Fitz for VP!

Radley Balko | August 29, 2008

Blogger (and fellow IU alum) T.J. Brown cites an old column of mine and says McCain should select the guy who once held Barack Obama's Illinois seat in the U.S. Senate, ex-Sen. Peter Fitzgerald.  It isn't going to happen.  But it would have been a pretty bold and inspired move. 

Fitzgerald actually is what both Obama and McCain claim to be—an advocate for change and a straight talker, respectively.  And he was willing to risk his political career for it.  During his tenure in the Senate, Fitzgerald stood up to then- House Speaker Denny Hastert and the GOP leadership, refusing to help procure massive pork barrel and corporate welfare grants for his home state, over Hastert's objections.  He also wouldn't play ball when the party pressured him to nominate a local GOP prosecutor for the vacant U.S. attorney position in Chicago.  Fitzgerald wanted to be sure then-GOP Gov. George Ryan was properly investigated on corruption charges, and wasn't confident someone with ties to the state party would suffice.  So he nominated a prosecutor from out of state, earning him wrath from both his own party and the local media.

Naturally, Fitzgerald was soon drummed out of his party—the GOP refused to support him in his first re-election primary.  After a sex scandal bounced the party's initial nominee, Illinois Republicans had to settle for Alan Keyes, who was then trounced by Obama.

Comments

|8.29.08 @ 9:44AM|#

Fitzgerald is kind of a hero here (in "good" ol' IL), but I like Sarah Palin better.
She hunts, fishes, and rides snowmobiles. What more could a guy want? (I know, lots of guys prefer women that stay home on boys night out, but who knows, she might drink beer too) And she opposed the bridge to nowhere. And guns. And she's hot. On the down side, she bought some crappy weed in Alaska, and decide she didn't like it based on that. I can forgive that one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

|8.29.08 @ 9:45AM|#

Interesting. Had the Republicans not been so obsessed with enforcing cronyism and venality, they might very well be facing Hillary Clinton now, with a much easier path to the White House. Let's all take a moment to drink in the irony of it all, and enjoy the fact that at least some politicians stand to get what's coming to them.

|8.29.08 @ 9:47AM|#

Opps. I didn't mean to suggest she is a traitor. "And guns" meant good on guns.

|8.29.08 @ 9:49AM|#

On the down side, she bought some crappy weed in Alaska, and decide she didn't like it based on that. I can forgive that one

There is no crappy weed in Alaska. You're just an ignorant Easterner who hasn't tasted true Western flavor.

What more could a guy want?

If he's running for President, he could want someone who had been nationally vetted and who could actually swing a good number of votes. All Obama needs to do is point out that McCain is anti-abortion and the votes that he could pick up by nominating a woman would be halved. At least.

|8.29.08 @ 9:55AM|#

NPR rumored Sarah Palin for Veep this morning. It would be a bold choice, and might just be enough for me to swallow hard and pull the McCain lever.

|8.29.08 @ 9:59AM|#

After a sex scandal bounced the party's initial nominee, Illinois Republicans had to settle for Alan Keyes, who was then trounced by Obama.

Are you trying to avoid mentioning Seven of Nine now?

might just be enough for me to swallow hard and pull the McCain lever.

If you must, promise me that you'll do it in that order.

|8.29.08 @ 10:09AM|#

McSame could choose SpongeBob Squarepants for his VEEP and I dont think it would matter because surely there is no one with a single oucne of common sense that would take McSame seriously.

Whistler
http://www.FireMe.To/udi

|8.29.08 @ 10:12AM|#

Shem, the weed she smoked while in Alaska must have been Mexican then...

Easterner??? Screw you buddy. I'm from the Midwest. That makes me at least half as cool as you.

On McCain - he's tied with Osama now. Any votes McCain picks up from a sturdy woman like Palin will be gravy. Speaking of gravy....YES!

|8.29.08 @ 10:27AM|#

Screw that. On your best day you're 33% as cool as the average Westerner. Tops.

|8.29.08 @ 10:30AM|#

Easterner??? Screw you buddy. I'm from the Midwest. That makes me at least half as cool as you.

You hicks are dreaming. I'm from New England, making me...oh shit.

Seitz|8.29.08 @ 10:37AM|#

I think she brings as many negatives as positives, but it will sure make it an interesting two months. On the plus side for the Republicans, she could bring in some Hillary hold outs. I imagine she's a good campaigner. The kid with Down's Syndrome is a good story. It will be hard for Biden to attach her in the debates.

On the downside, she's still really pro-life, so while it riles up the base, it won't bring a lot of cross-over voters. She's arguably less experienced than Obama, so it blunts that line of attack from McCain. How can you argue the importance of experience when you think a first term governor of a sparsely populated state (which I love, by the way - my brother lives there) is experienced enough to beat one heartbeat away from the Presidency? She has her own abuse of power issue going on, though that may be overblown.

I saw Pawlenty as a pretty safe choice, but that's mostly because I figured he'd bring Minnesota along, and I don't know enough about him to have a strong negative opinion. Credit to McCain for not making the safe choice, but I'm not sure it's the right choice.

NP|8.29.08 @ 10:44AM|#

So Palin is really McCain's running mate. This is a pretty big gamble, as the NBC analysts are saying. As for me I disagree with her on quite a few social issues, but still a great pick for McCain.

|8.29.08 @ 10:52AM|#

I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised. Who know the old crap had it in him…

I still won't vote for him, but I will be a tiny bit less depressed if he wins.

JMR|8.29.08 @ 10:54AM|#

7 of 9?? I coulda sworn she's 36 of D after she got those implants!
JMR

|8.29.08 @ 10:55AM|#

Wow, McCain really brought down the average age of his campaign with that one.

Now, Obama/Biden average is 56.5
McCain/Palin average is 58

On average, we're doing fairly well.

McCain's dead in year 2 by my prediction though.

|8.29.08 @ 10:56AM|#

It's nice to be surprised by a politician. It doesn't happen very often.

Try this on for size. Mickane wins and stays one term. Then, four years from now, it's Hillary vs. Sarah, womano e' womano.

|8.29.08 @ 11:03AM|#

Now that's a candidate I can stand behind. Sorry ladies, I had to say it. Obama's dead meat. Getting her sister's deadbeat husband fired will be one of her best selling points to Hillary gals.

SteveInClearwater|8.29.08 @ 11:08AM|#

It's been almost 20 minutes...Time to get a fresh Thread up where we can all - Dems, Pubs, Libs - voice our secret yearning for a gal pal like Sarah.

My eighth general election and the first which had a candidate I'd love to date....heh

Will be much harder pulling the lever for Obama while fantasizing about an island getaway with the opposing VP candidate.....

NotThatDavid|8.29.08 @ 11:12AM|#

Congrats, douchebag, after hammering Obama on his inexperience for months you've managed to pick the one contender with less time in office than him. It's a solid pick in a vacuum, but half the attack ads the McCain campaign's run so far just turned into weapons against him.

|8.29.08 @ 11:14AM|#

This is a 9th inning, down-two-runs swing for the fences.

I thought the age difference with Bobby Jindal would be shocking.

Probably won't hurt him much - only really terrible VP choices do. Can she give a freaking speach, my friends? Somebody has to.

|8.29.08 @ 11:17AM|#

It will be hard for Biden to attach her in the debates.

Yeah, personal attacks would look bad, and aggressiveness would look bad.

It's a solid pick in a vacuum, but half the attack ads the McCain campaign's run so far just turned into weapons against him. Not just on the "not ready" front, but because she's a woman, the nasty "affirmative action" critique that's coming out the right wing media - though not, I'll note, from the campaign itself so far - is gone, too.

|8.29.08 @ 11:21AM|#

Let's get real here. Palin is the best choice McCain could make. He makes a run for disgruntled feminist Hillary supporters, gets the "hey, she's kinda hot!" vote (I have no idea how valuable that might be), and adds another "maverick" (in people's minds, if not reality) to the ticket.

He really couldn't have done better.

|8.29.08 @ 11:24AM|#

Wikipedia's announcement might be premature, but this is certainly grist for the rumor mill.

Thursday night's arrival of a private jet from Alaska at the Middleton, Ohio, airport raised speculation that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would be McCain's pick. Middleton is 25 miles from Dayton.

Rich Bevis, an airport manager at the Middleton airport, said that a woman, two men and two teenagers were onboard.

That seems to be the latest story. Has anyone seen any actual confirmation yet?

|8.29.08 @ 11:26AM|#

CNN is confirming.