your money that you can hardly breathe, can hardly *think* about investing in your own new ideas.

Barack Obama gives a great speech. I listen to him and I feel inspired myself. He’s right. We *do* need hope ‘n’ change. But it’s Barack’s sad fate that he’s running with the party that, more than any other, hasn’t moved on an inch since 1968, whose ideas haven’t changed in near half a century — I know, because I was alive then, ha ha, and I remember. So, sure, we need some change. But the change isn’t going to come from the Democrats. (You haven’t seen much change from the Democratic Congress you elected in 2006, have you?) I’ll bring you real change, and the change *you* can believe in — because it will come from you.

Jun 20, 2008 - 11:49 am 25. Ken Hahn:

If I had to pick a liberal Democrat to serve as President I would name Joe Lieberman without the slightest pause. But I do not want a liberal Democrat as President. McCain drifts between my reluctant support and my reluctant opposition. Adding Lieberman makes the opposition active. There is no conservative or libertarian choice in this election. Putting Lieberman on the ticket adds only in foreign policy which is McCain’s strength. Like McCain, Lieberman is a domestic busybody. He is a union favorite and a big spender.

Lieberman is a bad choice for VP.

Jun 20, 2008 - 11:55 am 26. Just A Grunt:

The truly sad part is that Lieberman would have to be considered the conservative on the ticket.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:00 pm 27. nick:

I like McCain and Lieberman both, but not on the same ticket. People are already wailing about McCain’s age. You’d just compound the age issue by putting Lieberman on the ticket as well.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:03 pm 28. Joe:

A McCain/Lieberman ticket would result in Bob Barr getting 5% of the national vote and Obama becoming President.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:16 pm 29. Greyland:

“The Republican brand has been damaged…Party identification is down, the money advantage has been lost, and the generic poll numbers are atrocious.”

Yes, but that’s because the GOP is looking increasingly like the Dems: more government, more pork, and more intrusive. As the party abandons its principals, it also leaves its support. I used to identify myself as a Republican–now I just call myself a conservative.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:19 pm 30. MA Mom:

How about Michael Steele as McCain’s running mate? Conservative, articulate, Black, executive experience; not a bad package.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:26 pm 31. MA Mom:

Steele is young, too…..50-something. Way too early for Jindal and Palin; 2012 for them. Lieberman is too liberal. He should continue what he is doing as others have posted; criticize Obama.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:27 pm 32. MA Mom:

Steele is young, too, 50-something. Too early for Jindal or Palin (2012) and Lieberman needs to continue to criticize Obama, as others have written. Lieberman is too liberal for me.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:28 pm 33. Stirner:

Lieberman is going to get the nod for Secretary of State in the McCain administration. You heard it here first.

Since most conservatives sort of like Lieberman’s foreign policy, I would imagine few will squawk.

More interesting, if were to be announced before the election, it would certainly help McCain in Florida.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:36 pm 34. Mark in Portland:

Lieberman for Sec Def, and you bet, keep him campaigning.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:36 pm 35. Freddie Funky:

While I hate to see Republican pick two moderate democrats running against Obama. I think McCain will pick Leiberman. McCain’s view is who else are republicans going to vote for. If there is no 3rd party canidate then McCain will pick the furthest left VP possible to try and eat away at Obama’s base. Remember – a VP pick isnt about governing… VP’s dont have to really do anything. McCain would pick Hillary if she would want it. He will go as far left as he possibly can. The only reason he wouldnt do this is if he would be worried about a 3rd party independant or republican canidate splitting republicans.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:43 pm 36. James B:

Imagine McCain picking Lieberman before Obama announces his choice. That would almost certainly dare Obama into picking a centrist or (gasp!) a Republican running mate. Obama’s base (who are as die-hard liberal as he is) would go BALLISTIC.

As it is, the far right is already choosing between the lesser of two evils. Running with Lieberman brings in more centrist voters on the fence than it scares away far-right voters, in my opinion.

Jun 20, 2008 - 12:58 pm 37. jim2:

If one wanted to go outside the box that way, the better Modest Proposal would be Hilary Clinton.

Who would all her previous supporters vote for in November?

Would not Rep. voters still prefer that ticket to Obama?

Also, this would give H. Clinton VP experience in 2012 ….

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:14 pm 38. Helen:

Frankly, if McCain puts Lieberman on the ticket, I will not go near the voting booth on election day. I like Joe Lieberman, but I am not prepared to vote for the abandonment of conservative principles which a McCain-Lieberman ticket would represent.

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:25 pm 39. Rick Bornemann:

As a lobbyist for Connecticut-based company, I got to know Joe Lieberman quite well. In fact, my colleagues and I donated personally, as well as through our PAC, to Joe’s successful campaign to defeat the odious Lowell Weicker.

Joe is a nice man, and he’s completely honest and without pretension – the sort of person one would want to have in one’s home or family.

But not, I’m afraid, in the White House.

That’s because at the end of the day, Joe – for all the praise given him as a “moderate” – is very much an incoherent Liberal.

Yes, he supports the war in Iraq, but here at home he’s taken the lead to frustrate energy development. Going back to the first President Bush’s so-called energy bill in 1992 – Joe used his first filibuster to block exploration in the 2000-acre coastal strip of ANWR.

There is something incoherent about favoring US military action in the Middle East (and I don’t oppose it) while, at the same time, denying domestic oil production and forcing more of our dollars in the bank accounts of hostile regimes.

Where’s the national security benefit in that?

Joe also took the lead on trying to foist a very expensive and destructive “cap and trade” program to limit “global warming.” China is now surpassing us as the world’s biggest carbon emitter, and that’s where what’s left of America’s manufacturing base would go with “cap and trade.” Come to think of it, neither China nor India limits domestic energy development.

So, yes, Joe Lieberman is a good and decent human being. But except for the Iraq war, his positions are all pretty standard issue for a Liberal Blue State Democrat.

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:30 pm 40. fred lapides:

I am an ardent Democrat. Always have been. But I thought you folks would like my take on Joe L. I am from his state and I am Jewish. Joe is no longer considered a Democrat in Ct., and is increasingly disliked in those place where I go and discuss politics. Al of which is to say that if you want him for VP, then don’t believe he will bring to the ticket that which a number of comments believe he will bring. He won’t. One of the biggest things McCain has going against him is his age. Joe L. will only enhance that negative.
McCain needs a yhoung person, nationally known, for many independent voters are thinking about an 8 year term

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:34 pm 41. Helen:

I live in Connecticut. Our governor is a Republican.

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:37 pm 42. tim maguire:

Add me to the pile on. I respect and admire Senator Lieberman for his courage and integrity. I wish him all success, but he would not be a wise choice for Vice-President.

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:38 pm 43. Chris True:

No, no, no…While Lieberman is a man to be highly respected, he’s got the wrong image for this campaign: Another old, white guy who’s all about war in Iraq.

Now Sarah Palin, GOP Governor of Alaska, on the other hand… Undercuts the Hillary as 1st female at that level history, undercuts the negative demagoguery regarding McCain’s advanced age because she’s young, she’s good-looking, which is needed to amend the image constrast between O and M on television, she’s talented, has sky-high approvals in her state, and many of her policies run pretty close to John’s.

You want to go out and get all of those disgruntled women voters who feel like the victims of the glass ceiling, many of whom have already declared that they won’t vote for Obama? Put her on the ticket and watch them vote GOP.

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:38 pm 44. Michael in Seattle:

No way will McCain pick Lieberman as his Veep choice. He’ll go with someone to shore up the Evangelical or Libertarian wings of the party. I’m leaning toward a libertarian candidate to forestall a Perot style revolt from Bob Barr.

Lieberman will be offered Sec State. Although wither he accepts to leave the Senate to whatever Democrat Connecticut comes up with is very questionable.

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:40 pm 45. Roark:

A McCain-Lieberman ticket actually makes sense, based on both candidates political views, which is why the idea is so revolting. I’m going to have to cast my vote for Barr in ‘08, as much as having Obama possibly get elected disgusts me to the core.

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:41 pm 46. Doesn'tMakeSense:

HA hahah hhahh ahhah hhah ha!!! Hah hahah !!!!

Perfect way for the campaign to shoot itself in the face.

Which would be a mercy-suicide, at this point.

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:42 pm 47. deguello:

What a great idea for ensuring an Obama victory;a numbskull warmonger and a socialist believer in global warming, and dependency on foreign oil’Way to unify the Republican base!

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:46 pm 48. mike123:

Come on McCain, give me another reason not to vote for you. I don’t want to vote for you because you are going to destroy us with Amnesty, open borders, Constitutional rights for terrrorists, selling us out to the Arabs, etc.

Actually, picking Sen. Liberman would be perfect. McCain can stop the false advertising that he is a conservative and just come out and admit that he is a Jim Jeffords Republican. We don’t need more reaching across the aisle, we need smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation, deportation of illegals and punishment of those who harbor them, and an end of legal immigration until the current legal immigrants are assimilated and the percentage of natural born Americans returns to its long term trend.

Here is one Conservative that will be voting for Bob Barr, real change

Jun 20, 2008 - 1:53 pm 49. GW Crawford:

McCain is a red tory (Canadian term for a conservative who acts awfully liberal)
Obama is an idiot (the gaffemaster)

Wow… such a choice

I do NOT envy American conservatives right now. You are facing the very real prospect of a president (OB) who will sit and sup with America’s enemies (Iran, Venezuela), abandon America’s responsibilities (Iraq) and shaft, right royally, America’s friends (Canada, Mexico)

This is like Carter updated to be hip and cool looking

Jun 20, 2008 - 3:00 pm 50. the emotional pumpkin » Veep talk:

[...] McCain-Lieberman 2008? Sounds like a great idea. Lieberman is a hawkish social liberal that I can really get behind, and most importantly a politician with integrity. Do I think it’s going to happen? Probably not. That very social liberalism would alienate the socially conservative evangelical base that McCain already has trouble with. If only, though. [...]

Jun 20, 2008 - 3:24 pm 51. dick:

Is this a GOP ticket?

Jun 20, 2008 - 3:34 pm 52. Alex Reed:

Orion: “The Conneticutt governor is a Democrat and I can’t think of a single Democrat in Conneticutt who he’d nominate to replace Liebermann not to the left of Che Gueverez.”

Actually, the governor of Connecticut is a woman, Jodi Rell, and a Republican. So, I think we could count on her to select a Republican replacement for Joe Lieberman in the Senate should the need arise. Senator Lieberman is a rarity in American politics of the liberal variety these days. He is a decent, honest, thoughtful man who is neither ego-tripping, nor power-hungry, and who consistently puts the welfare of the country first. For those reasons, I’m honored that he is one of the senators from my state (the other appears ever more like an escapee from a work by Hogarth). That said, I entirely disagree with virtually all of Sen. Lieberman’s political and policy positions, save, of course, the GWOT. What to do…

The rest of your assessment, as well as those of many who have already posted their thoughts in this forum about the notion of JL as McCain’s VP, is right on the money in my eyes. Like many others here who find little joy in Sen. McCain’s liberal thinking and policy inclinations, or his all too truculent manner with his fellow Republicans, I will not so much vote for McCain, as against the disastrous marxist policies of the mendacious and shallow Obama whose chief achievements seem to be that he has mastered the use of the teleprompter, and of George Soros’ wallet.

If McCain is going to turn this thing around and win, he needs to beat Obama like a gong about foreign policy, find some more common ground with his own party (forget about being a Demo-lite), and pick a real-deal small government/low tax/flat tax/drill for our own oil/non-climate change weenie/economic conservative, etc. as his VP. It wouldn’t hurt him to sing from that score with more conviction too. Time will tell.

Jun 20, 2008 - 3:34 pm 53. Daily Pundit » I Got Yer Four Way Sandwich Right Here….:

[...] Pajamas Media » McCain-Lieberman Could Be Just the Ticket [...]

Jun 20, 2008 - 3:47 pm 54. Thomas Jackson:

It really doesn’t make any difference who McCain picks. I vote for the president not the vice president and if the main candidate is a joke who cares if the vp is God?

McCain is a closet Marxist, Obama just a plain old Marxist.

Jun 20, 2008 - 3:53 pm 55. lutonmoore:

I’m really gonna have a tough time pulling the lever for McCain. I’m only gonna do it for Supreme Court nominees, Congress and other things like that. If McCain’s people are stoopid enough to get Lieberman as his VP then I’ll just say to hell with it. John McCain’s pretty useless. And except for Defense stuff, Lieberman’s a damned Socialist like that Muslim the democrat party’s running. Maybe the country needs another Jimmy Carter for four years. Wake everybody up.

Jun 20, 2008 - 4:21 pm 56. Fit2post:

Lincoln/Johnson: Didn’t work out well for Lincoln or America (especially black America).
http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com/blog/2008/06/junetheenth_bro.html

Jun 20, 2008 - 4:37 pm 57. Daniel J. O'Connell:

My, my.

Such nastyness.

Well, all I can say is that the MSM, not to mention Rush, O’Reilly (I used to like them, have competely dumbed down politics to the point where no actual thinking is required.

A few pearls amongst the swine, but for the rest, shame.

And no, I’m not for Joe. Condi would be my choice…but ANYONE but some no-name senator, no matter how evangelical (where do you people get you orders? From God?) or conservative…to “balance” the ticket…

And yes, shame, on those who consider a war hero a closet Democrat…Marxist? Pass the Kool-Aid…

IMHO the best president of the last century actually WAS a democrat, most of his career. In spite of the slurs as to his intelligence, he happened to be an independent thinker, who pulled this country out of a downward spiral in 1980 and sent it on the longest upward spiral this country has ever seen. NOT just economic, but in terms of the world respect we had squandered with the failed Democrat war, and then that pissant, Carter.

RR was a true leader, because I believe he listened to new ideas. A leader leads, but based on information from (sometimes contradictory) advisors. A leader’s skill is to pick the good ideas from the bad. Which he did.

McCain, based on recent speeches, impresses me the same way. I think McCain-Feingold was horrible…but, I think if one were to look into RR’s past, we would find something similar, esp. as governor of CA.

Done.

DO

Jun 20, 2008 - 4:50 pm 58. njcommuter:

As I recall, the last time this happened was with Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. The possibility gives added weight to the belief that we are in a particularly turbulent and pivotal point in history.

Jun 20, 2008 - 4:52 pm 59. Valerie:

I like Joe Lieberman. I would have voted for him for president.

I like Michael S. Steel, former Lt. Governor of Maryland. I hope that he will have a role in the McCain campagn, and I’d be pleased to see his as VP. I think he’d place Maryland in play.

Run. Up. The. Middle.

Jun 20, 2008 - 5:31 pm 60. Ex-XO:

McCain IS our Democratic candidate…

Jun 20, 2008 - 5:41 pm 61. Mwalimu Daudi:

The Democrat Party nominates a Communist who thinks He is the Messiah. The Republican Party nominates a Democrat who claims a history of bipartisanship but rarely reaches across the aisle to the GOP. The Libertarian Party shows its independence from the two major parties by nominating a Republican. The Green Party may nominate a Klingon (Cynthia McKinney) next month.

Remember – no one forced these individuals on us. We did it to ourselves.

Jun 20, 2008 - 6:38 pm 62. Hershblogger:

You want to damage the GOP brand? Nominate Lieberman. I like Joe, but too much is too much.

Jun 20, 2008 - 6:43 pm 63. mike:

Oh, that would be great! One Big Middle Finger to us Conservatives!

Juan makes me PUKE! I’ve been resigned to the fact, since O-Bom-Ba is the Demented’s Nominee, that I’ll once again have ta Vote against a Candidate instead of for!

I was Sooo hoping Da Hilda Beast would be nominated by the Dim Wits!!

Jun 20, 2008 - 7:19 pm 64. Fat Jolly Penguin:

Ex-XO:

McCain IS our Democratic candidate…
Jun 20, 2008 – 5:41 pm

Which makes Obama the official candidate of the Communist Party USA, correct?

/not exactly sarcasm

Jun 20, 2008 - 10:06 pm 65. TomJW:

DrKrbyLuv:
If you want war with Iran, Syria and Russia, this is your ticket.
Jun 20, 2008 – 9:39 am

You mean there is a reason to vote McCain?

Nothing good will come to the Middle East until Iran and /or Syria are beaten down and humiliated. Their support for Hezbullah and Hamas has to end before peace is a light at the end of a tunnel.

Even if true, I won’t vote for a Dem/Liberal ticket that would represent. I’m not betting or planning on McCain’s death. He won’t get my vote no matter who he selects as the most idle man in America.

Jun 21, 2008 - 4:28 am 66. Jeff:

This is a joke, right?

A Jewish, pro-choice, anti-domestic-oil-exploration Democrat as McCain’s veep choice? Are they trying to kick Christians and conservatives in the teeth as many times as possible this year?

Jun 21, 2008 - 6:32 am 67. Jan:

No, No, No, a thousand times No. Wasn’t Lieberman the voice behind Alf?

Jun 21, 2008 - 8:00 am 68. Sandra M:

Michael Steele wouldn’t get any Black votes because he’s not their kind of guy ideologically, just like Clarence Thomas and Condaleeza Rice and even Colin Powell get called disparaging names.

As to putting a woman on the ticket, the same is true. Feminist Studies never mentioned the works of the best selling woman writer in the 20th Century, Ayn Rand. Jeanne Kirkpatrick’s success at the UN meant nothing to them. When they said “women”, they didn’t mean JK.”

If it’s foolish to choose on race or gender, it’s also foolish to choose on geography. How many VP choices end up not carrying their own state?

Bobby Jindal is a man of IDEAS which even a Democrat friend admitted to me Obama is not. He has executive experience. He has lowered taxes 5 or 6 times since being elected Governor. He has passed tough ethics laws. Newt Gingrich, one of the smartest Republicans around, supports him for VP.

Every time I see Jindal on TV I want to see more because what he’s doing is so interesting. He would give the Republican campaign a shot of adrenaline. AND, like Governor Schwarzenegger, he has a great immigrant story.

Jun 21, 2008 - 10:48 am 69. David P:

NO ! NO !! PLEASE NO!
WE BELONG IN THE BACK GROUND JOE, HAVEN’T YOU LEARNED THIS BY NOW?

Jun 21, 2008 - 3:21 pm 70. Christine:

As a conservative, im not happy with Mccain. If he picks Liberman..im jumping ship and will vote 3rd party. Liberman would be the WORST choice in my opinion.

Jun 21, 2008 - 6:46 pm 71. seeker:

You are all whining and unnerving republicans.

Can’t you see this might be the end of Free Enterprise America, the real american value why it has been on the top of the world since 19th century.

Communism (Socialism/Progressives or whatever hoax term they’re hiding from liberalism) in Heartland America has now a clear shape and the MSM is further strengthening its base.

Christians and Jews should now reach each other and fight the growing terrorism of Socialism here in America. See the radicalism everywhere and the poisoning of the minds of the youth against America’s legacy to the world… Free Democratic Capitalism.

Even economists are now trying to change the Law of Demand and Supply just get their own mark of the liberalism and Progressive Change potion.

Wake up! All communists and socialists are doing house-to-house and you are all whining about silly things.

Think how to win the election. When you secure the White House, that’s the time to talk about your differences and maybe a complete 4-year conference to tackle all issues within your party.

Jun 22, 2008 - 3:03 am 72. Ken:

Just the ticket to blow any chance the Republicans might have……

Jun 22, 2008 - 3:50 am 73. YHW:

Wow, I can’t think of a better way to unite the Republican base and the Democratic base against McCain. As a Democrat I want to win because we had a better candidate with a better message and better campaign, not because the Republican candidate totally went insane.

Jun 22, 2008 - 3:30 pm 74. Sean Leslie:

No to Lieberman.
1. Allied with Neocon/Likudnik foreign policy.
2. He’s a Democrat, a Liberal on the home front.
3. He is a nice man, but he lacks charisma. When he speaks, his voice whines and puts you to sleep. You can’t win elections with that problem.

Yes to Carly Fiorina. Google Flora TV and catch her presentation. Just search Carly at Flora TV.

Jun 23, 2008 - 1:32 am 75. david levavi:

David P:

…WE BELONG IN THE BACK GROUND JOE…

Not always, Dave. But a Jewish Commander in Chief during what promises to be a long, drawn-out war in the Middle East is problematic.

Sean Leslie:

…Allied with Neocon/Likudnik foreign policy…

Lets get our definitions straight, Sean. A Neoconservative (read that, formerly liberal Jew) is a newcomer to conservatism sneered at by paleoconservatives (read that, Cro-Magnon Catholics).

Its the fantasy of Roman Catholics fanatics like Pat Buchanan that American conservatism begins with their Fascist kind.

The father of American conservatism was Barry Goldwater, the proud son of a Polish Jew. Goldwater referred to social conservatives like the YAF (Young Catholics for Freedom) to which Buchanan belonged, as new conservatives.

The real paleoconservatives were American nativists of generations earlier who would have put Buchanan and his ilk on a boat back to Ireland.

It does not escape Jewish notice that those who accuse American Jews of dual loyalty for their love of Israel, usually turn out to be paleos.

Roman Catholics, fine, civil folk by and large, need to be reminded that this nation was founded by Freemasons, Deists and Protestants. Also that Roman Catholics in large numbers rose in opposition to the will of the American people and the American government in three of our bloodies wars.

Substitute Catholic for neocon and Papists for Likudniks and you’ll begin to glimpse the true nature of your hostility to neocon/Likudniks.

Jun 23, 2008 - 6:55 am 76. Jim Stutts:

“Yes to Carly Fiorina.”

So she can do to the country what she did to HP?

That’s all we need: more “whiz kids” in government.

Jun 23, 2008 - 8:16 am 77. don L:

Let’s see, two birds of a kind -mavericks to their own party who both support medical experimentation with unborn human life and hand-wringing Joe likes partial birth abortion. Both have bought into the global warming hoax even as it is falling like a house of cards. The borders and sovereignity be damned. I’ll stay home, the worse it gets the quicker it’s cured.

300 million people to chose from and we are suggesting these two who are both hated by their own party? We can do better -doubtful we’ll ever get another chance. The GOP sure as hell blew this one.

Jun 23, 2008 - 3:24 pm 78. John Samford:

Condi. Not for any political reason but because it will be a real hoot seeing her as President after Big Mac kicks the bucket. That Leather mini will put a little sizzle in the G8 meetings.

Jun 24, 2008 - 12:49 am