Ridge.

[saltpoint]

What's your call?

[ccharles000]

1. Faces long odds but not out of it yet.

[saltpoint]

5. After the last few days, ccharles000, I

agree. At about the point someone looks like they're cooked, they come roaring back for a media spasm.

Ridge doesn't seem to want to fade out.

[Barack_America]

2. Who knows with McCain?

The man was tortured but now says that torture is a-ok.

If he got a poll saying fundies were already soundly behind him, he flip-flop on his "no pro-choice VP" stance in a heartbeat.

[Eurobabe]

3. Other = LOSER on the ticket: go for it Johnnie!!

[saltpoint]

4. Some of the chatter had Ridge on the ascent with McCain

going for security over the fundies' issues, then it was dismissed as a failed trial balloon, then again we hear Ridge rumblings.

Puzzlin' evidence, mateys.

[David Zephyr]

6. He'd hurt us in Pennsylvania, but the fundies would go crazy.

I hope he doesn't pick Ridge.

[saltpoint]

8. Hi, David. Yes -- the fundies would blow their stack almost

immediately.

Agree with you that Ridge makes Pennsylvania iffier for us, but let's see what happens to McCain's polling numbers when the fundies abandon him.

[David Zephyr]

9. Ridge gives me chills.

Pennsylvania is so critical to us and that was one of the tippers for me last month when I dropped all my pride and realized that Hillary brings us Pennsylvania and Ohio and Michigan and possibly Florida.

Ridge is pro-choice and is from Pennsylvania. Ridge eats into women voters and takes Pennsylvania away from us.

Crossing my fingers the fundies would nix it.

[saltpoint]

11. I think the blue team carries Pennsylvania, even with Ridge,

and in the event of a loss of Pennsylvania (again, I think that's unlikely), Ridge loses the (say) 5% or so of fundie nutbags he needs in swing states to push him over the top.

Which is great, in a way, because it forces him to choose a lackluster droid like Tim Pawlenty or a raving psychotic like Franklin Graham.

There must be MORE than 5% of fundamentalist GOP base voters who will not stomach a pro-Choice nominee on the ticket, no matter what.

That's enough to sink John McCain's campaign, even if he wins Pennsylvania.

[AlCzervik]

7. his love of the patriot act could cancel out his pro life positions for the extremist

radical rw fundies.

[DebJ]

10. I think McCain will want one Veep and his campaign will want

a different one, ha! They can't seem to agree on anything.

[saltpoint]

12. They do seem a bit out-of-synch. It would be great for the team to

announce one person and then McCain tell the press it's someone else.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

13. The strongest choice, thus eliminated by the 'stupid party'

McCain will get rolled the same way Kerry allowed Edwards to be fobbed off him. He'll be made to pick some fundie-friendly loser who will be an anchor around his neck in the suburbs.

Being fortunate in ones enemies is important.

[OmahaBlueDog]

14. Putting PA into play does seem to be part of their strategy

I stick with my pick, though. I think he'll go with Sarah Palin.

[saltpoint]

15. Well, it could be. I wrote her off early but she keeps following the

law-of-averages around, like the shark in JAWS.

[wisteria]

16. Ridge, as former head of "Homeland Security" and the puppet

of Chaney's and Bush's color coded fear system has a good chance in my opinion.he is owed something for his efforts involving scaring the public out of voting for Senator Kerry in 2004. I can envision the ticket now, McCain tough on our enemies abroad and Ridge protecting us from our enemies on the home front.

[saltpoint]

17. Hi, wisteria. -- Yes, Ridge could be frighteningly plausible.

But am curious -- do you think McCain would roll the dice on Ridge and risk repelling the fundies?