Regular readers of this blog know that I think there's a decent chance that John McCain will choose Christine Todd Whitman as his VP. I checked out what the odds for this were at Intrade.com. Shockingly, there was no contract for Christine Todd Whitman as McCain's VP at Intrade! Fortunately for all of those of us who are passionately following this issue, I took decisive action and corrected this flaw. Using my powers of persuasion and my command of English grammar, as well as my email, I sent off a missive to the powers that be at Intrade, and requested a contract for Gov. Whitman. They obliged, and now you can buy a contract for Christine Todd Whitman to be John McCain's VP at Intrade.com!
Hey, if obscure people like John Kasich and Richard Burr (who I have never even heard of) can have contracts, why not Whitman? You can buy her contract very, very cheap right now, at 5.0 (which is 50 cents). That would turn into $10 if she does get the nod. As of now, there has only been one contract bought for her. That would be me. I am putting my money where my mouth is - I have 50 cents down (I have very little money in my Intrade account right now).
This could be a great opportunity to make a killing! Place your bets now!
Showing posts with label Christine Todd Whitman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christine Todd Whitman. Show all posts
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Dick Morris on McCain's VP choices
Dick Morris tries his hand at the current blogosphere game, trying to figure out who John McCain should choose as VP. This is an interesting game to play, because it's like trying to find the grey area between the absurd, the impossible, and the bizarre. McCain simply has no good options. Morris is mostly interested in why Mitt Romney would not work out. He throws out other possiblilities: Condi Rice, Colin Powell, and Joe Lieberman, with this justification:
Yes, but each has serious problems. McCain has been trying to distance himself from Bush - choosing his Secretary of State, and one of his closest advisors, a woman strongly associated with his failed foreign policy, would not serve that purpose well. Colin Powell? I've heard that Powell and McCain are friends, and I don't doubt it. I'm sure Powell would be a good VP. But I think hell will freeze over and demons will carve angels out of the ice before Colin Powell campaigns against the first African American to have a serious chance at being president.
Lieberman? There's a possibility. One problem is that that's just about a guaranteed way to lose Connecticut, since people there are already upset with Joe. And who would it help with? He might swing a few Jews, which might help McCain
with Florida, but that's about it. He would presumably have to switch parties, and Democrats would have nothing to do with him, but that doesn't seem to bother Lierberman. He may go down in history as being the losing partner in two presidential campaigns, but, again, I doubt that would bother him. On foreign policy, they are obviously in sync. But on social issues, Lieberman is still very much a Democrat, and I'm not sure how happy the base would be about that. And the man is not the most charismatic politician. Against Obama, that matters. If Obama picks someone like John Edwards, it will be two fresh young guys against two old white guys. On the other hand, McCain could then claim to be bipartisan and a maverick. So I don't think I'm going to rule Lierberman out.
Morris likes Huckabee, but Huckabee, apart from his personal charm, is a good old boy from the South who would alienate suburban professionals in the rest of the country.
Morris' primary goal is to shoot down Romney. Which, of course, is not difficult. I just think Romney is one of the least worst choices McCain has.
My favorite candidate is still the dark horse that no one has mentioned in a long time: Christine Todd Whitman. She has all the advantages of Romney, with few of the negatives: she's very smart, highly accomplished, the former governor of a northeastern state. For all of those who supported Hillary but are uncomfortable with Obama, choosing Whitman would give them a reason to vote for McCain. She has some environmental credentials, having served as EPA Administrator under Bush. She didn't work well with the rest of the Bush administration, which, at this point, is a selling point for many people.
McCain-Whitman '08! Place your bets now - you'll get great odds on this one.
Any of these three choices would make a "wow" statement that would make voters see McCain in a new light.
Yes, but each has serious problems. McCain has been trying to distance himself from Bush - choosing his Secretary of State, and one of his closest advisors, a woman strongly associated with his failed foreign policy, would not serve that purpose well. Colin Powell? I've heard that Powell and McCain are friends, and I don't doubt it. I'm sure Powell would be a good VP. But I think hell will freeze over and demons will carve angels out of the ice before Colin Powell campaigns against the first African American to have a serious chance at being president.
Lieberman? There's a possibility. One problem is that that's just about a guaranteed way to lose Connecticut, since people there are already upset with Joe. And who would it help with? He might swing a few Jews, which might help McCain
with Florida, but that's about it. He would presumably have to switch parties, and Democrats would have nothing to do with him, but that doesn't seem to bother Lierberman. He may go down in history as being the losing partner in two presidential campaigns, but, again, I doubt that would bother him. On foreign policy, they are obviously in sync. But on social issues, Lieberman is still very much a Democrat, and I'm not sure how happy the base would be about that. And the man is not the most charismatic politician. Against Obama, that matters. If Obama picks someone like John Edwards, it will be two fresh young guys against two old white guys. On the other hand, McCain could then claim to be bipartisan and a maverick. So I don't think I'm going to rule Lierberman out.
Morris likes Huckabee, but Huckabee, apart from his personal charm, is a good old boy from the South who would alienate suburban professionals in the rest of the country.
Morris' primary goal is to shoot down Romney. Which, of course, is not difficult. I just think Romney is one of the least worst choices McCain has.
My favorite candidate is still the dark horse that no one has mentioned in a long time: Christine Todd Whitman. She has all the advantages of Romney, with few of the negatives: she's very smart, highly accomplished, the former governor of a northeastern state. For all of those who supported Hillary but are uncomfortable with Obama, choosing Whitman would give them a reason to vote for McCain. She has some environmental credentials, having served as EPA Administrator under Bush. She didn't work well with the rest of the Bush administration, which, at this point, is a selling point for many people.
McCain-Whitman '08! Place your bets now - you'll get great odds on this one.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
My Crazy McCain VP prediction
Now that McCain has locked up the GOP nomination, it's time to start thinking about his running mate. Must be nice for him! I have a crazy, crazy, CRAZY idea:
Christine Todd Whitman.
It's a completely ridiculous idea. Totally insane. She's a moderate Republican, which would infuriate conservatives. She's from New Jersey.
But consider: She has no foreign policy experience, but McCain is not exactly lacking in that respect. She's from the Northeast, which used to have a solid block of Republicans, i.e. Establishment WASPS, but no longer does. So she would be a throwback, of sorts. Going retro in the East might be good for the GOP.
If Hillary is the nominee, McCain almost has to choose a woman to be competitive, because a lot of moderate women Republicans and independents will vote for Hillary, or at least consider it. If Obama is the nominee but he chooses a male running mate (highly likely), choosing a woman makes McCain look slightly progressive. It would send a strong signal to moderates that he's not beholden to the right wing of the party. Which, of course, is one of the reasons that choosing her would piss off those right wingers. But it's also - supposedly - exactly the kind of thing that John "Maverick" McCain would do.
I lived in New Jersey under Whitman, and one thing that impressed me, despite my disagreements with her, is that she is really smart, and really, really competent. She's actually qualified for the job.
And then there's this little tidbit: "The Governor of New Jersey is considered one of the most powerful governorships in the nation". She's comfortable with power. And good at exercising it.
She also has environmentalist credentials. Odd credentials, to be sure, but she has them: she served as EPA Administrator under George W. Which wouldn't do well to sell her to independents, except that she was not entirely in agreement with Bush & Cheney on environmental issues. So some people will hate her for being in the Bush Admin, but others might like her willingness to fight the good fight, at least insofar as she did.
There are a few skeletons in her closet, notably apparently lying about the health hazards at Ground Zero post-9/11. And she's taller than McCain, which would make photo ops interesting. But it would be a very gutsy choice, and it would certainly have an interesting effect on the dynamics of the race.
You heard it hear first.
Christine Todd Whitman.
It's a completely ridiculous idea. Totally insane. She's a moderate Republican, which would infuriate conservatives. She's from New Jersey.
But consider: She has no foreign policy experience, but McCain is not exactly lacking in that respect. She's from the Northeast, which used to have a solid block of Republicans, i.e. Establishment WASPS, but no longer does. So she would be a throwback, of sorts. Going retro in the East might be good for the GOP.
If Hillary is the nominee, McCain almost has to choose a woman to be competitive, because a lot of moderate women Republicans and independents will vote for Hillary, or at least consider it. If Obama is the nominee but he chooses a male running mate (highly likely), choosing a woman makes McCain look slightly progressive. It would send a strong signal to moderates that he's not beholden to the right wing of the party. Which, of course, is one of the reasons that choosing her would piss off those right wingers. But it's also - supposedly - exactly the kind of thing that John "Maverick" McCain would do.
I lived in New Jersey under Whitman, and one thing that impressed me, despite my disagreements with her, is that she is really smart, and really, really competent. She's actually qualified for the job.
And then there's this little tidbit: "The Governor of New Jersey is considered one of the most powerful governorships in the nation". She's comfortable with power. And good at exercising it.
She also has environmentalist credentials. Odd credentials, to be sure, but she has them: she served as EPA Administrator under George W. Which wouldn't do well to sell her to independents, except that she was not entirely in agreement with Bush & Cheney on environmental issues. So some people will hate her for being in the Bush Admin, but others might like her willingness to fight the good fight, at least insofar as she did.
There are a few skeletons in her closet, notably apparently lying about the health hazards at Ground Zero post-9/11. And she's taller than McCain, which would make photo ops interesting. But it would be a very gutsy choice, and it would certainly have an interesting effect on the dynamics of the race.
You heard it hear first.
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