A lot of discussion has arisen about whom John McCain will choose as his Vice President. Though interesting, as it concerns someone being raised into the Presidential Picture, the topic is a distraction. John McCain is not going to be elected President by selecting a good Vice President. A Vice President can maybe bring his or her own state into the President candidate's win column, or he or she can add strength in a policy area, true; but that isn't a major addition to the entire picture. So let's get back to the big picture, OK ?

This election will be won by John McCain, maybe, IF he succeeds in doing the following things:

1.convincing Americans that he is the strongest, most knowledgeable candidate with respct to freign policy issues including (but not limited to) War on Terror matters.

Here I feel very confident.

2.addressing in an eloquent, earnest, RELEVANT manner the economic concerns of most Americans, in a way that convinces a majority that he has the passion, the commitment, and the sense of practical realism to advocate for programs that will work, without a lot of fuss or delay or excuse-making.

On this point I feel better recently that John McCain hears the tone of the voters today, but there remains a long way to go. In particular, his self-help health care plan is not likely to convince. In that regard, today's Boston GLOBE editorial on the matter seems spot on. On all other economic matters, Our Guy needs to become extremely aggressive and interventionist. The mortgage crisis has now become a full-blown indebtedness crisis; oil prices have hurt everyone; school loans are in jeopardy; job pay continues to fall behind the pace of prices. Immigration scares - and here I must once again spank the Republican party's nativists and fear-mongers -- have driven a ton of otherwise available workers out of the construction, landscaping, harvesting, house cleaning, and security markets. In many places, including my own area, employers in these fields cannot find workers with great skills and dedicated work habits except at pay levels they cannot afford.

I do not yet hear John McCain tackling our many-headed economic problems with enough intensity or sense, even if he does now sound better than he did two months ago. His tax cut advocacy has actually hurt him: he has suffered the embarrassment of changing his position on an issue on which he had formerly spoken out with great passion. This has undercut his reputation as a Straight Talker and has allowed the Democrats to call him "John McSame" and be listened to.

3.John McCain needs to break free of the recent political past but not of his own past. Why would he, when it is HIS OWN political past that has given him at least 10 to 12 points strength ahead of the generic Republican vote this year ? He needs to advocate positions that will work AND be accepted by the voters REGARDLESS of whether traditional Republicans like it. Fact is, the traditional Republican era is over -- I have bloged this before. A new Republican era begins NOW. John McCain will win if he is succesful in giving substance to a new Republican platform AND in getting a majority to give this new platform a try.

Otherwise get ready for President Clinton -- not all that bad a prospect -- or President Obama. Of course if Our Guy really wants to use the Vice President gambit to change the election, he can form a Unity Ticket with Hillary Clinton. Yes, you read me right. John McCain and Hillary Clinton. Why not ?