2008 Woodie Awards
Southern vice president?
by Andy House
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Opinion
With Senator John McCain having wrapped up the Republican nomination for president, the only mystery that remains is who will be his running mate. Already getting a jump-start on campaigning against the Democrats, McCain now must look to secure areas of America where he may struggle.
His biggest problem is that he is considered not conservative enough to be the Republican candidate. This leads many people to believe that he must mend his conservative base.
He could do this by adding former opponent Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas to his ticket. There has even been talk about Georgia's current Governor Sonny Perdue as a running mate.
These candidates all may be worthy of the nomination for different reasons. Why does McCain need to reestablish himself with his conservative base? He needed to do that to gain the nomination. Now that he has the nomination, what does he have to fear from the Right? Who are more conservative voters going to vote for, the Democrats?
No, they will remain loyal to their party, even if they're not totally thrilled with their candidate. No, the reason candidates like Huckabee and Perdue can really help McCain is because if Senator Barack Obama gains the Democratic nomination, he will have the strongest support for a Democratic candidate in the South in 40 years.
All of a sudden, the Republican stronghold of the South is up for grabs. If any of that is lost by the Republicans, it will surely cost them the presidency.
As we get closer to the general election, look to see how the candidates position themselves with their vice-presidential candidates, and how this could potentially affect the South.
His biggest problem is that he is considered not conservative enough to be the Republican candidate. This leads many people to believe that he must mend his conservative base.
He could do this by adding former opponent Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas to his ticket. There has even been talk about Georgia's current Governor Sonny Perdue as a running mate.
These candidates all may be worthy of the nomination for different reasons. Why does McCain need to reestablish himself with his conservative base? He needed to do that to gain the nomination. Now that he has the nomination, what does he have to fear from the Right? Who are more conservative voters going to vote for, the Democrats?
No, they will remain loyal to their party, even if they're not totally thrilled with their candidate. No, the reason candidates like Huckabee and Perdue can really help McCain is because if Senator Barack Obama gains the Democratic nomination, he will have the strongest support for a Democratic candidate in the South in 40 years.
All of a sudden, the Republican stronghold of the South is up for grabs. If any of that is lost by the Republicans, it will surely cost them the presidency.
As we get closer to the general election, look to see how the candidates position themselves with their vice-presidential candidates, and how this could potentially affect the South.
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