[Ed Dantes]

Since it's abundantly clear that John McCain is going to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States, and it's either going to be Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as the Democrat nominee, I think we should all start pondering who are our potential Vice Presidents...

For the Republicans, it's probably going to be Mike Huckabee now that many evangelicals are saying that they're not going to vote for McCain because of his stances, so Huck will probably get the nod. After all, he's considerably younger, more energetic, and charismatic than McCain. But many arch-conservatives aren't really thrilled with him. So while I do think that Huckabee will be the Republican's veep choice, let's take a look at some of the others...

Current / Former Governors:
Gov. Matt Blunt, Missouri -- won't run in 2008, hedging himself for an '12 run
Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana -- too young
Gov. Rick Perry, Texas -- Texas Gov. won't win, America has already made that mistake
Gov. Charlie Crist, Florida -- Possible, but McCain doesn't need the help in Florida
Gov. Mark Sanford, South Carolina -- Same as above
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota -- Definite Possibility, keep an eye on this guy
Gov. Haley Barbour, Mississippi -- Too old
Fmr. Gov. George Allen, Virginia -- "Macaca". If only...
Fmr. Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida -- No.
Fmr. Gov. Jim Gilmore, Virginia -- Running for senate in '08.

Current / Former Congressmen:
Rep. Roy Blunt, Missouri -- Maybe... Missouri's going to be huge this election
Rep. John Boehner, Ohio -- See above, replace "Missouri" with "Ohio".
Rep. Mike Pence, Indiana -- Definite possibility.
Fmr. Rep. Tom Delay, Texas -- No.
Fmr. Rep. Newt Gingrich, Georgia -- Too old, sorry.
Sen. John Cornyn, Texas -- Won't happen
Fmr. Sen. Bill Frist, Tennessee -- Good choice, but he's gone.
Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania -- Same as above.

Wild Cards / Fmr. Presidential Candidates
Rep. Ron Paul, Texas -- Won't happen
Rep. Duncan Hunter, California -- Retiring
Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado -- Nope.
Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas -- Nope.
Fmr. Gov. Mike Huckabee, Arkansas -- Yes.
Fmr. Gov. Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin -- Too old.
Fmr. Gov. Mitt Romney, Massachusetts -- Won't happen.
Fmr. Lt. Gov. Michael Steele -- Intriguing.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

Very Impressive, Nice Research... Being a Florida Boy Im a fan of Jeb but I think Huck would do well for McCain It will help him with conservatives who still think that he is not conservative enough.

[mrmacphisto]

I've heard rumors/theories that Romney dropped out as part of a running-mate deal with McCain. I doubt it's true, but that's what I heard.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

I've heard rumors/theories that Romney dropped out as part of a running-mate deal with McCain. I doubt it's true, but that's what I heard.

Nah, Romney Talked too much trash about him. That would be like LB hiring me as his Agent

[Sly Fox]

... or Ronald Reagan choosing a guy who would accuse him of using "Voodoo economics" as a platform. Er, wait a second ...

I'm surprised to see John Cornyn on the list. The man who replaced him as AG here in Texas, Greg Abbott, might be a guy who I could see being a player in the coming years.

I don't even want to say in a public forum what I think of Rick Perry. Let's just say I'm not a fan by an any stretch of the imagination.

[cheerbren]

I have heard Gov. Pawlenty is thinking but I thought that was only local speculation.

[vastrightwinger]

I had on good authority that if Rudy took the nomintation he was going to chose Charlie Crist to be his running mate but I don't think that will carry over for McCain. That would be a mistake for him because Charlie has the same problem as McCain in that they are both struggling to prove themselves as true conservatives. McCain needs someone that is a no doubt conservative to help his case.

[whmatthews]

I don't know what his plans are, but Gov. Easley from NC is out

[Sly Fox]

Pawlenty is a rising star in the GOP but I wonder if he is ready for the big show. He is an amazing communicator.

[belcherboy]

I've heard rumors/theories that Romney dropped out as part of a running-mate deal with McCain. I doubt it's true, but that's what I heard.

Romney rumors are rampant right now. It looks like there is an outside chance there could be some substance to them.

[horrez]

For the Republicans, it's probably going to be Mike Huckabee now that many evangelicals are saying that they're not going to vote for McCain because of his stances, so Huck will probably get the nod.

If they aren't going to vote for McCain, who will they vote for?

[Sly Fox]

No one

[kel varson]

I'm not sure Huckabee is the best choice. It will help in the south but it will do nothing for the fiscal conservatives who can't stand Huck or McCain. He needs to pick someone that is conservative on all points. While personally, I think Huckabee is close, he has too many people in the GOP who can't stand him.

[mrmacphisto]

Romney rumors are rampant right now.

Kudos on the alliteration.

[Cider Jim]

Huck as VP means we get Huck in Washington minus his Flat Tax.

[Baldspot]

VP's typically don't mean a lot but McCain's selection might be more important than most. McCain needs to broaden his appeal to both social and fiscal conservatives which is a tall order for a Republican at this stage of the game. Ideally someone with those credentials from a rustbelt state would be best which is why I like Santorum and Bohner (not too familiar with Pawlenty). Due to the Dem ticket I'd add Liddy Dole, JC Watts and Condi Rice to the list because I fear too many people will forget about the issues and vote for a lady or a minority just to pat themselves on the back and feel like they did something good.

My guess is Romney's more in line for a cabinet position where he can resign after a couple years and concenrate on the next Pres election. Huck does nothing for fiscal conservatives and the fact he is still embarrassing McCain in the southern states probably isn't sitting well with the presumptive nominee.

Here's hoping McCain publicly commits to selecting strict constructionist judges to appease conservatives, picks Santorum, Fred Thompson or Liddy Dole for VP, then announces early on that Romney will be Sec of Treasury; Lieberman, Sec of State and Rudy for Commerce.

[vastrightwinger]

Here is a pretty good article talking about this issue. A lot of good names being thrown into the mix.

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 04903/1001

[Dale]

True conservatives have no one to vote for but whoever is on the GOP ticket is going to be better for them that the Dem ticket. Carrying the south will be critical for the GOP and Huckabee would help there as well as with the evangelicals.