V.P. CANDIDATES TO McCAIN'S PRESIDENCY

"McCAIN MUM ON VEEP SPECULATION..."

Should Lindsey Graham -- not attending (so it's reported) the Memorial Holiday barbeque at the McCain's place in Arizona this weekend -- be named as Vice President, it would create a ticket I could not vote for even if McGovern or Howard Dean was the Democratic candidate this Fall. I'm not being flippant: Graham's nastiness toward Conservatives, complete with name-calling and emotional fits from the Senate floor as he demanded amnesty for illegal aliens (in support of McCain/Kennedy legislation, lending even more negativity to Graham's personna) renders Graham utterly unworthy of my vote and I'll not vote accordingly should Graham be named V.P., and if that's what McCain wants, then he'll select Graham, stick his finger in the eye yet again of Conservatives and he'll lose the election.

Bobby Jindal, on the other hand, is a superb fellow but I'd prefer to see him devote time and energy to the state of Louisiana and then be reconsidered in some future candidacy. I have no complaints about Jindal, however, as to what issues I know he supports, but, to be sensible -- whoever McCain names as Vice President will carry the likely possibility that that individual will assume the Presidency within an eight-year two-termer -- and, so far, I remain a bit insecure as to the idea of Jindal in the Oval Office at this stage of his lfe and experience.

I question why Charlie Crist is being considered for the V.P. slot. I don't see the point, I cannot see any measurable appeal by Crist to many Republican voters on a national level, I just do not see the point there.

Mitt Romney continues to be the candidate for the White House I'd most enthusiastically support, and, Romney named as V.P. would go a long way to encourage my doubts as to a McCain Presidency. However, what with Romney and wife recently purchasing a home in La Jolla, CA, the idea of Romney running for Governor of California in 2010 is very appealing (the state of CA could certainly use Romney's keen economic and financial abilities).

Wherever Mitt Romney positions himself politically within the Republican Party at this point will be greeted with enthusiasm from me but McCain would greatly improve his voter appeal to "the moderate Right," to Economic Conservative and to many Social Conservatives with Romney as V.P., as to issues and counterbalance to McCain's Liberal liabilties (which remain a source of unease if not unreliability to many of us voting Conservatives, especially McCain's apparent duplicity and contradictions on national security as it's impacted by border and immigration violations -- support for amnesty for illegal aliens is utterly out of the question for me as to who I vote for and McCain continues to campaign for his "comprehensive immigraiton reform," otherwise known as amnesty for illegal aliens; Romney's been far clearer on his views as to this issue and does not appear as "confused" or duplicitous or unclear on entertaining amnesty as does McCain).

The tough thing to vote for this Fall for me is knowing that the Republican Party remains "drifted Left" and is reliant on most votes from the Right out of desire to avoid a Democratic win. While that's an important incentive, it's unpleasant to realize that my vote's being taken for granted from the Right, and McCain's not doing too much to counter that presumption.

But, of course, it's a given, few Conservatives will be voting for a Democrat this Fall. My concerns are that even when a vote is cast for McCain, a vote is still cast for a Democrat.

Related:
Mitt Romney's new PAC and website, FREE & STRONG AMERICA

McCain's making headway declaring support for issues important to Social Conservatives, however ("Judges" among those issues).