Since I first wrote about this on January 2nd of this year, I've only seen one other suggestion of a McCain/Lieberman ticket for 2008 - until now. Michael Barone is talking about it, because Austin Bay talked about it - here is Barone's take:

First, it's only possible if Lieberman beats Ned Lamont in November--as I think he probably will. In which case, he will be bereft of obligations to the Senate Democratic leadership and can vote against them on party-line issues as often as he wants. Which will probably be a lot more often than in 2001-04, when he was preparing to run in the Democratic caucuses and primaries, and in 2005-06, when he hoped to avoid defeat in the Democratic primary. So Lieberman's likely to be less objectionable to conservatives. And, of course, when the president and vice president disagree, the vice president loses by a vote of 1 to 0.

Second, a McCain-Lieberman ticket would seem, and would be, a sharp departure from the harsh partisanship of which American voters, however partisan they may be individually, are surely tired. George W. Bush was, I think, sincere when he promised to try to bring a new mood to Washington. But after the Florida controversy, and the bitterness of Democrats over the result, he could not do so. McCain and Lieberman could argue plausibly that they could.

Third, a McCain-Lieberman ticket, however nonconservative on some issues, would be solidly committed to a vigorous prosecution of the war against terrorism. This issue unites the two of them as no other and so would help make that the central issue of the campaign. And an issue on which McCain-Lieberman would probably have a huge advantage over any possible Democratic ticket.

Fourth, McCain-Lieberman would probably win easily. Pollster Scott Rasmussen has paired McCain and Rudy Giuliani against both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Al Gore in 26 states (subscription required).www.rasmussenreports.com I'm prohibited by membership agreement from disclosing the results, but I think I can say that both McCain and Giuliani run far ahead of both Clinton and Gore--and at a time when Republicans are not doing well in polling for 2006 races. McCain-Lieberman might run behind Bush-Cheney in the South, but that would still leave them ahead in most if not all of the region; they would probably run well ahead of Bush-Cheney on both coasts and would be competitive in many states where Bush-Cheney wasn't.

Fifth, a McCain-Lieberman ticket could claim that it would govern without a view to political advantage. If it won, McCain would take office at 72; it would not be obvious that he would run for re-election (Ronald Reagan won re-election at 73). Lieberman, as a lifelong Democrat, would not be considered a candidate for a Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016 (at which points he would be 70 and 74). That would allow Lieberman, as it has allowed Dick Cheney, the ability to be a useful and active vice president with no concern about his personal political prospects.

Barone makes one small mistake - he wants you to know that you heard about it first on his blog, or on Austin Bay, when we all know that truly perceptive political readers heard about it on GOP Bloggers 8 months ago.

My take back in January was that a McCain/Lieberman ticket would ensure that on the most vital issue of our times - the war - the United States would secure leadership most likely to be committed to absolute victory. No one can say for certain what a man will do once he assumes an office - but all indicators are that both McCain and Lieberman understand what needs to be done, and have the courage to actually go and do it. That is vital - Frist, Allen, Romney...all great candidates and likely excellent Presidents...but we simply do not have the ability to figure out if they'll have that rarest of courage: a politician willing to risk his political future by doing the right thing, even when it doesn't poll well.

As I said back in January, neither McCain nor Lieberman are my favorite politicians - but I'm willing to put up with a lot in order to ensure that the United States wins this war.

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.gopbloggers.org/mt/majority.cgi/4022