the geographic affect of John McCains VP choices

By: Tanner Stoker

As the summer rolls on, one thing remains on everybody in the Republican party's mind. Who will John McCain pick for his VP? Will he Choose a conservative and rally the base of the party or will he move to the center and try to gain some independents? What ever the case, it's always interesting to see how much affect each possible VP will have geographically. So, we'll go through each of the top contenders one by one then make a final conclusion. Something to consider is what states are swing states, they are, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri, Minn, Michagan, Ohio Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, New Hamphsire, North Dakota, South Dakota

McCain-Lieberman

swing states: Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri, Minn, Michigan, Ohio, Penn., Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, New Hamphsire, South Dakota, North Dakota

Lieberman should not even be considered, he will not lock up any swing states.

McCain-Crist

swing states: Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri, Minn, Ohio, Penn., Virginia, North Carolina, New Hamphsire, South Dakota, North Dakota

States Gained: Florida

Electoral college:
D:200
R:195
Toss up: 143

My theory is, if McCain needs Crist to win Florida, he has no chance.


McCain-Huckabee

Swing states: New Mexico, Iowa,Minn, Ohio, Penn. North Carolina, New Hamphsire, South Dakota, North Dakota

States gained; Virginia, Missouri
States lost: Nevada, Colorado

Electoral College:
D: 214
R: 192
toss up: 132

McCain-Ridge

Who???

McCain-Romney

Swing States: New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri, Minn, Ohio, Penn, Virginia, North Carolina, New Hamphsire

States Gained: Nevada, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan

Electoral college:
D:200
R:205
toss up: 133

So, of the candidates reviewed so far, Romney appears to be the best. i will continue reviewing each possible VP choice throughout the week.

In Case You Missed It: Obama's Goodie Bag From:From Chicago Sun-Times

From Chicago Sun-Times
By Chris FuscoJuly 17, 2008
PDF Format
Back when Barack Obama was a state senator, the Illinois Legislature offered this perk: You get elected, you get to give out some money.
Like his counterparts, Obama routed this state grant money to parks, libraries and schools during his eight years in the Illinois Senate.
He gave money to domestic-violence, job-creation and social-service programs.
He also pumped cash into St. Sabina Catholic parish, the South Side church whose pastor is the Rev. Michael Pfleger, the outspoken supporter whose comments in a May sermon about Obama's former Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton, landed the priest in trouble with Cardinal Francis George. St. Sabina got $100,000 to help rebuild its community center.
And a venture capital fund linked to the Rev. Jesse Jackson -- who apologized last week after making a crude remark about the Democratic presidential hopeful -- got $200,000, thanks to Obama.
In all, Obama doled out more than $3.6 million in state grants in just the last half of his state legislative career, records show.
A proposed botanic garden in Englewood got $100,000 from Obama, but the project never was completed because an additional $1 million in funding that Obama had said he'd "work tirelessly" to help obtain never materialized, the Chicago Sun-Times reported last week. That was among the biggest chunks of cash Obama gave out during the 2000-2003 budget years. ...

In Case You Missed It: Welcome, Mr Would-Be President BY: The Economist

From The Economist
EditorialJuly 17, 2008
PDF Format
[M]r Obama has not repealed the basic laws of politics. Most obviously, he may not win. Rasmussen, a pollster, rattled the Obama machine this week by showing the two candidates tied, and most other analysts agree that the bounce he enjoyed after seeing off Hillary Clinton has been small and short-lived. ...
[T]here are some disquieting signs of a tendency on Mr Obama's part to tailor his message to whichever audience he is talking to. All politicians do this of course. But Mr Obama's two-steps have become Astaire-like. For instance, in his primary battle with Mrs Clinton, Mr Obama laid out a timetable for a virtually complete withdrawal from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, specifying a rate of one to two brigades a month. Since starting to campaign in the general election, he has fudged this clear line: he committed to withdrawal again this week (see article), but he has also been careful to give himself wriggle-room on its pace. Similarly, he once talked of negotiating with the Iranian leadership without preconditions: now he talks of the need for "preparations". ...
[M]r Obama recently told the main pro-Israel group in Washington that Jerusalem must never be divided, a position that goes beyond those of the Clinton and Bush administrations (not to mention that of many Israelis). Then he backtracked.
On trade, Mr Obama used to demand the renegotiation of NAFTA; now he stresses his dedication to the cause of free trade. ...
On all these fronts, in fact, there are doubts: doubts as to just what Mr Obama's positions as president would actually be, and doubts over what he could get through Congress. Those doubts will not stop the crowds turning out for him, even if he fails to commandeer the Brandenburg Gate as his backdrop. But the fans should bear in mind that what they see is not precisely what they will get.