Ridge
Fox News' Carl Cameron is reporting that John McCain may announce his Vice-Presidential pick before Friday - the date a rally in Dayton, Ohio is already scheduled. That would mean McCain could announce his selection on Wednesday or Thursday of this week, while the Democratic National Convention is still going on:
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain may announce his choice for a running mate earlier than expected, sources told FOX News on Monday.
McCain had previously said he would announce his vice presidential pick on Friday and would appear with that individual at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, following the announcement. Friday is McCain’s 72nd birthday.
But sources close to McCain’s campaign told FOX News that his decision may come sooner than that — possibly on Thursday, when Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination at Invesco field in Denver, Colo.
McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds diminished the news.
“I wouldn’t much weight into reports that there are windows of possibility,” he said.
Several names have come up repeatedly as McCain’s possible running mate, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and, perhaps, Democrat-turned-independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Also named is Gen. David Petraeus, the incoming head of Central Command.
McCain’s camp last month floated the idea that he would announce a running mate while Barack Obama, the expected Democratic presidential nominee, traveled overseas to demonstrate his foreign policy chops. Obama’s trip was widely covered in the press, but McCain’s campaign was able to draw attention back to the Arizona senator, who never ended up naming his choice.
The McCain Campaign is certainly dropping clues that would indicate the pick is going to come before Friday. But it could all be a head fake to keep the media talking about McCain through the week.
This is from Newsmax.com :
Sen. John McCain has ruled out former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge as his running mate, Republican National Committee officials say.
Ridge, who supports abortion rights, has been at the center of criticism ever since it was revealed that he was on McCain's short list of GOP vice presidential candidates.
But Fox News reports that McCain came to the conclusion in the last 36 hours that any running mate who supports abortion rights would be a political liability. Campaign aides revealed that to RNC officials.
“I think it’s a hard sell and I don’t see much upside to Tom Ridge except for John McCain likes him a lot,” National Review Editor Rich Lowry told Fox News on Tuesday.
“I don’t think he’s going to be a big benefit in Pennsylvania and even if he is, I think the downside is the rest of the country among conservatives are going to be upset about this, just at the moment they’re beginning to work up being excited about John McCain. ”
Conservative commentator David Limbaugh has called the idea of Ridge on the GOP ticket “political suicide.”
