Why Announce a Running Mate This Week?

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

JOHN MCCAIN

Another stray thought on the McCain-will-announce-his-veep-this-week buzz...

You don't win or lose a presidential election based on who wins a news cycle in late July. Obama had a great start to his foreign tour, with the perception that Maliki more or less endorsed his Iraq plan, or at least indicated he has no real opposition to Obama's vision for U.S. policy there. But Obama's momentum may be hitting a bump in the road with his statement that he still opposes the surge, despite its success, and his confirmation that Petraeus objects to the timeline.

Obama's foreign tour week just isn't a big enough target to use the biggest remaining "make news" tool in the toolbox. The headlines generated by the veep pick are a one-time deal.

Now - maybe McCain could have a sit-down meeting with Colin Powell this week. And a meeting with a lesser known figure like Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri would definitely generate a bunch of headlines.

Looking over Jonah's list, I'm wondering what the reaction would be if we suddenly heard that on Friday that McCain was having lunch with Sen. Tom Coburn, Sen. John Thune, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn...

07/22 03:55 PM Share