Kerry Question Vexes McCain

Poll surge noticeable but brief: Gallup

(NEWSER) - Much ink has been spilled over Barack Obama and John McCain’s upcoming VP selections, but a running mate is not a game-changing choice, the Chicago Tribune reports. History suggests the effect on opinion polls will be noticeable but not huge: Gallup shows recent candidates getting an average 5% bump after announcing their picks. More»

Er, barbecue guests

(NEWSER) - John McCain may claim he’s just having Bobby Jindal, Charlie Crist, and Mitt Romney over for a barbecue this weekend, but it’s pretty clear the GOP’s presumptive nominee is really scouting VP candidates. So Politico ran down the merits of each potential ticket filler:

• Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is young, ethnic, and extremely accomplished, especially in domestic policy, a McCain weak spot. But would the 36-year-old make McCain look too old?

Rice remains popular despite links to Iraq policy: New Yorker

(NEWSER) - Ditch the banal short-list and pick a running mate with pizazz—like Condoleezza Rice, Hendrik Hertzberg urges John McCain in the New Yorker. The best-liked Iraq war planner would trigger an "avalanche of positive publicity" on her personal success story, and let GOP voters crack a race-gender ceiling without having to choose. The trick would be ducking her failed record in office, Hertzberg writes. More»

Running mate speculation mounts as he clinches GOP nomination

(NEWSER) - With the GOP nomination in the bag, speculation is shifting to John McCain's possible choices for running mate, the New York Times reports. The 71-year-old McCain would become the oldest person ever elected as a first-term president if he wins this November so there's likely to be even more interest than usual on his choice of vice president. His campaign says there's no short list yet. More»

He's a strong conservative, and a demographic win: William McGurn

(NEWSER) - Hey, Republican strategists, interested in a young, dynamic, Latino vice presidential nominee? Then William McGurn has a name for you, "And he's not Marco Rubio." Instead, the Wall Street Journal columnist suggests the less-famed Luis Fortuño, governor of Puerto Rico, who's "part of a rising generation of Republicans pushing pro-growth, small-government agendas." When Fortuño took office, one in three Puerto Ricans worked for the government, and the state couldn't make payroll. So he slashed 20,000 government jobs, and then cut individual and corporate taxes. More»